Peppeecorne. — On the Infiuence of Porests on CHmate and Rainfall. 31 



Enough has now been said to show the calamitous consequences of 

 denuding, a country of its woods and forests, and to show that writers of 

 repute, who have made this subject their special study, are unanimous in 

 connecting the occurrence of droughts and famines, the drying up of lakes 

 and rivers, together with the outbreak of certain malarious epidemics, with 

 the reckless destruction and waste of forests. 



We are, in Australia and New Zealand, much in the same position as 

 the inhabitants of India in this respect, and we are only beginning to feel 

 the effects of the wholesale destruction of our forests. In New Zealand 

 particularly, the forest question is a vital one, and the sooner it is grappled 

 with the better it will be for the colony, the question being one which will 

 so greatly influence its future prosperity, together with its commercial value 

 as a colony, its climate, and its salubrity. 



In a very interesting paper by Dr. Hector, showing the loercentage 

 of our forest land to the whole area of the colony, his estimate is, that 

 between the years 1830 and 1868 the destruction of forests was as follows: — 



In the Province of Auckland 

 Taranaki 

 Wellington 

 Hawke's Bay 

 Nelson . . 

 Canterbury 

 Marlborough 

 Westland 



58 per cent. 



10 „ 



20 „ 



60 „ 



16 „ 



10 „ 



12 „ 



5 ., 



12 „ 



Showing that the average destruction during these thirty-eight years was 

 about 25 per cent. During the five years from 1868 to 1873, it was esti- 

 mated that of what remained in 1868, the following was destroyed : — 



In the Province of Auckland 



,, Taranaki 



,, Wellington 



,, Hawke's Bay 



,, Nelson 



,, Marlborough 



,, Canterbury 



„ Westland 



,, Otago 



27 per cent. 

 11 „ 



25 „ 



30 ,, 



20 „ 



28 „ 

 33 „ 



21 „ 

 10 „ 



In other words, taking the whole colony, 20 per cent, of what forest 

 remained in 1868 had been destroyed during the five years ending in 1873 ! 

 It will be observed that in these estimates the Province of Hawke's Bay 

 stands pre-eminent in its "bad eminence" for destructiveness of forests, 

 which, if it continues in the same ratio, will leave it with very little, if any, 

 standing timber in the year 1899, or in twenty years hence. 



