able to export to the United States an ever-increasing supply of 

 hardwood. 



Fuel wood of a low grade can be grown in Hawaii in five or 

 six years, but trees of this age have very little value. Trees 

 suitable for fence posts, railroad ties, and lumber, as well as for 

 the better grades of firewood, require a much longer period to 

 mature. Even the more rapid-growing species of eucalyptus 

 and ironwoods, although growing faster than most hardwoods, 

 require a number of years to reach a size which renders them 

 fit for use as timber trees. The mistake in the past has been 

 that trees were cut which were too young. Systematic tree 

 planting in Hawaii can not, therefore, begin too soon, for the 

 earlier the forests are established the less hardship will be ex- 

 perienced when the supply of timber becomes less abundant. 



In short, an increasing supply of inexpensive lumber is essen- 

 tial to the proper growth and development of the Hawaiian 

 Islands. The native forests are entirely inadequate both in ex- 

 tent and character to furnish this supply. The continental United 

 States is approaching a time when it will be no longer in a posi- 

 tion to export cheap lumber to Hawaii. The Islands can grow 

 their own lumber supply before the timber scarcity comes, pro- 

 vided immediate planting is done on a commercial scale. 



FOREST PLANTING IN HAWAII IN THE PAST. 



In the past, more or less sporadic tree planting was done in 

 the Hawaiian Islands, which at first was confined mainly to the 

 introduction of exotic fruit trees, such as mango, alligator pear, 

 and similar plants, but later included many valuable ornamental 

 and timber trees. The introduction of exotic plants received 

 especial impetus in 1881, as a result of a tour of the world by 

 King Kalakaua, who sent back to the islands seed and cuttings 

 of many important plants, some of which may now be found 

 growing on almost every island in the group. 



The early planting was largely without any system and was 

 purely for ornamental purposes. Little attempt has been made 

 to utilize the information obtained by this experimental planting, 

 and outside of the eucalypts, ironwood (Casuarina), acacias, silk 

 oak (Grevillea), and three or four other species, the introduced 

 trees occur singly, and are rarely seen in groves or forests. It 

 is not at all uncommon to find an old home surrounded by a 

 grove containing from twenty to sixty different kinds of trees. 

 Such planting, of course, is of little commercial value. 



What is probably the oldest systematic forest planting is found 



