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(A.) RESULTS OF TREE-GROWING IN THE STATE NURSERIES AND PLANTATIONS. The following report is intended to give an approximate idea of how the operations in the State nurseries and plantations (which were only commenced in 1896) are expected to result. Larch and eucalypti will be amongst the first species to be fit for commercial use in the way of thinnings—say in from fifteen to twenty years from the time of planting, judging from the present rate of progress. No doubt such timbers will be required for mine-props, fencing-posts, &c. The average quantity per tree of timber at the end of a given period can only be roughly estimated from the results attained in Europe and elsewhere. In regard to the pumice lands (where the largest plantations are being established) we have no record of any tree-planting being done on a similar soil in any portion of the world. At present the growth on such lands greatly exceeds that on other portions of the Dominion, but we cannot predict whether this growth will be maintained after the trees reach the " pole stage." Dr. Nisbet, in his latest (1905) work, " The Forester " gives a table showing the average quantity of timber produced per acre in Britain on a rotation of fifty years : — Name of Tree. Number Timber-contents. per Acre. Sup. ft. Oak 300 21,600 Larch ■ • • • 500 30,000 Pine •• •• ..500 30,000 Oregon 400 48,000 Spruce 600 32,400 Average for 5 species : 32,200 ft. It would therefore be reasonable to expect that equal results should be obtained in New Zealand; but, to be on the safe side, I venture to give 30,000 sup. ft. of milling-timber per acre at fifty years. ' It is true that redwoods have been known to produce a million superficial feet of timber per acre over a limited area, but such trees are considered to be from one to two thousand years of age. The mostlrecent record (29th October, 1908) of the United States Forest Service gives the average yield of redwood at from 10,000 ft. to 70,000 ft. per acre, and five hundred years is the time stated for its Eucalypti have in many instances yielded 100,000 ft, per acre on exceptionally favourable soils and situations, while the average yield is from 10,000 ft. to 40,000 ft. I have had special reports furnished by the Foresters at each plantation, which show that the rate of growth varies from \ in. to 14 in. per annum during the first year, from 3 in. to 17 in. during the second year, and so on, gradually increasing as they"become established. This, of course, refers to a general average of all classes of trees. Amongst individual species Acacia melanoxylon heads the list with a maximum of 93 in. —the average growth being 30 in. per annum. Amongst eucalypti 38 in. is the maximum rate, while the minimum is 16 in. Larch also varies greatly—from 11 in. to 32 in. per annum in trees planted one and two years, and older plantings up to 5 ft. From the foregoing it will be readily seen that it is impossible to give explicitly the average growth of any given tree, as in many cases there is practically no growth during the first year, but a gradual improvement takes place each succeeding year, depending on the suitability of soil and situation. Moreover, to state an approximate rate of growth would be to a certain extent misleading, as it is only in the sapling and pole stages that trees make their most rapid vertical growth owing to their crowded state ; later on, when thinning takes place, vertical growth gives way to increased circumference of the bole. The following shows the species which have made the most successful growth in various localities :— Rotorua District: Eucalyptus Stuartiana, E. amygdalina, Acacia melanoxylon, Larix europosa, Pinus ponderosa, P. Laricio, P. strobus, Sequoia sempervirens, and Pseudo-tsuga taxifolia. Whangarei District: Sequoia sempervirens, Eucalyptus Stuartiana, E. obliqua, E. rostrata, E. amygdalina, and Podocarpus totara, the latter of course not to be compared to the rate of those before mentioned. . . . Hanmer Springs : Larix europosa, Pinus ponderosa, P. Benthamiana, P. Lancto, Alnus glutinosa, Pseudo-tsuga taxifolia. Tapanui District: Pinus Laricio, P. ponderosa, P. Benthamiana, Lanx europosa, Acer pseudoplatanus, Fraxinus excelsior, Pseudo-tsuga taxifolia, and Alnus glutinosa. Maniototo District: Larix europosa, Pinus ponderosa, P. Laricio, P. Benthamiana, and P. austnaca. The following trees would be desirable for planting within the Dominion on suitable soil in localities free from frost : Puriri, pohutukawa, spotted gum, red ironbark, sugar-gum, and jarrah. All the above species provide exceptionally strong and durable timber, and their extensive cultivation under favourable conditions would|undoubtedly be highly remunerative within a comparatively few years. I may add that this Dominion is singularly unfortunate compared with the rest of the world in having no native timber-trees that can be generally planted with a view to quick returns for profit. (Puriri, totara, and pohutukawa cannot be classed as such, as they are only of comparatively rapid growth in exceptional localities.) Assuming that 30,000 sup. ft. per acre is a reasonable estimate from artificial forests, and reckoning the thinnings therefrom as fencing-material, mine-props, and firewood, it is evident that our present rate of cutting is largely—nearly five and a half times—in excess of future supplies at the present rate of planting : — Timber milled in 1907 from indigenous forests .. .. 432,031,611 sup. ft. Area planted in 1907-8 .. .. .. • • 2,655 acres.. Expected return per acre .. .. • • • • 30,000 sup. ft. Expected return per annum .. .. .. . • 79,650,000 sup. ft.