C.—3.

Table 4.

2. Protection "Forests. The task of building up a permanent forest estate received a further fillip by the addition during the year of nearly 250,000 acres of rugged mountainous country, mainly bush clad, except where—e.g., Nelson Region—there are open tops above the bush-line. More than half the total area mentioned lies along the main divide in the hinterland of the North Island. In it several rivers and streams have their source, there are mxmerous stands of good beech timber, and for forest-protection purposes it is regarded as an extremely valuable acquisition. The other major area is in Nelson Region, and, as already mentioned, comprises high country with scattered bush and open mountain tops. A smaller area of beech forest in Catlins district, Southland Region, was also permanently reserved. This carries stands of beech with good regeneration, and it is hoped will prove suitable to be treated as a managed forest. Without the enthusiastic and valuable co-operation of the Department of Lands and Survey the control of many protection-forest areas would not have been transferred to this Service, and that Department's ever ready assistance in this connection is gratefully acknowledged. A case in point is the withdrawal from further grazing of several high-country pastoral runs in order that they can be placed under permanent forest reservation. It has been many times emphasized in previous reports that the most serious enemies which menace the very existence of our indigenous forests, in particular, are fire and noxious grazing animals. The first will be dealt with in detail in another portion of this report, so will not be further discussed here save to say that with the recent Australian forest-fire catastrophes fresh in mind the general public of this Dominion should require no warning " to be careful with fire." With respect to the depredations of deer, goats, thar, wapiti, &c., it is manifestly impossible to expect that, after being acclimatized and left comparatively unmolested for many years, these forest pests can ever be completely exterminated, but it is certain that the present systematic Dominion-wide campaign against deer now being carried on under the direction of the Department of Internal Affairs must have a very wholesome effect by greatly reducing the herds and so preventing to a considerable extent the great forest damage caused by the feeding and other habits of these animals.

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„ I Permanent I Provisional } Total ar " j State Forest. | State Forest. : State Forest. | Acres. Acres. Acres. 1920 .. .. 1,666,302 3,293,372 4,959,674 1921 .. .. 1,668,319 5,134,651 6,802,970 1922 .. .. 1,777,169 5,404,806 7,181,975 1923 .. .. 1,716,544 5,619,466 7,336,010 1924 .. .. 1,771,351 5,661,830 7,433,181 1925 .. .. 1,854,922 5,630,668 7,485,590 1926 .. .. 1,866,990 5,686,700 7,553,690 1927 .. ' .. 1,957,483 5,699,361 7,656,844 1928 .. .. 2,044,142 5,664,347 7,708,489 1929 .. .. 2,064,514 5,679,936 7,744,450 1930 .. .. 2,036,247 5,663,004 7,699,251 1931 .. .. 2,126,837 5,634,329 7,761,166 1932 .. .. 2,196,033 5,632,090 7,828,123 1933 .. .. 2,920,006 4,921,432 7,841,438 1934 .. .. 3,025,789 4,855,785 7,881,574 1935 .. .. 3,872,456 4,015,829 7,888,285 1936 .. .. 4,043,693 3,866,479 7,910,172 1937 .. .. 4,193,139 3,762,250 7,955,389 1938 .. .. 4,383,249 3,739,441 8,122,690 1939 .. .. 4,784,419 3,570,442 8,354,861