JUNE, 1901, 



At an adjoTirned meeting of the Eoyal 

 Society of Tasmama on Tiiursday evening, 

 June 6th, the discussion on Mr. W. Heyn's 

 paper on "The present and futuie pros- 

 pects of timber in Tasmania/' was resum- 

 ed His tixcellency the Administrator 

 (Sir John Dodds, K.C.M.G.), preisiding. 

 TASilANIAN TIMBER. 

 (By A. 0. Greene). 

 •up the forestry question, now much ne- 

 glected. 



Mr. A. O. Green, of the Railway De- 

 pa;rtment, read an additional and able 

 paper on the subject, and brought to the 

 meeting 27 specimens of Tasmanian tim- 

 bers labelled with the common and scien- 

 tific names, weight per cubic foot, speci- 

 fic gravity, etc.; also some other speci- 

 mens of timber that had been in use up 

 to 70 years in the State. He said : — 

 The subject that has brought us 

 together this evening is one of 

 the very highest importance for Tas- 

 mania as a whole, and worthy of this so- 

 ciety, which has for its object the study 

 of the natural products of Tasmania to 

 the end that science in general, and the 

 good of Tasmania, may be advanced. 

 This country has been like England, and 

 manv other countries in the past, when 

 forests were looked on as a bar to progress, 

 and as stifling the energies of the inhabit- 

 ants of the country. It is a phase 

 through which all countries pass, or have 

 passed, where there is luxuriant vegeta- 

 tion. But all countries in time are forc- 

 ed to recognise the value of the timber 

 products which a beneficent nature forms 

 for us, from the atmosphere we breathe. 

 The first feeling of mankind about the 

 forest is that of being overwhelmed by 

 iti and trees are looked upon as encroach- 

 ers upon the domain of man. to be got 

 rid of at all costs. But in every country 

 of which we have records, as time has 

 passed, the forest has come to be looked 

 upon as an indispensahle adjunct to the 

 life of man in the country, in that it tem- 

 pers the wind and heat, moderates hail 

 and storm, conserves water against peri- 

 ods of drought, forms and prevents the 

 dispersal of that fertilising "humus," 

 without which soils become barren, and 

 when rightly used, is a prolific source of 

 revenue for all time. 



We are greatly indebted to Mr. Heyn 

 for his valuable -aper, in which he has 

 reminded us of the advantages that Na- 

 ture has given us, and in which he has 

 not feared to place before us the small 

 appreciation, in which they appear to 

 him as a visitor to be held iDy the inhabi- 

 tants generally. We can, I am sure, 

 quite feel for hira in his diffidence, after 

 so-short a sojourn, in speaking iipon a 



subject authoritatively, which so nearly 

 concerns us as Tasmauians; but I am 

 confident tnat every member of the Roy- 

 al Society of Tasmania will feel indebted 

 to Mr. Heyn for sinking his personal feel- 

 ings in this matter, and giving us his im- 

 pression of our great national asset, and 

 the manner in which it seems to him to 

 have been treated. 



With regard to the practical recom- 

 mendation that is before us, i.e., the es- 

 tablishment of a nursery of forest trees 

 with the view of encouraging planting 

 for the purjiose of shelter, water conser- 

 vation, beauty and profit, it is one that 

 eminently deserves the whole-hearted 

 support of this society, and I trust that 

 the proposition will be endorsed by us 

 with such unanimity that the hands of 

 the Governcient, and others interested, 

 may be strengthened to help forward the 

 project as it deserves. 



It is a matter which has, on several 

 occasions, been discussed in this room, 

 and I myself had the honour in 1893 of 

 reading a paper lapon the advantages of 

 planting coniferse, iving a list of suit- 

 able trees, and a light resume of what 

 has been done in other countries; also an- 

 other paper in 1894, more especially de- 

 voted to the economic preparation and 

 uses of our timbers, but incidentally bear- 

 ing on the subject in hand. 



x4.t the present time, in many parts of 

 the island, sand-blows, wind, the failure 

 of springs, and the impoverishment of 

 the soil, are compelling people to recog- 

 nise the beneficial influence of trees upou 

 a country. 



In some parts of the island, even now, 

 after our short occupation, timber has to 

 be brought from comparatively long 

 distances for striictural and other econo- 

 mic purposes. To those conversant- with 

 the subject it is painfully apparent that 

 in the near future most of our forests 

 within a working distance of railways 

 and centres of population will be render- 

 ed absolutely barren, as far as production 

 of timber is concerned. And this 

 period, I may say, taken with 

 regard to the unit of the life 

 of the nation, is so short as to be almost 

 the actual present. This is a matter 

 which intimately concerns every inhabit- 

 ant as weir as the Government; but un- 

 der our form of rule, the Government in 

 railways, bridges, and jetties is far and 

 away the largest consumer of timber, 

 therefore is more interested than any 

 individual in tne conservation of the 

 timber resources of the State; as one in- 

 stance there is every prospect that with- 

 in_a short period the sleepering of our 

 railways alone will become a question of 



