296 



flowers may seemingly be taken at random from the rest of the 

 estate. At Sydney (Port Hacking) the trustees have reluctantly 

 been compelled to prohibit the taking of any wild flowers at 

 all, so much was the privilege of gathering a few of them abused. 

 I think we shall have to go, also, for total prohibition at Belair. 



In regard to native flora, I think Western Australia is most 

 to be commended, for I have already given you particulars of the 

 special reservations they have made for this purpose. No other 

 State seems so much alive to the necessity for protecting the 

 unique Australian flora, although Wilson's Promontory, Victoria, 

 is a valuable reserve for such purpose. 



1 do not find that in any of the parks of other States, except 

 our own, are foreign trees planted, with the exception that in 

 two or three recently formed avenues at the Port Hacking Park, 

 exotics have been utilized. In reply to my enquiry, I am in- 

 formed that the trees planted in these avenues include Tristanias, 

 Pines, Camphor, Laurels, and Oaks. At Belair, in the opinion 

 of some of our members, this planting of exotics is somewhat 

 over done. 



There is one aspect in which we may have cause to rejoice, 

 and that is that our National Park is vested in trustees, and 

 practically free, therefore, from Parliamentary interference. 

 The National Parks at Port Hacking and Kuring-gai Chase are 

 also vested in trustees, but these seem to be all, if we except an 

 area of 1,360 acres at Tower Hill, in Victoria, which is vested 

 in the Koroit Borough Council. 



FOREST RESERVES. 



On the subject of forests generally, I have already written 

 in the earlier portion of this paper, and it is gratifying to ob- 

 serve the increased attention which is now being given to this 

 question. In the month of October, 1909, the subject of affores- 

 tation was brought forward in the Legislative Council by the 

 Hon. E. Lucas in a forcible and suggestive speech, which was 

 commented on in the daily press, and on which leading articles 

 were written. The information was incidentally obtained that 

 this question was one of the planks in the Labour Party's plat- 

 form. 



Broadly speaking, the subject has two aspects, which may 

 be termed the climatic and the economic. The first appeals to 

 us from the effect of forests on the climate of a country, as well 

 as from a scenic or aesthetic point of view. The second re- 

 gards the trees rather from what they are worth in a commer- 

 cial sense, especially as regards their value simply as timber. 

 Of the latter we have ample attestation. Recently Mr. R. T. 

 Baker, of Sydney, gave two lectures in Adelaide in which he 

 afforded us some idea of the capabilities of Australian trees, 

 notably, the Eucalypts, for a great variety of purposes as well 

 as for various products such as turpentine, many oils, perfumes, 

 and essences. One extract — phelandrene — was said to be invaluable 

 in mining, while piperitone had been proved to be more valuable 

 even than eucalyptol. Reverting to their quality as timber, an 

 Adelaide resident just returned from America states that in Cali- 

 fornia the red gum is used for making the most beautiful fur- 

 niture, and much resembles the best mahogany. 



Mr. Baker pointed out how much esteemed were the Austra- 

 lian timbers by the Americans. In California, he said, they 



