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coverings for our watersheds ; and that the only solution is to 

 replace the native flora by introducing new plants. 



Personally, I cannot take such a gloomy view of the situation 

 but feel confident that when given adequate protection from 

 further injury by man and beast, the native forest in most 

 regions will in large measure come back of itself, although it 

 may be advisable to supplement the process with introduced 

 species, carefully suited to the situation by adequate tests. 



On the mainland in the eastern states the chestnut blight has 

 within the past few years wiped out practically all of the chest- 

 nut trees. In the west it has been asserted that the dendroctonus 

 beetle does as much damage annually to the pine trees as do 

 forest fires, but other trees take their places and a satisfactory 

 forest is still there. 



To me it seems foolish to predict the extinction of the native 

 forest in such a brief space of time as 50 years. It is well known 

 that the flora of the islands as a whole contains a much larger 

 proportion of endemic plants than that of any other country 

 of the same size and that the richness in endemic species stands 

 in the same ratio as the age progression of the various islands 

 which is from east to west. The flora of Mauna Loa on the 

 newest land, which indeed is still in the process of formation, 

 is the poorest and most uniform, while Kauai, the oldest island 

 geologically, is not only the richest in species but also has them 

 on the whole more differentiated. 



Volcanic activity in the Waianae Range on Oahu according 

 to Doctor Sereno Bishop ceased at least 700,000 years ago and 

 from evidence of extinct Eocene fossils found in the elevated 

 coral reefs, this volcanic extinction probably occurred much 

 earlier, since the dawn of Eocene time is placed by geologists at 

 four million years ago. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, 

 that Kauai, which is older than Oahu, had forest growth on it 

 at least half a million years ago. If our native forest belongs to 

 a new-soil flora and is unsuccessfully trying to persist on old 

 soils, and soil conditions are changing so rapidly on Maui, for 

 example, that aside from injuries done by man and beast, in 50 

 years there will be no native forest left, it appears to be rather 

 remarkable that we still find any forest at all remaining on the 

 much older soils of Kauai. 



From evidence in the wet forest region of Molokai and other 

 places where the native growth has come back wonderfully as a 

 result of complete protection against stock, I believe that the 

 balance of native forests if given this complete protection will 

 continue to serve their purpose as water conservers for many 

 many years after we and our descendants have been forgotten. 



FOREST PROTECTION MUST BE SUPPLEMENTED. 



The problem of getting the native forest back to normal, how- 

 ever, is not simply a matter of protection against damage. It 



