WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 



131 



the reservation, provided he gives notice to Parliament 30 

 days beforehand. It appears that the forest lands are leased 

 by auction for a term of 21 years. There are a Conservator 

 and six Foresters. 



Western Australia has 20,400,000 acres of timber lands 

 and more than four times as much jungle covered with small 

 trees and scrub. The most important timber trees, the areas 

 over which they occur and the quantity of timber standing on 

 them are shown in the subjoined statement : — 



Commercial Timber standing in the West-Australian Forests. 



This represents si.x; yeare' imports of all kinds of timber into the United 

 Kinijdom. 



Jarrah reaches a maximum height of 120 feet, karri 

 200 feet and tuart 150 feet. There is also a good deal of 

 sandal wood found in Western Australia which is a consider- 

 able item of export. Jarrah and karri, with the New Zealand 

 kauri pine, are probably the most important timber trees of 

 Australasia. A considerable trade in them has sprung up, 

 and it seems to be the paramount duty of Western Australia to 

 husband its resources. Trade is all very w^ell, but to 

 squander away State property for the benefit of a limited 

 number of individuals or companies is a mistaken policy. At 

 any rate, measures should be taken, so that a reasonable pro- 

 portion of the value of the material finds its way into the 

 exchequer. From the data given in the above statement it is 

 evident that the mature material now standing in these forests 

 is anything but ine.xhaustible. It is, therefore, interesting to 



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