Walsh. — On the Future of the New Zealand Bush. 473 



(2.) In high, mountainous country, especially in regions 

 where the climate for the greater part of the year is cold and 

 wet, the floor of the bush, instead of being covered with an 

 esculent growth of underwood, is chiefly coated with a layer 

 of damp moss ; so that there is not much to attract the wan- 

 dering beasts or to feed a fire even in the driest seasons. In 

 such country the conditions of soil and climate preclude the 

 possibility of settlement, while the trees are generally too 

 small or too difficult of access to be of much economic value 

 from the timber-getter's point of view. This favourable state 

 of things obtains in all high altitudes, but especially in the 

 mountain districts of the south and west ; and here it is satis- 

 factory to think that Nature will manage to hold her own, and 

 that the bush will remain in perpetuity to form the appro- 

 priate setting of the wild and romantic scenery. 



(3.) Scattered throughout the two Islands are numerous 

 portions of country where the contending forces are pretty 

 equally balanced — the cattle and the fire doing a considerable 

 amount of damage, while Nature displays a marvellous power 

 of resistance and recupei'ation. This class of country occurs 

 principally in hilly and broken districts of moderate elevation, 

 where the soil is of too poor a quality to take grass readily. It 

 is frequently of large extent, and often abounds in scenery of 

 great variety and beauty. A general feature will be at once 

 remarked : that the bush is chiefly confined to the gullies, 

 while the sharp crests and rounded backs of the ranges are 

 covered with fern or scrub tea-tree. The reason of this is 

 obvious. The fires which swept over the dry and exposed 

 surfaces naturally died out when they reached the damp and 

 sheltered hollows. Occasionally extensive areas occur where 

 even the most exposed ranges still retain their virgin mantle. 

 This happens when some natural obstacle — as a river, a deep 

 ravine, or a rocky cliff — has prevented the flames from 

 getting a start on the block. Such wooded areas are not un- 

 common in localities where the soil is too poor and the surface 

 too broken to make farming a profitable undertaking, or where 

 the bushman has not yet made his appearance. Sooner or 

 later, however, a road or telegraph-line is cut through the 

 thick of the bush, or a settlement laid out in the vicinity, 

 when the balance is upset, and the whole aspect of things 

 rapidly alters ; as, once the fires find an entrance, they burn 

 year after year, gradually denuding the most exposed spots, 

 and continuing on until they are once more met by some 

 natural obstacle. A notable instance of this may be seen in 

 the case of the Puhipuhi State Forest, between Whangarei 

 and the Bay of Islands, a few years ago the most extensive 

 kauri bush in the country, and estimated to contain some 

 400,000,000 ft. of that valuable timber. From mistaken 



