FORESTS IN THEIR RELATION TO RAINFALL. 221 



Another says, 



" The number of persons who give the matter a second thought 

 is very small." 



I would ask, how many gentlemen in New South Wales 

 have ever critically supervised ringbarking on their hold- 

 ings? Is it not usually " So many acres to ringbark — so 

 much per acre? " Are important details connected with 

 the topography of the land dealt with, or in many cases, 

 even thought of ? 



Most thoughtful men are of opinion that additional 

 restrictions should be imposed on ringbarking on Crown 

 Lands. Mr. Inspector Forester Manton 1 speaks very clearly 

 as to the situation in the Murray River district. 



I do not oppose ringbarking ; it would be absurd to do so, 

 for the effect on the grasses is not open to question, and 

 trees are sometimes killed because they afford shelter for 

 vermin, but I am speaking of careless ringbarking. I 

 repeat, without any fear of effective contradiction, that 

 there is much room for more intelligent control of ring- 

 barking in regard to the following points : — 



1. Proper time to minimise suckering. 



2. Valuable timber and shade trees should not be 



unnecessarily sacrificed. 



3. The position of a tree with respect to the natural 



getaway of water in a particular paddock or 

 mountain side should be considered. 



III. The Vastness of Rainfall Conditions. 



The quotations that I give should need no comment from 



me, but I would draw attention to the point that, in 



Australia, to go no farther, the fact that the conditions 



for a fall of rain may originate in a distant part of our 



1 " Notes on Ringbarking and Sapping, based on Foresters* Reports," 

 Agric. Gazette, N.S.W., January 1894. 



