94 g0ME CAUSES OF THE DECAY OF AUSTRALIAN FORESTS. 
Discussion. 
Mr. Mitner Stepuen, F.G.8., expressed his general concur- 
rence in the opinions of the rev. gentleman, as to the causes of 
the decay of large areas of forest trees in the Australian Colonies, 
which he (Mr. M. 8.) had often observed in his travels, on circuit 
or otherwise, during the last fifty years. In his younger days he 
had for several years kept pet opossums, and had observed the 
great mass of young gum leaves they nightly consumed, making it 
sa 
terious effects of their standing often in water covering stiff clay, 
with the ravages of bush fires, and the tornadoes, which ne 
miles 
extent, seemed sufficient to account for the wholesale deotousseioas 
of trees, so } carefully noted and described by Mr. MacPherson 
He (Mr. M: 8.) remembered, some ten years ago, driving for about 
long, and as straight as any street in the world; all of the trees 
were inn igen dead, not by ringbarking but by some other 
cause. n also mentioned that the beautiful wattle-trees 
r. Russert, F.R.A.S., Government Astronomer, said, Tam 
sure all the members of the Society are with me in proposing a 
vote of thanks to the Rev. Peter MacPherson for the valuable paper 
he has read to us this evening. The subject is one of very great 
an to the Colony and should be fully investigated, for if 
_ our forestssare to die off in the wholesale manner which has been 
reported in some parts of this and the Bh, sn Colonies it 
will not $s: long before we shall have to go to great outlay in 
omen | new trees. Every effort therefore to trace the cause of 
death in these trees is a step in the right direction. Mr. MacPher- 
son tells us that he has practically confined his investigation to 
in] 
if ‘not entirely due to the ravages of opossums which have multi- 
plied rapidly as the black man man disappeared. ear 
