C.—3

26. The year's work resulted in the addition to the permanent forest atlas of one new topographical plan (part of Ashley Forest) and three new stock plans (Tongariro (two) and Waimiha), while one stock plan was renewed and additions made to forty-six stock and topographical plans ; fifty-seven copies of these plans were prepared for general use. State forest areas affected by Proclamations, totalling 262,529 acres, required 64 entries in the forest registers. The additions and deletions to State forest areas and the recording of privileges necessitated 1,578 additions to the forest atlas, while for general purposes 741 tracings and 151 plans were prepared and 490 lithographs coloured and 225 plans mounted, 181 licenses and 330 permits had plans drawn thereon, 80 honorary ranger and forest officer certificates were engrossed, and a total of 1,643 helio prints and 766 photostat prints were used by the Service. Two forest atlas sheets, one fire-district map, one specimen plan, and 1 lettering-plate were lithographed, and seven new fire-prevention stickers —Nos. 30-36 —were printed. The number of negatives in the photographic record was increased by 594, and now stands at 14,818. A five-paged article entitled " Notes on the Draughting of Cruise Plans," with plates, was prepared and distributed for the guidance of junior field officers and draughtsmen. Section B. —Forest-management Staff. 27. The paramount necessity for controlling timber-cutting in State forests in accordance with written working plans has been emphasized in previous reports, but hitherto staffing difficulties have hindered this development. This deficiency has now been remedied by the appointment of nine technically trained foresters recruited from the graduate foresters both within and without the Service. One senior and one junior forest officer were posted to Head Office, and seven junior forest officers to six Conservancies, but two of these latter have since enlisted and proceeded overseas. In addition, two junior forest officers have been appointed to Head Office as co-operating specialists on utilization and forest-production. Section C.— Preparation of Forest Working Plans. 28. At the close of the year, preparation of six forest working plans was in progress, five for exotic and one for kauri forests. In Rotorua Conservancy, basic data have been obtained in Whakarewarewa and Waiotapu exotic forests, including diameter and height growths, volume increments, tree-stem forms, timber volumes, and numbers of trees per acre. Similar data have been collected in Hanmer exotic forest in Canterbury Conservancy from selection and measurement of twenty-one sample plots, while compartment description forms were largely completed for sixty-two forest compartments. Equal progress was achieved in Dusky and Conical Hills exotic forests in Southland Conservancy. The necessary work of preparing and incorporating in working plans a written description of each compartment is facilitated by the detailed compartment histories which have been carefully compiled in the past as a routine operation and kept posted to date. Inventories of all the older exotic stands were made some years ago, and although these require to be carried out afresh to give current volumes, a comparison between the two inventories yields valuable data on increment and changes in the composition and development of the various timber stands. Preparation of a working plan for the purpose of controlling cutting in all State kauri forests was well under way at the end of the year. Surveys, tree enumerations and measurements, and subdivision into compartments were completed for Puketi and Omahuta kauri forests, and good progress made with Waipoua kauri forest. Pending allocation of the necessary trained staff to tlie duties of assembling available basic data and of securing data on increments, certain kauri forests have been managed for several years past under prescriptions of a policy statement issued to control cutting and regeneration in each of the forests concerncd.

2—C. 3.

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