INTBODUCTION. 



XXXV 



which is so predominant a feature. The majestic and silent forests of 'kauri' conifers and 

 'kahikatea' pines ; the compact tracts of 'rimu' and 'totara,' each possessing a distinctive beauty 

 of its own ; then the mixed trees in endless variety, many of them laden with luxuriant epiphytic 

 growths ; the semi-tropical richness of the underwood in its varying shades of green and brown, 

 with its ever-present glory of tree-ferns of every sort, and its endless tangle of ' kareao ' vine ; all 

 these are marked characteristics of the New Zealand bush. The red blaze of the 'rata' at 

 Christinas-time ; the never-ending coils of 'kiekie,' as it spreads from tree to tree, its long cutting 

 leaves hanging in graceful bunches and covering the boles of the trees with a waving mass of 

 vivid green; the garlands of 'pikiarero,' or star-like Clematis, hanging in festoons from the tops of 

 the lower trees; the trailing and clinging masses of 'tataramoa' and scented 'kohia'; the ever- 

 spreading carpet of ground ferns and mosses and other cryptogamic plants ; the climbing Convol- 

 vulus covering the shrubs on the outskirts of the forest as with a close-fitting mantle ; the groves 

 of lily-palms or "cabbage trees" in the open, and the stately 'nikau' in the shade of the gully; the 

 clumps of white-flowering Scoparium, and the far-reaching fields of Phormium tenax ; all these 

 are evidences of an endemic and interesting flora, flourishing under the best climatic conditions. 

 Such indeed is the native " ngaherehere " — a sylvan medley of matchless beauty, the colours 

 blended by Nature's master-hand, and presenting a harmonious whole of which the eye never 

 tires ! 



The luxuriance of the vegetation in the virgin forest, all untouched by the hand of man— as 

 seen most favourably when a newly-cut road opens up the forest — baffles description. But all 

 this natural beauty is passing away ! The woodman's axe and the settler's fire-stick are doing 

 their rapid work of destruction, and a few days will generally suffice to reduce to ashes what 

 has perhaps taken centuries to bring to this state of perfection. This reckless destruc- 

 tion has been carried on wholesale in the past, no less than one hundred thousand acres of 

 bush, in one district alone, having been, within my own knowledge, swept clean in a single 

 season. 



It will be seen from what I have already advanced that the natural beauty of our forests 

 invests them with a sentimental value which ought to count for much in estimating the assets of 

 the country. But, quite apart from this, the native forests have an economic value that cannot 

 well be over-rated. No one would wish to see the profitable settlement of the country arrested ; 

 and the first condition of this, of course, is that the land be cleared. What is objected to 

 is the wholesale and indiscriminate destruction. And here it is that the protective hand of the 

 Government has of late years asserted itself, securing for the Crown suitable and inalienable 

 reserves where required for scenic or economic purposes. 



Sir John Lubbock (now Lord Avebury) writes, in his 'Beauties of Nature' (page 183) : " The 

 reckless and wanton destruction of forests has ruined some of the richest countries on earth. 

 Syria and Asia Minor, Palestine and the north of Africa, were once far more populous than they 

 are at present. They were lands ' flowing with milk and honey,' according to the picturesque 

 language of the Bible, but are now in many places reduced to dust and ashes. Why is there 

 this melancholy change ? Why have deserts replaced cities ? It is mainly owing to the ruthless 

 destruction of the trees which has involved that of nations. Even nearer home a similar 

 process may be witnessed. Two French departments — the Hautes and Basses-Alpes — are being 

 gradually reduced to ruin by the destruction of the forests. Cultivation is diminishing, vineyards 

 are being washed away, the towns are threatened, the population is dwindling, and unless 

 something is done the country will be reduced to a desert ; until, when it has been released 

 from the destructive presence of man, Nature reproduces a covering of vegetable soil, restores 

 the vegetation, creates the forests anew, and once again fits these regions for the habitation of 

 man. In another part of France we have an illustration of the opposite process. The region of 



