154 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



letters from experts have already appeared on the subject in 

 the i\merican magazmes, and all seem to recognise that a 

 disciplined force judiciously handled could control many of 

 the disastrous fires which occasionally ravage the country, 

 although they do not agree on the details of administration. 

 Matters have been dealt with in British India much more 

 practically, and regulations against forest fires have been 

 enacted for the last twenty years — at least, in all the provinces 

 under our control, and also to a certain extent within the 

 native States. As a result of these regulations, and the care- 

 ful management of the Indian Forest Department, 23,144 

 square miles of State forest in India were, protected from fire 

 in 1891, at a cost of nine rupees per square mile, and this in 

 addition to large areas of evergreen forest where no danger 

 from fire exists. The chief of the American Bureau of 

 Forestry has recently stated that the annual loss to the 

 Government by thieves is from ten to fifteen million dollars, 

 whilst that by fire is probably twice as much more. To pro- 

 tect the 20,000 square miles of Government forest land a 

 paltry force of twenty to twenty-four watchmen is employed, 

 and even these are not armed with sufficient authority. They 

 are barely able to reclaim some liundred thousand dollars' 

 worth of timber annually from depredation, which only suffices 

 to pay the expenses of the maintenance of the service. Proper 

 protection would require an outlay of two or three million 

 dollars, and would preserve twenty to fifty million dollars' 

 worth of property in each year. 



It is not suggested that the above are parallel cases to 

 ours in New Zealand, and fortunately the majority of our 

 forests are green and not so highly inflammable as the vast 

 pine-tracts of America; still, those who have paid any attention 

 to the subject will recognise that, if in the neighbourhood of 

 valuable or specially beautiful bush the local population were 

 properly organized and instructed, much might be done to 

 minimise the great damage which has from time to time been 

 suffered, not only financially, but from the sesthetic point of 

 view. It is much to be regretted that the New Zealand settler 

 has been encouraged to do his best to destroy utterly every 

 green thing upon his section, and that he looks forward with 

 anxious fears and hopes to the burning of not only his timber 

 and brushwood, but in many cases most of his mould or soil. 

 No doubt the cleared bush-land will give him a chance of 

 forming beautiful grassy paddocks, with a heavy sward of 

 English grasses. It is true that New Zealand bush will not, 

 as a rule, bear tampering with, and that trees or cli.mps, if left, 

 will soon perish ; but it would be well if those who hold bush- 

 land which is to be felled would carefully examine it and see 

 if there are not some naturally isolated portions which could 



