Walsh. — On the Futnre of the Neiv Zealand Bush. 471 



Art. XXXIX. — On the Future of the New Zealand Biish. 



By Canon Philip Walsh. 



[Read before the Auckland Institute, 15th August, 1898.] 



In a paper"-' read before the Auckland Institute two years 

 ago I drew attention to the extensive and rapid disappear- 

 ance of the native bush in many parts of the country, and 

 endeavoured to trace the principal agents which combine 

 in the work of destruction. It may be interesting to follow 

 the subject a further stage, and attempt, by the observation 

 of present facts, to forecast the future condition of the forest 

 when something like a balance shall have supervened between 

 the destructive agents on the one hand and the resilient 

 power of nature on the other. 



2. Recapitulation. 



In order to present the matter clearly, it will be well to 

 recapitulate the argument of the former paper. 



The two principal destructive agents, besides the axe of 

 the bushman, are fires and cattle, to which should be added 

 the wild pig, or "Captain Cooker," as this animal does his 

 full share. Any of these acting alone is sufficient to do a 

 good deal of damage, but when they all act in conjunction, as 

 they generally do, the destruction is greatly accelerated and 

 intensified. 



The whole of the forest below a moderate altitude through- 

 out both Islands is more or less an open cattle- and pig-run, 

 in which, by the browsing, trampling, and rooting of the 

 animals, the undergrowth is gradually destroyed, the surface 

 roots lacerated, and the soil trodden into mud, which in sum- 

 mer hardens almost into a bed of concrete. The consequence 

 is that the larger trees, deprived of their accustomed nourish- 

 ment and protection, grow thin and open at the top ; the 

 ground is covered with fallen leaves ; the debris of centuries, 

 now exposed to the sun and winds, is dried to tinder ; and the 

 whole place is ready to be swept by fire, which sooner or 

 later inevitably happens. 



In thickly settled districts, and in those where timber- 

 getting is carried on, the destruction is most rapid and com- 

 plete, as every clearing, timber- working, and road-line forms 



* Trans. N.Z. Inst., 1896, Art. xliv., "On the Disappearance of the 

 New Zealand Bush." 



