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repaired and 150 trees planted along the fence by a laborer from the 

 Mikilua nursery. 



Repairs being made to the boundary fence in the Koolau Forest Re- 

 serve, Maui, back of the Nahiku homesteads, ^hich virtually constitutes 

 a new fence, amounted to 3,200 feet up to the end of April with 4,365 

 feet yet to receive attention. 



Before being called away from Maui, Ranger Ellis had completed 

 2,664 feet of new fence on the upper boundary of the Kula Reserve. 

 There remain 1,000 feet of wire fence and 675 feet of stone wall to be 

 built before the gap between Kanahau and Kalepeamoa is closed up. 



Ranger Mackenzie on Hawaii reports having repaired 5,993 feet of 

 fence on in Section C, and 12,018 feet of fence in Section A of the Olaa 

 Forest Park Reserve during March, not previously reported, and 11,770 

 feet of fence in Section A of the same reserve during April. 



HAWAII TRIP. 



During a visit to Hawaii made with President Atkinson on April 1-4, 

 an inspection was made of the nursery and tree plantings at Pahala, in 

 Kau and on the Kapapala Ranch in the same district Manager Monsarrat 

 pointed out three phenomena of interest. The most serious of these, 

 from the stockman's viewpoint, is the encroachment of the ohia lehua 

 trees by natural reproduction onto some of the best pasture lands of 

 the ranch. A young forest of these trees is coming up rapidly on several 

 hundred acres and forms such a dense cover that the land is ruined for 

 grazing. The curious circumstance of this invasion is the fact that 

 the forest is spreading out against the direction of the prevailing wind 

 so that dispersal of seed by wind can not account for the new forest. 

 This young reproduction which comes up through high Hilo grass appears 

 to have more or less definite age classes, corresponding to the years 

 when there have been excessive floods down the slope of Mauna Loa, 

 and this leads to the belief that the young forests have started from 

 seed of the ohia which has been washed down the mountain slopes from 

 the older trees in the forest reserve and which has received sufficient 

 sunlight for gemiination because of the rank grass being flattened to 

 the ground by the flood waters. 



The native poisonous shrub akia (Wikstroemia sandwicensis) is also 

 spreading at a noticeable rate on pasture lands along the main government 

 road near the old half-way house in Kau, The attractively colored seeds 

 are apparently being scattered by birds, but cattle know enough not to 

 eat the foliage of this plant which is extremely poisonovis. 



On other parts of the Kapapala Ranch Mr. Monsarrat pointed out areas 

 where Hilo grass, which used to be at least two feet high and cover the 

 ground with a solid mat, has died out entirely and been replaced by Paspa- 

 Ivm dilitatum the seed of which he has sowed. In this manner he has been 

 able to improve greatly many acres of land for grazing purposes. Speci- 

 mens of the dead Hilo grass were submitted to our consulting pathologistj' 

 who ascribes the welcome trouble to some root rot, probably Pythium 

 similar to the fungus disease which causes root rot in sugar cane. 



FOREST PROTECTION. 



During an inspection made of the Lualualei Forest Reserve on April 20, 

 a mile of forest was traversed from the Kolekole Pass trail toward Nana- 

 kuli along the talus slope at the foot of the cliffs. Here an impenetrable 

 jungle was encountered and traveling was most difficult owing to the very 

 hea\'y growth of lantana, guava, and cassia bushes, kakalaioa and morning 

 glory vines, and young growth of kukui and olopua. At one place mountain 

 apple and banana trees were found, indicating the presence of much 



