FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



August 



an agent of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. The report of 

 Mr. William L. Hall, of the Bureau of 

 Forestry, who made the examination, is 

 now being printed as Bulletin No. 48, 

 ' ' The Forests of Hawaii. ' ' Both from 

 a scientific and practical standpoint, it 

 gives much information concerning these 

 Hawaiian forests and their uses. 



Only five of the eight islands are large 

 enough to be important in a forest study. 

 In these there are two distinct kinds of 

 forest one near sea-level in the drier 

 portions of the islands, the other in the 



2 feet and a height of 50 feet. From it 

 have sprung 50,000 acres of mesquite, 

 or, as there called, algaroba forests, 

 divided among the several islands. The 

 wood is chiefly valuable for fuel and 

 fence posts. The forests are exceed- 

 ingly important as furnishing a cover 

 for the soil and abundant food for stock. 

 The mesquite pods are eaten by cattle 

 in summer, as they fall to the ground 

 from the trees, and are gathered and fed 

 dry all through the year. Because of 

 these uses and the wonderful powers of 

 reproduction and extension which the 



UNDERGROWTH IN A MOUNTAIN COVE. 



regions of heavy rainfall on the moun- 

 tain slopes. They never blend or even 

 meet. The forest of the sea-level is 

 made up exclusively of mesquite, so 

 prevalent in the drier sections of the 

 southwestern part of the United States. 

 In the Hawaiian Islands, however, it 

 grows much denser, taller, and straighter 

 than in the States, having changed its 

 habit of growth in response to altered 

 conditions. It is not native, but was 

 introduced in 1837 by a seed planted in 

 Honolulu. The tree still stands in a 

 healthy condition, having a diameter of 



algaroba forests possess, they are a most 

 valuable asset of the islands. 



The native forests are those of the 

 mountain slopes, and are all essentially 

 of a tropical character. About three- 

 fourths of the native forests are com- 

 posed of lehua. This tree is found in 

 regions of heaviest rainfall, and under 

 best conditions attains a diameter of 4 

 feet and a height of 100 feet. Com- 

 mercially, except for fuel, the wood has 

 little value, for in drying -it checks and 

 warps badly. Its importance is as a 

 protective forest. Its stand is thin, but 



