t)oBSON. — On the Reclamation of River Beds. lOS 



the best protective works that could be made. By no other system could 

 protective works be made a source of profit, and the money expended must 

 be considered as so much capital sunk, the yearly interest on which 

 represents the price the country pays for the privilege of occupying the 

 endangered land. 



The next qu.estion is that of cost, which can only be arrived at approxi- 

 mately, as no planting has ever been undertaken in New Zealand on such 

 a scale as that now proposed under similar conditions ; but, probably, £15 

 per acre would be sufficient, including the cost of fencing. At the end of ten 

 years the thinning-out should be worth at least £1 per acre (for fence stakes 

 and firing), clear of expenses for management and renewals ; and at the 

 end of twenty years, the timber would be large enough for posts and rails, 

 scaffold poles, and mining timber. 



Assuming that 40,000 acres could be easily utilized, the cost would be 

 approximately, as follows : — 40,000 acres, at £15 per acre, £600,000 ; to 

 this add, say, £100,000, for groins, wing-dams, etc.: making a total of 

 £700,000. 



For ten years the interest on this sum will be lost ; but, at the end of 

 that time, the returns should be at the rate of £1 per acre per annum, which 

 equals £40,000, or a trifle over 5^ per cent, on the £700,000, and the 

 profits would increase as the trees grew larger. 



The presence of the forests would, doubtless, exercise a very beneficial 

 influence upon the climate of the plains, checking the north-west winds and 

 inducing a greater rainfall. 



There are many difficulties at present in the way of carrying out such a 

 scheme as the foregoing, but not such as would offer any insurmountable 

 obstacle, if the matter was taken seriously in hand. 



It would be necessary to have one Board of Conservators for each river, 

 possessing full power to fence, take land, and carry out everything 

 necessary for the work. 



There has been a great deal of planting done in Europe during the last 

 fifty years, — the greatest achievement being the planting of 150,000 acres 

 in the south-west of France. The whole of this area was planted in twenty- 

 five years, at the end of which time a quantity of mining timber was being 

 exported to England, and factories were being erected for the manufacture 

 of paper and distillation of turpentine. 



By following such an example as this, we may reclaim our barren 

 shingle beds, control the rivers through a considerable portion of their 

 course, and lay the foundations of extensive and profitable local industries. 



