Introduction 



BY THE 



MINISTER OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 



Not without some degree of diffidence, hardly of my own free will, do I 

 come forward as official sponsor for this work on Australian Pines. I feel 

 rather as one who would prefer, so to speak, to bring the authors before the 

 footlights, introduce them to the audience, make his bow, and retire. Nor is it 

 necessary to say much in recommending the work to public notice But having 

 put my hand to the pen, I wish to express my gratification at the eminently 

 satisfactory manner in which Messrs. Baker and Smith have carried out their 

 self-imposed and arduous task. 



Whether from a scientific or a commercial point of view, this work on 

 our Pines must be regarded as one of very great value. It is the first of its 

 kind. The authors have entered upon quite a new field of scientific investigation. 

 While they have proceeded on lines somewhat similar to their earlier work on 

 " Eucalypts and their Essential Oils," they have dealt more exhaustively with 

 individual species, treating, indeed, of the whole natural order of Coniferae. 



No such purpose had before this been attempted. As may be seen from 

 a perusal of the work, the Pines of Australia are a great national asset, whose 

 value to the Commonwealth has never been generally realised. Their distri- 

 bution over almost all parts of the continent opens up a vista of commercial 

 possibilities now for the first time brought into prominence. 



It can no longer be overlooked that the future supply of soft-woods 

 is becoming a source of concern in many parts of the world. Comparatively 

 little of our soft-woods, it is true, are exported, but the local demand is ever 

 on the increase, and is rising at an accelerated rate. To Australia any deficiency 

 in this respect would be a serious drawback to our national progress. 



Soft-woods are so absolutely necessary in all works of construction, in the 

 manufacture of pulp, and for general use, that a dearth would press on enterprise 

 with scarcely less severity than a drought. Such varieties of indigenous timber 

 as Hoop Pine, Bunya Bunya, Stringybark Pine, Huon Pine, and indeed all 

 rapid-growing trees, with their wide distribution, under an adequate system of 

 re-afforestation, might even enable Australia to become independent of outside 

 sources of supply and meet our own needs for all time. The timber popularly 



