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and  timber  which  it  can  be  made  to  produce,  and  if  it  is  managed 
in  accordance  with  the  dictates  of  practical  forestry,  successive 
crops  of  valuable  timber  can  be  obtained.”  “The  two  Hawaiian 
woods  of  commercial  importance  are  koa  and  ohia-lehua,  both 
heavy  close-grained  hard  woods.  Koa  is  used  for  interior  finish, 
furniture,  cabinet  work  and  veneer,  and  ohia  is  valuable  for  rail- 
road ties.” 
The  typical  and  water-bearing  Hawaiian  forest,  far  and  away 
the  most  important,  consists  as  in  the  old  times  of  a dense  jungle 
of  trees,  high  growing  shrubs,  tree  ferns  and  climbers,  with  much 
undergrowth  and  a heavy  ground  cover  of  ferns  and  bracken. 
Altogether  it  is  a plant  community  admirably  adapted  for  the 
conservation  of  moisture,  for  preventing  erosion  and  serving  as  a 
reservoir  to  feed  the  springs  and  streams  that  rise  within  its 
bounds.”  The  forest  in  all  the  reserves  is  of  this  type,  as  the 
most  important  product  of  these  reserves  is  water ; and  now  we 
come  to  the  practical  point  of  view,  the  relation  borne  by  the 
forests,  not  only  to  the  main  industry  of  the  Territory,  the  pro- 
duction of  sugar,  but  to  the  continued  welfare  of  the  country  and 
to  all  branches  of  agriculture,  Hawaii  being  essentially  an  agri- 
cultural country  largely  dependent  on  irrigation.  Our  great 
problem  is  the  conservation  of  water,  that  it  may  not  immedi- 
ately escape  to  the  sea  in  freshets,  carrying  with  it  fertile  soil  in 
such  quantities  as  to  color  the  water  for  miles  about.  So  the 
preservation  and  extension  of  our  forests  are  obviously  prime 
necessities  as  bearing  the  most  intimate  relation  to  the  water 
supply.  To  quote  again:  “Over  half  of  the  fifty  odd  sugar 
plantations  could  not  be  carried  on  without  irrigation  and  of  the 
rest  many  use  large  quantities  of  water  annually  for  fluming  cane, 
for  power  development  and  for  other  economic  purposes.  To 
bring  water  out  from  the  moist  windward  districts  and  distribute 
it  for  use,  over  $15,000,000  have  been  expended,  wholly  by  pri- 
vate enterprise,  in  the  construction  of  ditches,  flumes  and  tun- 
nels. It  follows  naturally  that  where  the  demand  for  water  is  so 
great,  care  should  be  taken  to  protect  the  sources  of  supply.” 
“Throughout  Hawaii  are  large  areas  potentially  rich  in  soil,  but 
semi-arid  in  character  and  needing  water  to  make  them  produc- 
tive, so  the  primary  value  of  the  forests  is  the  development  of 
these  lands.  As  it  is  easily  destroyed  by  cattle  or  men  it  is  neces- 
sary that  the  forest  cover  should  be  maintained  strictly  intact,  and 
therefore  fresh  reserves  have  been  created.”  Governor  Frear  has 
said  that  “Congress  in  general  believes  in  helping  States  and 
Territories  that  help  themselves,  and  it  is  now  helping  us  in  many 
ways.” 
More  than  thirty  years  ago  steps  were  taken  by  the  Hawaiian 
legislature  for  the  preservation  and  extension  of  the  forests,  but 
not  until  some  five  years  ago,  under  Governor  Carter  was  a 
comprehensive  statute  passed  creating  an  effective  Board  of 
Agriculture  and  Forestry,  with  adequate  power.  We  are  now 
