31

C.—3

A short summary of results is as follows : — 1922. 1923. 1924. 1925. Trees sold .. .. .. 1,105,164 1,399,334 2,293,932 3,815,873 Conifers planted .. .. 3,239,669 At 8 ft. apart .. .. .. 4,764 acres Eucalypti planted .. .. 576,204 ~ .. .. .. 847 ~ All species planted .. 3,815,873 At 8 ft. apart .. .. .. 5,611 acres Trees sold: — 1922. 1923. 1924. 1925. To farmers and others .. .. 801,398 838,755 1,805,648 3,528,187 To public bodies .. .. 184,130 363,575 316,935 25,138 To other Departments .. .. 20,033 103,276 162,062 17,362 To soldier settlers .. .. .. 88,517 To schools and colleges .. .. 9,603 5,211 9,287 10,609 To other regions .. .. .. .. .. 234,577 1,015,164 1,399,334 2,293,932 3,815,873* * Total does not include 27,200 trees distributed under forestry-in-schools scheme. Sales of tree-seeds amounted to £1,110 75., and plans for increased collecting and extraction of seeds have been formulated to enable the Service to fulfil satisfactorily the large number of seed orders received from local and overseas sources. Revenue. Following are particulars of revenue from nursery and plantations received during the last three years 1925-26. 1924-25. 1923-24. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Sale of trees .. .. .. 7,974 12 7 6,882 3 5 4,074 12 9 Sales of tree-seeds.. .. .. 1,079 19 0 906 19 11 546 1 6 Sales of firewood .. .. .. 12 9 6 7 13 11 47 13 11 Sales of posts, &c. .. .. 76 6 2 63 8 5 72 10 11 Grazing.. .. .. .. 186 16 11 228 9 0 222 13 10 Rental of departmental cottages .. 342 3 1 373 11 3 334 16 3 Inspections and reports .. .. .. .. 51 19 6 Sundries .. .. .. .. 106 3 6 238 9 6 184 12 9 £9,778 10 9 £8,700 15 5 £5,535 1 5 Proposals, 1926-27. 1. Establishment of 13,000 acres of new plantation, 2. Raise 20,000,000 trees. 3. Sell 5,000,000 trees. 4. Sell 3,000 lb. seed. 5. Maintain and protect 55,000 acres of plantation. 6. Erect ranger's cottage at Rotorua Nursery. 7. Improvement of implements used in nursery practice to speed up operations and reduce cost of production. 8. Improvement of direct-sowing machinery. 9. Installation of up-to-date seed-extraction plant. 10. Installation of break-down and breast bench at nursery. 11. Finalization of creosoting experiments. 12. Extension of present fire-fighting depots and engines, &c. 13. Fencing and general cultivation of arboretum area, possibly planting portion. 14. Thinning and silvicultural treatment of portions of Whakarewarewa and Waiotapu Plantations. 15. Survey of area for 1926-27 lay-out and preparatory clearing, &c. 16. Reconnaissance and demarcation of native forests.