ii4 Hardy, The Forests of Victoria. [voKXXXii 



that he has a share in the forest wealth no less than in any 

 dividend-paying company in which he holds scrip, and will 

 know not only his right but also his duty to make the authorities 

 aware of the commission of offences, deliberate or inadvertent, 

 which come to his knowledge, in doing which he would be pro- 

 tecting his own share. 



VI. — Forest Industries. 



This is not the place for statistical records, which may be. 

 found in the reports of the Department, available on applica- 

 tion, but members may be surprised at some of the quantities 

 to which I am about to refer. Briefly, the principal industries 

 are as follows : — 



Sawmilling (exclusively hardwoods). — Red Gum on the river 

 flats and on the Western plains, Mountain Ash, Messmate, 

 Stringybark, and less Spotted Gum and Blue Gum, in the 

 mountain forest reserves. The Red Gum is chiefly in demand 

 for paving-blocks and railway sleepers ; the other hardwoods 

 are used in harbour works, sleepers, house construction, bridge 

 decking, fencing, and furniture. During a recent year 64^ 

 million super, feet were sawn, value about £322,000 ; 3} million 

 super, feet of Red Gum alone was cut by the mills of the Murray 

 and Goulburn River areas. 



Paling splitting is an industry that goes, preferably (from 

 the State point of view), hand in hand with the sawmilling, 

 in order that trees unfit for the saw through being " pithed " 

 can be used for palings. Paling splitting is almost confined 

 to the south-eastern portion of the State — e.g., Toolangi, 

 Warburton, Xeerim. In one year (1913-14) the total reached 

 1 \ million broad palings, which, placed end to end, would 

 reach from Melbourne to beyond Brisbane. 1 1 u largest 

 paling tree known was a Xeerim giant, a fine example <>l 

 Eucalyptus regnans, which yielded over 10,000. Forest trees 

 are also split for fencing timber, many species, including such 

 white gum- as the Manna Gum, being suitable for rails but not 

 for posts, while other speeies yielding good post linibei are not 



so readily available for rails, and are hewn into railway sleep 1 

 Many damaged trees rejected by the mills are utilized by 

 splitters and hewers. The fence posts and rails cu1 during the 

 past year would, end to end, reach for 150 miles. The raUwa} 

 sleepers hewn amounted to ;vi,ooo, or about 400 miles lineal 

 measurement. One tree, .1 River Red Gum, recorded by Mr. 

 H. Mackay, I onservatoi ol Forests, yielded 161 sleep 

 The chemical industries are principally those oi Messrs. 



• liming, Smith and I 0., at W'ai bnrlon. and the eucalyptus oil 



extraction that is scattered ovei several districts. At the 

 Warburton chemical works, timbei (Mountain Ash) rejected by 



