FORESTRY. 515 
climate of Melbourne is much more equable than that of the Mediterra- 
nean shores. The lowest temperature yet recorded has been 279, or 
5° below the freezing point; the highest, 111° in the shade. At Land- 
hurst, 778 feet above the sea, the greatest extremes of temperature yet 
observed were 117° and 279.5. At Ballarat the extreme winter cold was 
10° below freezing. 
The amount of humidity in the air is liable to great and rapid varia- 
tions in the summer months. It is sometimes reduced as much as 60 
per cent. within a few hours by the effect of hot winds. But this is 
compensated by an increase of moisture upon a change of wind. The 
average annual rainfall-at Melbourne, which for thirty years is stated 
at 25.66 inches, does not seem less than that of places in similar latitudes 
in other parts of the world. Yet it proves inadequate, because of the 
great amount of evaporation, estimated by Professor Neumayer at 42 
inches. 
From the foregoing it is almost safe to assume that the climate of a 
large portion of our Southwestern and Pacific States is peculiarly well 
suited to the growth of the wattle. There seems to be hardly any doubt 
that vast stretches of land that are now destitute of trees might in a 
very few years be covered with a growth of timber, every particle of 
which, from the bark to the roots, would be most valuable. The lack 
of rain, which is the principal cause of the absence of timber on most of 
our prairies, would not. interfere with these hardy trees, and it has been 
demonstrated that the cost of planting them is almost nominal. Al- 
though it is not distinctly stated in the report of the board, it is evident 
that no fences are needed to. protect the young wattles from grazing 
stock. Assuming, therefore, that fences are not necessary, and that 
wattles may be grown on land actually in use for pastoral purposes, 
some of the items set down in the board’s estimate of the cost of plant- 
ing may be stricken out and others materially reduced. 
The tree arrives at maturity in ten years, and in half that period at- 
tains a growth sufficient to make it valuable for many useful purposes. 
In the treeless sections of our country, therefore, if wattles were grown, 
even if the bark could not be utilized on the spot, and the wood only 
could be used in the mechanical arts and as fuel, it would always pay 
to preserve the bark for exportation, as in England it is worth, accord- 
ing to quality, from £5 to £10 per ton. At points remote from seaports 
the tannin could readily be extracted and forwarded for shipment in a | 
concentrated form. 
FORESTRY OF THE WESTERN STATES AND TER 
| RITORIES. ‘ 
[The Commissioner of Agriculture is indebted to the courtesy of the 
War Department for the subjoined report on the forestry interests of 
some of the Western States and Territories. Believing that such infor- 
mation as could be furnished by the commanding oilicers stationed at 
these distant posts would not only prove of great value to persons seek- 
ing homes in the West, but would also contain information of much value 
to those interested in the production and preservation of forest trees, 
