1900. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



59 



Forestry in Western Australia. 



Like the United States, Australia has 

 come to realize the necessity for pre- 

 serving an area of forest land sufficient to 

 insure a large and permanent revenue to 

 the Government and to place its lumber 

 industry on a sure and lasting footing. So 

 far, no forest reserves have been created, 

 but steps in that direction have been taken. 

 Absolute reservation would probably have 

 come about before were it not for the fact 

 that the Government does not sell all of its 

 land ; some of it is merely leased. 



The "Crown Lands" of the British 

 Colonies correspond to our " Public 

 Lands," and in Western Australia the 

 Department of Woods and Forests decides 

 upon the acceptance or refusal of applica- 

 tions for the alienation of timbered areas. 

 A great deal of the land is unfit for agri- 

 culture, timber being the only crop pos- 

 sible on it. As the Government has not 

 set aside any of this land for its own use, 

 systematic forest management has not yet 

 been introduced. Instead of being per- 

 mitted to lie idle, however, this land is 

 leased in grants of not more than 75,000 

 acres, and for not more than 25 years. 

 These "timber leases" accord their own- 

 ers the exclusive right to cut the timber 

 upon the lands covered by them. About 

 a million acres are lumbered by such les- 

 sees, and 447,000 acres are operated under 

 what are known as " special timber con- 

 cessions." When the value of Australian 

 timbers for constructive purposes became 

 known, and an outside trade began to de- 

 velop, the English Government, with a view 

 to encouraging the growth of the industry, 

 granted certain timbered lands for terms of 

 years, at a nominal rent, with the sole 

 right to remove the timber from them. 

 The existence of these rights and privi- 

 leges at present gives their owners great 

 advantage over those taking up timber 

 areas to-day, because the areas are so much 

 greater and the rental so much lower than 

 those given now. Upon the expiration of 

 these special timber concessions, timber 

 leases will be issued in their stead. Justi- 



fication for the granting of the conces- 

 sions at that time is found in the fact that 

 it has led to the development of the lum- 

 ber resources of the country. 



The " Department of Woods and For- 

 ests," not having any Government forests 

 to manage as such, devotes itself to seeing 

 that the holders of the special timber con- 

 cessions and timber leases do not unfit the 

 forest for future wood production. Lessees 

 are required to limit their cuttings to trees 

 above certain diameters for each species. 

 Care must be taken to protect seedlings 

 and saplings. Licenses must be procured 

 by every one working in the woods. Saw- 

 mills of a specified capacity must be 

 erected and kept in good working order. 

 The cutting of piles and poles is allowed 

 only as necessarv thinning of the forest, 

 and an officer points out how this thinning 

 should be done. Failure to adhere to these 

 directions forfeits the lease. After the re- 

 moval of the mature timber the Govern- 

 ment takes possession of the land for con- 

 servation purposes. Persons appointed by 

 the Minister may go upon the portions of 

 a lease which are being lumbered for the 

 purpose of replanting them. No cultiva- 

 tion, other than gardens for the lessee or 

 his employees, is permitted. 



In " The Forests of Western Australia 

 and Their Development,'' Mr. J. Eclnie- 

 Brown, Conservator of Forests for that 

 colony, tells of the great growth in western 

 Australia's timber trade, and expresses the 

 hope that the matter of forest reservation 

 will be taken up immediately. He gives 

 a list of the principal members of the for- 

 est flora of the colony, with a descriptive 

 reference to each tree, showing its uses 

 and possibilities. Species of Eucalyptus 

 predominate, and three of the four most 

 important commercial trees belong to this 

 family. A large export trade in Sandal- 

 wood makes this small tree an important 

 factor in lumbering. Estimates of the 

 present and future value of the forests are 

 made, and they are very encouraging. 



The Jarrah {Eiicalyptns itiarginata} 



