C—3

38

coal. Seeing, then, that most of our large towns have timbered lands close to them, it seems! strango that people use wood fuel so little. The taking of wood fuel from a forest would not, of course, destroy the forest, for under proper management its perpetuity could be ensured. FOREST FIEBS. It is satisfactory to state thai though Lasl summer was very dry no milling forest was damaged to any serious extent ; however, a very serious fire that started in the Raetihi farming , areas spread so rapidly during a cyclonic storm that, in addition to several settlers' houses, nine timbermills were destroyed. A fire that was started by lightning in the Dusky Hill Plantation during a thunderstorm, being soon discovered, was put out before any considerable damage was done. People in this Dominion are undoubtedly very careless in the matter of fires. In former years settlement was scattered, and forests by most people were considered to be too plentiful. Under such circumstances people set lire to felled bush, scrub, or fern, and never bothered to consider where the lire would end. Milling forest has now become scarce and more valuable, whilst settlement, has extended. It is time, therefore, (hat this indifference as to fires should be cheeked, and it may be advisable to introduce some of the restrictive measures with regard to firing that arc in force in Canada and the United States. Both those countries employ large staffs of men as fire rangers to protect their forests. Look-out stations, which are connected by telephone, are built in the forest, and should a fire occur assistance is at once procurable. The rangers have motorboats on the lakes and rivers, gasoline fire-pumps, and apparatus for tapping the telephone-wires. They have the power of special constables, and may call on any civilians to help them in puttingout fires. In Canada after the war it is proposed to employ airplanes in connection with forestproteotion. The different. Provincial Governments spend considerable sums in erecting conspicuous placards which set out the commercial and other values of forest to a country, and which quote the number of lives lost and the property that has been destroyed in previous years; people arc taught that fire is their enemy, anil that it is easily prevented, but dillieult to overcome when started. It is considered that money spent on fire-ranging is merely an insurance of the forest. Fouest PISSTS, Pot the purposes of sport in this country there have been introduced various animals, some of which are now threatening to become serious pests. The opossum eats the berries and seedlings of many trees, and where these animals are abundant they would have an appreeiabl) 7 deterrent effect on natural regeneration. They yield, however, valuable skins, and as they are easily trapped the damage they do may be compensated for by the return from the skins. A more serious pest are imported deer. These animals afford a good sport, no doubt, but it is enjoyed by a very limited number of people, and the animals yield no revenue worth speaking of. On the other hand, they are becoming a serious nuisance in our artificial plantations, and where present in our native forest they destroy a large amount of young growth—in fact, if not kept down they will entirely prevent regeneration of the forest, as Professor Somerville has proved they have done in Scotland. In my travels through the Dominion 1 have observed in many places that many varieties of imported trees are being attacked by fungoid and insect pests. Even the vigorous Pinus radiata is frequently seen affected with a leaf-shedding disease (caused by a minute fungus); the disease from which thi) valuable Cupressus macrocarpa suffers is seen from north to south; the silverwattle is often defoliated by a small lly; and many of the gums are seriously affected with a scale insect; chestnut and other trees are also seen affected by disease. Seeing that an increasing amount of money is being invested by the State, local bodies, and private persons in tree plantations, it seems advisable that some action should be taken to institute measures for the control or prevention of forest-tree pests. Most valuable forests of Weymouth pine in Europe and America have been ruined by a blister-rust. As the black currant and gooseberry and their relations arc the intermediate hosts for this rust, all these plants should be prohibited from being imported into New Zealand. New Forest Reservations and Withdrawals from Reservations. During the year a total area of 9,496 acres was proclaimed State forest, and 3,724 acres were withdrawn from reservation for the purposes of settlement.

Aproximate Amounts of Output of Timber for the Year 1917-18, as obtained from Reports of The Commissioners of Crown Lands.

Provincial District. k- ! - (.SSi.). Kahikatea (White-pine). Matai (Black-pine). Totara. Beech. Tawa. Miscellaneous. Sup. Feet. Sup. Feet. 20,890,359 24,494,401 2,600,000 4,039,200 I Auckland Taranaki Hawke' i Ba .. Wellington Marlborough . . Nelson Westland Canterbury Otago Southland Sup. Feet. 23,251,524 Sup. Feet. 5,194,579 Sup. Feet. 11,916,123 Sup. F'oiit. Sup. Feet. Sup. Feet. 1,412,001 900,000 175,300 69,120,000* 1,285,600 2,374,200 3,893,100 38,360,100 1,189,100 192,100 ii,940 59,400 762,100 400,000 9,100 8,000,000 2,200,000 13,000,000 82,600 4,000,000 550,000 500,01.0 82,50o! 300,000 1,485,000 2,160,000: 1,000,000 1,100,000 40,000 Totals .. 20,890,359 90,961,001 37,758,624 6,436,679 12,310,563 4,866,500 74,756,401 * Amounts of each sep; irate kind oouli not lie obtaini rd; probably ' '0 per cent, rini in.