judgment on the wisdom or shortcomings of their ancestors 

 here at a time, when the want of foresight may fall 

 most crushingly on the vitality or progress of many an 

 industry or even the whole prosperity of the colony, or when 

 otherwise the early operations of thoughtful local residents 

 will prove to posterity an incalculable benefit. It will then 

 become apparent, whether the present colonists have done 

 their duty to their descendants, and have been faithful to the 

 future interests of their adopted country; or whether they 

 sunk all their ideas and efforts in temporary gain, regardless of 

 all consequences. Each forest district, thus guarded by local 

 administrators, will be able to produce a far larger income 

 than now is raised from any of our wood areas ; while the 

 removal of timber will be brought within more reasonable 

 bounds, and the wants of the future no longer be disregarded. 

 Means of disposal of the wood, different to the regulations 

 now in force, would be adopted, to save, in places much 

 denuded already of wood, the rest of the timber from com- 

 plete destruction. Thus, for instance, trees might be sold by 

 numbers, at certain sizes, with saving of the youthful trees ; or 

 the wood might be removed by the square mile, with a view 

 of replanting. The reckless ringing of trees (merely to obtain 

 a little more grass) and stripping of bark would be brought 

 within stringent laws, and many other losses be obviated. 



A gentleman at Hillesley counts, as late as this very month, 

 five splendid trees on an acre, cut down by the splitters, while 

 only about one-tenth of the wood is used; nine-tenths being 

 left to be swept away sooner or later by bush-fires. This im- 

 providence goes on within a few hours' drive from Melbourne. 

 The stately sea-coast banksias (Banksia integrifolia), so rare 

 near Melbourne, and hardly occurring further westward, have 

 been nearly exterminated within this month, as near to us as 

 Brighton. On all this, local forest surveillance can form far 

 the best opinion. Each board should have its cultivator, who, 

 simultaneously, could perform the duties of forest ranger. A 

 few unprovided orphan boys might be occupied in the simple 

 nursery or planting work for the forests. The officer en- 

 trusted with forest duties on behalf of the Government, might 

 aid, by frequent visits to each forest district, the various 

 boards with much advice. The expenditure for such an organi- 

 sation in each instance would be most moderate, would be pro- 

 ductive already of early remunerative gain, and cause large and 

 immediate savings. No statesman, I feel assured, would wish 

 to impoverish our woods at the expense of the next genera* 



