Lecoy. — The Forest Question in New Zealand. 13 



VII. — Management of State Forests in New Zealand actually 



PRACTICABLE. 



The methods generally adopted in Europe for the purpose of determining 

 the proportion of the annual fellings which forests can afford permanently, 

 involve lengthy and complex operations, having to be performed by a special 

 staff of trained forest officers. For that reason, among others, those methods 

 are not at present wholly apj)licable to the colony. Meanwhile, and until 

 the department be fully organized, a system of forest conservation not 

 particularly requiring high technical attainments on the part of foresters 

 on executive service, may be carried out with benefit. 



The fact that the supply derivable from our State forests, even under 

 technical rules, is for the present in excess of the demand, will allow, 

 generally, that the extent of the annual felhngs may be determined by the 

 quantity in actual demand. Therefore, the approximate quantity of the 

 demand being given, the forest officers will have to perform the following 

 operations : — 



(1.) To select and mark, on sections to be worked, trees to be reserved as 

 may be requked for the purpose of securing the natural regeneration of 

 the forest. (2.) To brand with a different mark all the standing timber 

 intended for sale, calculating at the same time the cubic volume of that 

 product, and proceeding thus so far as necessary to provide the requisite 

 quantity. (3.) To estimate the market value of the produce to be sold, 

 u]Jon which valuation upset prices will be determined. Official advertise- 

 ments of the auction sales specify the number, species, approximate yield 

 in cubic feet, and locality of the trees to be sold, also the special conditions 

 of the sale, but the money valuation is not made known to the public. 

 The foresters will then have to verify, supervise, and enforce the execution 

 of the by-laws and special conditions of the sales. 



It is not within the scope of this paper to enter into further details on 

 forest operations, the purport of those just mentioned beiug to show that 

 no extraordinary qualifications are required for foresters on executive 

 service, and that for practical purposes a sufficiently efficient staff may 

 be at once formed here, while forest schools would gradually fill up any 

 deficiencies in the service. 



The importance of the whole matter does not allow of half measures, 

 and the following tables, being the explanation of the previously stated 

 amount of the departmental expenditure, are intended to show the require- 

 ments of the forest service at the begmning : — 



