TOO 



Notes. ['''tj"- 



allowance for certain revocations, no less than 40,546 acres are 

 now reserved for this purpose. Some extracts from the report 

 of Mr. E. Phillips Turner, Inspector of Scenic Reserves, may be 

 of interest, many of them being applicable in our own State : — 

 " Noxious Weeds. — These get into the reserves through stock 

 being allowed access. In pure virgin bush probably none of 

 these pests could stand the altered environment, absence of sun- 

 light and dampness in particular ; but when the stock have 

 eaten and broken down the native undergrowth, the seeds of 

 noxious weeds that they carry on their hoofs and drop in their 

 dung find a situation where they can germinate and thrive. 

 Fires. — The greatest danger threatening our reserves is from 

 fire, and on this account no adjoining settler should be allowed 

 to cut down and burn off the usual one chain within the reserve 

 boundary. It is quite sufficient for fencing if four feet within 

 the boundary is cleared. When the usual chain is cleared it 

 has to be grassed, and afterwards stock have to be put on to 

 keep down the grass, with the certain result that (except an 

 inner fence be erected) they wander into and damage the bush 

 by eating out the undergrowth, and assist in the establishment 

 of noxious weeds. In Europe and America the preservation of 

 the forest on steep hills is not a mere ephemeral fad, but 

 scientific, and lay papers continue to show the really lively 

 interest that is taken in the subject. In this Dominion the 

 country dwellers are generally indifferent to or hostile to forest 

 preservation. If one points out to them what has been the 

 result of deforestation in other countries, one is considered a 

 faddist. The evil effects of deforestation in the back districts 

 have not yet been sufficiently serious to impress them." He 

 concludes by saying that the present Land Act encourages a 

 settler to clear all his holding. It would be well if it were 

 amended so that every future selector of second and third class 

 rural lands be compelled to leave in forest 10 per cent, of his 

 holding. He should not be charged any rental for the percentage 

 left, but should be called upon to fence it with a cattle-proof 

 fence. He could get his firewood and fencing material from the 

 preserved part. The best channel for disseminating a knowledge 

 and appreciation of the value of the preservation of forests is 

 the public school. The children are already given nature lessons, 

 and are encouraged to interest themselves in gardening, and I 

 think there might also be added a few simple lessons ex})laining 

 the value of the bush as a reservoir for the supply of water for 

 streams, its action in preventing or lessening floods, its climatic 

 influence, &c. — all most important questions, but not beyond 

 the mental capacity of a child of twelve." 



