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ANNEXURES.

ANNEXURE I. —STATE AND PROVISIONAL STATE FORESTS AND FOREST RESERVES.

Permanent and provisional State forests and forest reserves under Service control comprise 1T06 per cent, of the total area of the Dominion. Total area of State forest and provisional State forest and forest reserves at 31st March, 1923, 7,336,010 acres.

ANNEXURE lI.—REPORT UPON STATE FORESTATION OPERATIONS IN THE NORTH ISLAND. (H. A. Goodie, Conservator of Forests, Rotorua Conservation Region.) Extension of Plantations. The extension work done during the year is the most successful for many years past, and, although not a record as regards the new area planted, it is not far short of last year's figures. Weather conditions were entirely favourable, with the result that the death-rate does not exceed 8 per cent. An area of 2,539 acres was planted with Douglas fir, American yellow-pine, and Pinus radiala (insignis), thus bringing the total land planted in the North Island to 31,223 acres. All the planting was done by the notching system, with the result that the labour cost per acre was £1 18s., as against £3 9s. for the previous year, a saving of 45 per cent. The cost per acre, including trees, was £4 55., a saving of £1 per acre on last year's cost. The saving would, have been much greater but for the fact that a large number of the trees planted were three-year-old, and thus of higher value than those usually planted. Tree-growing. The growth of nursery stock has been much below the average; this year, owing to the wet and unusually cold summer. The trees are, however, of good quality, with the exception that the eucalypts as a class are undersized. The number raised from seed during the year is 6,225,000, thus bringing the total raised to date in Rotorua Nursery to approximately 82,000,000. The output for the year totalled 4,280,000, while to date 72,816,000 have been disposed of. There lias been no damage done by grass-grub during the year ; the trees are all healthy and well rooted. Owing to the great daily range of temperature commonly experienced in this district throughout the year difficulty has been experienced in growing many of the species of eucalypts which are in demand for farm and local-body planting schemes. It has been found that most of the valuable species arc very sensitive to these changing conditions, and that it is impossible, except during unusually mild seasons, to grow these to a satisfactory size by the usual outdoor method of culture. It will be necessary, therefore, in order to meet the increasing demand for these species, to resort to propagating them under glass and afterwards hardening the plants out of doors. The necessary propagating-house will be erected during the year in time for the spring sowing. Sale of Trees an l> Tkee-seeus. As will be seen from the statement of revenue below, the sales of trees and tree-seeds was increased about 100 per cent, over last year's figures. The orders for trees totalled 1,120, while the trees sold numbered 1,015,164. Tree-seed orders were received to the number of 865, the amount of seed sold being 6951b. These figures give some idea, of the extent to which this branch of the

iRBA IN ACKEI i at End of Fiscal Year, 1923. Land nistrict. Area in Acres at End ol Year 1922. Fiscal Changes in Area during the Fiscal Year 1922-23: Net Increase in Acres. Area in Acres at End of PI 1923. iscal Year <* gge £gflgs S H? +, I State Foi-est. I £™1 Forest Reserves. State Pro ™j° nal 1 Forest Forest. °™™ t _ Reserves. State Forest, Forest Reserves. oj.2 02 & lilll *gt-] B KB OS N. Auckland. . Auckland Hawke's Bay Taranaki Wellington .. Nelson Marlborough Westland Canterbury .. Otago Southland 98,981 145,845 199,653 69,500 51.0,790 19,955 81,743 2,178 290,202* 128,280 136,306 16,090* 587,813 53,735 42,639 27,638 1,984,543 119,631 1,721,471* 3,193 2,316 16,921 40,811 9,091 8,470 6,194 119 3,504 21,202 3,193t 5,383 I 34,544 3,504 5,383 61 65,860t 117,070 502 1,826 l,381t| 96t 9 I 499 05,860f 1,381-f 9 | 102,485 151,228 199,653 69,500 450,930:1: 19,955 80,362 2,187 290,202 128,280 136,734 37,292 622,357 53,735 42,639 144,708:]: 1,986,369' 119,535 1,721,970 2,316 16,921 40,872 9,593 8,470 6,194 119 3-1 8-5 4-9 6-3 8-6 42-7 7-4 44-6 3-0 4-9 90 317 ', 132 522,473 543 .'. l,288f 428 52,544 428 315,844 575,017 543 Totals .. 11,689,433 5,393,165 87,658 57,917f 226,301 2,630f 1,631,516 5,619,466 85,028 >0 acres; irovisional * Error in li State forest, 1,350 ist year's figures, acres. -|- Net decrease. t Withdrawal for National Park : Sti i0 forest, 66,01