s.x.11. Xew Zealand Institute. 



It appears, from the paper read by Mr. Justice Gillies before 

 the Auckland Institute, that the cork tree may be most successfully 

 cultivated in that district, and that each tree above the age of twenty- 

 five years may be calculated to produce on an average about 9s. 

 worth of cork every year ; whilst Mr. McArthur, speaking at Inver- 

 cargill, pointed out that in a few years the demand for railway sleepers 

 alone — not to mention the other purposes in the way of building, 

 carving, and fencing, for which timber is required — will exhaust the 

 supply of native wood, and that the difficulty should be met by plant- 

 ing quickly-growing trees, such as larch and fir, on a large scale, with- 

 out delay : in short, " planting here should follow the sawmillers, and 

 this cannot be done too soon." 



With regard to forest conservation as concerning the question of 

 climate, I may quote the words of Mr. Firth, who, in a paper read 

 before the Auckland Institute in 1874, remarks that : " Denudation 

 of timber produces barrenness of soil, increases insect life, creates 

 drought, diminishes rain, accelerates evaporation, causes floods and 

 untimely frosts, lessens the production of food, diminishes population, 

 and finally degrades a nation. The glory of many an ancient empire 

 departed with its forests. To-day Persia and Spain present sad but 

 warning spectacles of desolation and degradation, which, though 

 partially due to various causes, have been intensified by the destruc- 

 tion of their forests." 



The forms which the evils resulting from want of timber take differ, 

 of course, in different countries. In addition to the remarks made 

 by Mr. McArthur, Mr. Travers, in speaking before the Wellington 

 Philosophical Society, has pointed out that the destruction of the 

 forests in this country has already caused disastrous floods, and Dr. 

 Meldrum and Dr. Hutchinson have explained how similar causes are 

 bringing about similar results in Mauritius and the Sandwich Islands. 

 From all parts of the world the story is the same. I lately received 

 from the Secretary of State for the Colonies an interesting despatch 

 on the subject, with reference to a large part of Southern Europe. 

 Austria, Switzerland, and France have turned their attention to the 

 reforesting of the bare mountain slopes; but in many districts of 

 Italy the evil has gone on unchecked, and, in consequence of this, the 

 floods are higher, and the average flow of the rivers is lower, than it 

 used to be at the time when the mountains were clothed with timber and 

 vegetation. Last September the inundations in the Province of Venetia, 

 which were, no doubt, to a great extent brought about by this cause, 

 resulted in serious loss of life and wholesale destruction of property. 



I am glad to learn that this important subject has for some time 

 been under the consideration of the Government of New Zealand. 



