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forests. At present there are several. You are recommended to secure the functioning of one authority, and one only, and that is the State Forest Service, which is the one instrument equipped to deal with forestry. 3. The Forest Act. Continuity of policy is vital to the practice of forestry, and you are therefore recommended, sir, to secure the expression of your forest policy in a Forest Act, thereby crystallizing a definite programme of State-forestry action at least for a working-period of five to ten years. 4. School op Forestry. Your forest policy and programme will only make such progress as is possible by the operations of trained forest technicians. One year has now been lost in providing educational facilities. You are advised, sir, to establish the School of Forestry without delay. 5. Appointments. Two of the most important forest-conservation regions—namely, the Wellington Region, which embraces Hawke's Bay, Wellington, and Taranaki Provinces; and the Nelson Marlborough Region, which includes these two provinces arc still without Conservators of Forests. The forest research and experimental programme is being sadly hampered through the lack of a trained forest investigator. You are advised, sir, to fill these three posts at the earliest possible opportunity, in order that our constructive programme may be kept in line with our administrative activities. 6. Forest Fires. You are advised, sir, that the greatest enemy to successful forest-management in New Zealand is fire. Until and unless this arch-enemy can be controlled no forest plans are worth the paper they arc written on. You are recommended, sir, to jirovidc full and adequate powers in the Forest Act for the use of the Forest Service in dealing with this serious and grave danger to New Zealand's forest heritage. T .... „ ° L. Macintosh Ellis, Director of Forestry. •

ANNEXURES.

ANNEXURE No. I.—STATE AND PROVISIONAL STATE FORESTS AS AT 31st MARCH, 1921.

State forests and provisional State forests comprise 10-3 per cent, of the total area of the Dominion. Total area of State forests and provisional Stale forests at 31st March, 1921, 6,802,970 acres.

ANNEXURE No. II.—REPORT UPON FORESTATION OPERATIONS IN THE NORTH ISLAND. (H. A. Goudie, Conservator of Forests, Rotorua Conservation Region.) Labour. Whilst there has been a fair amount of casual labour available during the year it has not always been possible to pick and choose, and on the whole it has been difficult to get men that were altogether suitable for the work. For three months prior to the withdrawal of the prison labour in July the

Area in Acn Fiscal Yc •es at End of ear, 1920. Changes in Acres during the Fiscal Year, 1920-21. Net Increase in Area. Area in Acres at End of Fiscal Year, 1921. c « »p5 o | pP Land District. State Forests. Provisional State forests. State Provisional Forests. State Forests. State 1'orests. Provisional State Forests, North Auckland .. Auckland Hawke's Bay Taranaki Wellington Nelson Marlborough Westland Canterbury Otago Southland 106,039 144,796 199,653 69,564 500,506 19,955 79,753 442 290,176 129,465 125,953 Nil 24,255 15,350 35,264 Nil 1,288,221 105,631 1,126,944 Nil 231,379 466,328 911 14,898 565,305 Nil 815 Nil 682,847 Nil 500,059 Nil 21,643 54,754 106,956 144,796 199,653 69,564 500,506 19,955 79,753 1,542 290.176 129,465 125,953 14,898 589,560 15,350 36,079 Nil 1,971,068 105,631 1,627,961 Nil 253,022 521,082 2-7 8-1 3-9 4-3 7-3 42-2 6-7 42-1 3-0 4-2 8-2 1,100 Totals I ,<i(i(i,302 3,293,372 2,011 1,840,321 1,668,319 5,134,651