the rays of son eannot penetratf. 'Ihiis 

 latter point is one of vital importance in 

 forestry. To gain the best results the 

 foil must be prorerly* protected against 

 loss of moisture by ovaporation, not only 

 for the purpose of conserving the water 

 but also to best permit those processes of 

 drcay to take place that rapidly decom- 

 pose the fallen leaves into humus or 

 vegetablesoil. OurEucaljpts and Acacias 

 are peculiarly ill-Ruited for this very 

 reason to produce the best foret results. 

 The erect or pendant leaves remain edge 

 on to the sun and aff ri a minimum of 

 shade, consequently in a pretty 

 dense Australian forest the sun 

 still penetrates through to the 

 soil drjing it up, and the scanty fol'age 

 that does fall is seldom turned to 

 humus at all. Ceitainly in manj parts 

 the soil is further protected by shrubs 

 -and herbs, but thejc are but a sorry 

 recompense for a true canopy. In most 

 parts in old countries it has been found 

 best to intermix rapid growing fir trees 

 with broad-leaved trees that shed their 

 foliage every winter. This in a loig 

 series of years yields the best returns, 

 but is hardly suitable for u% for two 

 reasons : We have aburidance of native 

 woods as useful «s the wocds produced 

 by these trees ; and the excessive time 

 they require to come to maturity— often 

 many generations. We require forests 

 supplying a class of wood for which we 

 have a great demand and that will yield 

 a harvest within the shortest reasonable 

 lime. This is only to be attained by 

 cultivating forests of pine trees. Such a 

 forest would probably commence to 

 return wood to t^e cultivator at 20 

 years. 



From then for the next 40 years or 

 more according to circumstances the 

 forest wculd yield a constant supply. If, 

 for example, our fathers about the out- 

 break of the gold diggings m Victoria 

 had consistently planted forest areas with 

 good species we should now not only be 

 supplying our own wants to the extent of 

 Dearly £18,000 per annum, but would 

 also be in a position to supply the whole 

 of the much greater demand ci Australia. 

 There have been two obj?c ions raised to 

 the policy of forest plantation in Tas- 

 maLia. come think thcugh our climate 



generally WGuld be favorable that the 

 prolonged droughts might militate against 

 the success. Experience shows this to 

 be quite erroneous. Becintly we went 

 through one of the severest tests and the 

 cultivated imported trees, though not 

 always growing in the most suitable 

 situations and never under the most 

 favorable conditions, came well through 

 it, so well that th«re would evidently be 

 no fear of the severest drought doing real 

 harm to forest plantations. But a much 

 graver danger exists from bush fires 

 end if copses were planted in and 

 abcut bush land, doubtless the 

 loss from this source would occasionally 

 be great. But it is not in bu<;h lands 

 where there is the greatest dem%ni for 

 forests ; they would yield their best 

 results in the more cultivated parts. If 

 a farmer planted a paddock of wheat in 

 close proximity to scrub land ha would 

 know quite well the danger he was run- 

 ning from firt But how many farmers 

 in Tasmania whan sowin3 grain tend t^ 

 desist from a fear of this danger. Like- 

 wise where forests would be most useful 

 interspersed in your widely-cleared and 

 open aiea, would they be running a great 

 risk of destruction ? Hardly more so 

 than a field of grain. But this subject 

 ef planting for timber prcdaction has 

 all the one great objection. In these 

 'days when land is not entailed the cost 

 of production comes out of the pocket of 

 the immediate possessor. But who will 

 reap the benefit P £ven if one is pretty 

 sure that t^is will fall to the lot of oaa's 

 children the harvest is too remote. 

 Though the care and attention of the 

 young plantation is slight, still it is work 

 without visible return. To calculate that 

 the trees we plant with much care and 

 expense to-day will return practically 

 nothing for twenty years, is quite 

 enout,h to depress the sympathy of any 

 practical man. But tortun&tely the 

 growth of forest areas is not productive 

 of timber alone; indeed, the growth of 

 timber may be left on one side as quite a 

 secondary consideration. The principal 

 interest to the people of Tasmania is that 

 forest areas are big conservers of water. 

 Q.he rainfall of Tasmania is not as small 

 as it is often supposed. Gur rainfall is 

 S'.mewhere ab.ut that of the eastern 



