52 J. H. MAIDEN, — 
favourable remarks, have placed their orders accordingly. The 
lesson to be learnt is that grave responsibility attaches to the man 
who, through imperfect information, praises the virtues of a tree. 
The tendency to speak in superlatives as to the excellencies of our 
native vegetation is growing, and should be restrained, as a man 
who is deceived by glowing accounts of our trees is apt to under- 
rate them when the reaction takes place. 
I think I am right in asserting that very few of our land- 
owners have cultivated any considerable number of trees for 
timber. In the northern hemisphere this practice is well estab- 
lished, and it is a matter well worthy of consideration, by many 
of our country people, to what extent the planting of trees will 
afford profitable employment for capital and land. 
c. Industry of Seed-collecting.—Most of the forest seeds collected 
in this colony are those of Eucalypts, trees difficult to discriminate. 
But that does not in any way justify collectors in supplying mixed 
seed, or seed with misleading names. I feel indignant as evidence 
is furnished to me of the carelessness of suppliers of indigenous 
seeds. If a man desires to learn the names of his seeds, dozens of 
botanists will help him without fee or reward. So that ignorance 
can be no man’s excuse in this matter, and a man who supplies 
named seed of whose origin he is ignorant or careless, is a delin- 
quent of a peculiarly despicable kind, one whose wickedness can 
only be found out after the lapse of years, when perhaps reason- 
able hopes have been blasted. I would like to see the purveyors 
of false seed subjected to the penalties of a draconian law. Human 
nature is much the same everywhere, and our people are not 
greater delinquents in this respect than are those of other lands, 
but I have personal experience in these matters when I say that 
the disastrous effects of the distribution of ill-named or bad seed 
are comparable, as regards agriculture, forestry, and horticulture, 
to droughts and pests. Planters of all kinds have quite’ enough 
‘discouragements of an unavoidable character without being 
saddled with others absolutely within human control, 
i a de Gc aa alec 
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