ON THE TIMBER SUPPLY OF AUSTRALIA. 121 



during the early rains some seeds on the surface. It is more 

 likely, and probably safer, to plough and harrow the land either 

 for sowing broadcast, or, better still, in well-prepared strips in 

 rows. It may be advisable to plant some kinds of trees in pits 

 after raising them in nursery-beds or pots, and to specially prepare 

 the soil in those parts by adding ashes or compost, or to cover the 

 surface by an inch of sand, ashes, chaff, or sawdust. In dry loca- 

 lities it may be preferable to have the tree planted in a hole a few 

 inches deeper than the surrounding soil, and not to fill the whole 

 of the soil into the pit back again. In Europe, forestry has in the 

 course of centuries become an art ; but the difference in climate 

 upon many of the kinds of trees to be raised, is such that experience 

 gained in Europe can only assist us in arriving at rational conclu- 

 sions, by which we must be guided. Even in South Australia our 

 foresters will have to follow different rules in north and south. 

 Much of the land in the south-east may be too cold and wet for a 

 great many varieties, but by raising strips of the land, 8 feet wide, 

 by the sod of other 8 feet, successful plantations can surely be made. 

 The dry soil of the north requires, again, the greatest care as to 

 shading, and watering from creeks, reservoirs, or wells, during the 

 first season. In the report for 1874 on the Dandenong Forest the 

 Secretary for Agriculture in Victoria says : " The renewal of the 

 consumed trees by the hand of Nature seems to be sure under 

 certain condition. The great fire of 1851 cleared large areas of 

 every kind of vegetation. These are now covered with a thick 

 growth of fine young trees from 80 to 100 feet high. The only 

 fault that can be found with Nature's handiwork in this case is the 

 fact of the young trees growing much too thickly to render it pro- 

 bable that, without thinning, trees such as preceded them will be 

 produced. Very different to this exuberant growth is the appear- 

 ance of those parts of the forest thinned by the hand of man. 

 Here seedlings do not, as a rule, take the place of the felled trees, 

 but the forest in these places is left open, with an appearance of 

 bareness. It is such places as these that suggest the expediency 

 of assisting Nature's efforts to renew the original tree-growth, or 

 to attempt improvement of the forest-production, by the substitu- 

 tion of improved species of trees. There are several spots in this 

 forest that require attention, and some that offer special facilities 

 for the experimental raising of the trees of other than the prevail- 

 ing species — the best species of Eucalyptus which is suited to 

 elevated volcanic regions, is, for instance, the Tasmanian bluegum. 



