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such trees must be secured a suitable undergrowth which will 

 combiiie as a whole and produce a satisfactory protection forest. 

 This is^a problem which must be worked out experimentally at 

 some cost on a small but positive scale and brought to a satis- 

 factory conclusion before it is attempted very extensively. 



The chief enemy of the native forest today is the bullock, and 

 the sooner he is removed from and kept out of the forest, the 

 sooner will we receive in fuller measure the benefits to be 

 derived from a protection forest. 



Fire Danger. 



Fortunately we are usually blessed with such an abundance 

 of rain in our heavily forested regions that the menace of forest 

 fires is not as a rule very great. Occasionally after one of the 

 long droughts, which are not unknown here, the forest will dry 

 out to such an extent that the fire danger will be serious, and if a 

 fire does occur it w^ill do irreparable damage. 



The serious aspect of a forest fire in our woods is the fact 

 that the fire will travel underground through root channels or 

 in the dry dufi: and, reappearing again on the surface in the 

 form of a smouldering spark, will be fanned into flame, and will 

 again sweep over the surface. 



The only way to overcome this is to trench completely around 

 the burning area down to mineral soil. 



Fires not only damage or kill outright li\ing trees but prepare 

 the way for insect and fungus attack and for the introduction 

 of introduced and undesirable plants such as the staghorn fern. 



Cdmplete Protection Needed. 



For the production of an adequate and constant supply of 

 water from our native protection forests, we must therefore 

 give them the completest protection that is within our power. 

 This is particularly necessary on account of their peculiar sus- 

 ceptibility to injuries. 



This protection is absolutely necessary not only for the pres- 

 ent, when we occasionally feel the need of an adequate supply 

 of water, but will be much more so in the future when the islands 

 will be more thickly populated and water will be in still greater 

 demand. 



III. METHODS OF FOREST PROTECTION. 



Threefold Damage. 



Our mountain forest is threatened by many enemies and must 

 be protected against preventable damages. These may be grouped 

 together under three main heads: 1. Damage by Man. 2. Dam- 

 age by Fire. 3. Damage by Animals. 



