128 PRACTICAL FORESTRY IN TASMANIA AND ELSEWHERE. 



where a system of forest couservation exists, the system 

 applies to all the State domairis ; but these countries are all 

 old settled ones, in which the State domains form but a com- 

 paratively small proportion of the area of the whole territory. 

 The woodlands of these domains are therefore only of such, 

 an extent as can be j^ractically dealt with. It would be folly 

 in Tasmania to do more than deal with a reasonable portion 

 of its woodlands. 



The first thing to be done is to determine what this pro- 

 portion shall be, and to select the sites of the reserves. In 

 making this selection, after taking care that land is not 

 taken that is better suited for other purposes, the most 

 important condition is position and accessibility ; then the 

 question of adaptability of the climate and soil of the locality 

 to the kind of timber proposed to be grown and conserved 

 must be considered. As the position of the reserves is thus 

 so important, no time should be lost in determining this 

 point, at least with regard to those in the more settled 

 parts of the country. I understand that of the 12,000,000 

 acres of still unalienated Crown land in the State^ 

 about 175,000 acres have been j^roclaimed as forest re- 

 serves. This area I think quite insufficient in extent for 

 future requirements, but it is still more inadequate when 

 the location of the reserves is considered. Not only 

 should there he large national reserves for industrial and 

 commercial purposes in accessible places, but there should 

 be smaller ones in the neighbourhood of all townships for 

 local requirements of all sorts. The advantage — not to 

 say the necessity — of doing this, seems to have been alto- 

 gether overlooked in Tasmania hitherto, with the result that in 

 such a simple matter as the supply of firewood the cost in many 

 places has doubled within the last dozen years — and the fire- 

 wood industry is an important one from the point of view of 

 the general population. In many places also — especially places 

 without railways — wood for constructional purposes has 

 greatly appreciated in value. In some other countries greater 

 prevision has been shown, particularly in France, where many 

 of the communes have woodlands that are managed for them 

 by the National Forest Department, with the result that in 

 some of them the revenue derived is suflBcient to pay for the 

 whole cost of local government without any recourse to rating 

 for either municipal or educational purposes. The provision 

 of all these necessary national and local reserves can now be 

 made with far less difficulty than in the future, and I would 

 strongly urge that it be at once made. 



There is no necessity for any further legislation to carry 

 out my recommendation thus far. As the Groimi Lands Guide 

 says, *'The Governor-in-Council may, by proclamation in the 



