Firth. — On Forest Culture. 191 



Thus cut down, the bag or pouch was tied round the waist. A spadefull of 

 seedlings was soon placed in each pouch, and each man took a furrow, putting 

 a seedling into the first hole in his furrow. Drawing the earth round the 

 seedling with his hands and then pressing the foot round the seedling the 

 operation was completed, and so on till the whole piece was planted. By this 

 mode six men made the holes and planted two acres each per day. 



Three years have elapsed since this piece was planted ; not more than five 

 per cent, of the seedlings have failed, all the rest have succeeded admirably. 

 The Pinus insignis shows most growth. Some of these had attained a height 

 of ten feet, and yet in the same land all the deciduous trees have failed. I 

 can only account for the vigorous growth of the Coniferce from the fact, well 

 known to geologists and naturalists, that the natural succession of plants is 

 first mosses, next ferns, and then Coniferce. It will be seen that I have not 

 adopted the usual plan of transplanting the seedlings for one or two successive 

 years into fresh beds, known as " establishing " the plants. Some nursery- 

 men after the first transplanting pass the spade under the young plants to cut 

 off the tap root. By this system the tap root is weakened and the surface 

 roots developed. This plan probably renders the transmission of the 

 " established " plants more easy, and may answer for trees planted merely in 

 shrubberies for ornament. But if the object be to plant a forest, no system 

 could be more fatal. The same remark applies to the treatment of native 

 seedlings obtained from our forests. Most of these have tap roots, and if 

 these are cut, broken, or cramped in pots, failure will be the necessary result. 

 All the Coniferce, and indeed most trees of large size, are provided with tap 

 roots to take deep and firm hold of the ground, to enable their lofty trunks of 

 from 100 to 200 feet high to resist the enormous pressure to which they are 

 exposed by heavy gales of wind. 



I have before stated my opinion, and I reiterate it here, that the forests in 

 this part of the colony for use in the immediate future — say after the next 

 thirty years — must be mainly of the Eucalypti and Coniferce families, as 

 representing hard and soft woods for general purposes. Information as to the 

 varieties of the Coniferce likely to succeed best in this colony being desirable, 

 I have prepared from various sources the following list, showing the native 

 habitat, heights and qualities of about fifty varieties. Nearly all of them 

 will, I think, succeed well throughout the colony, but most of them prefer a 

 sandy, loamy soil. As to the quality of their timber, I give that, as far as 

 possible, as found in their native habitat. Most of them will doubtless 

 undergo considerable alteration in this respect in this colony, the timber of 

 some being improved, of others deteriorated. 



