Division of Forestry. 



Report of the Superintendent of Forestry. 



Honolulu, Hawaii, December 31, 1912. 



The Board of Commissioners of 

 Agriculture and Forestry, 

 Honolulu, Hawaii. 



GENTLEMEN : I have the honor to submit as follows the re- 

 port of the Division of Forestry for the calendar years 1911 and 

 1912. 



THE REASON FOR PRACTICING FORESTRY IN HAWAII. 



"Save the forests Store the floods." To the people of Hawaii 

 this .notto of the National Irrigation Congress voices an impera- 

 tive demand. Vitally important in the Western States, the con- 

 servation of water is also, and perhaps even in greater measure, 

 required for this Territory. Water is a fundamental need every- 

 where. In Hawaii the foundations of the whole economic struc- 

 ture of the Territory rest on its wise and right use. Everything 

 that tends to perpetuate or increase the local supply of water is 

 of interest and moment. 



One of the chief factors in maintaing an assured water supply 

 is the forest. It needs no argument to prove this. The truth of 

 the statement is self evident. But because this is so, the practice 

 of forestry in Hawaii becomes an economic necessity. The ob- 

 ject of this report is to sum up the reasons why the forest area 

 of Hawaii must be protected and increased, and briefly to outline 

 what has been accomplished during the past two years in this and 

 the kindred lines of forest work now being carried on under the 

 direction of the Territorial Government. 



The way in which the native Hawaiian forest exerts its influ- 

 ence on water supply has so often been pointed out that it ought 

 now pretty well to be understood. But with the added demands 

 that each year's development makes on the sources of supply, the 

 need becomes more apparent of husbanding this most important 

 of our natural resources. 



In Hawaii with its short, steep watersheds, the limited area of 

 its catchment basins and the great and sudden fluctuations in 

 rainfall, even in the supposedly wet districts, it is of paramount 

 importance that a cover of vegetation be permanently maintained 



