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are short, the slopes, steep; there are few permanent springs; it 
is the forests that must be relied on to hold the water for the 
steady supply of the streams. The relation between the forests 
above and the near-by arable plains or gentle slopes below in 
respect of water supply is too obvious to be disputed. Before the 
possibilities and needs of irrigation became apparent, much wast- 
ing of the forests by cutting and through destruction by live stock 
was permitted, with most disastrous results, as it now appears. 
Accordingly, more than thirty years ago, steps were taken by 
legislation for the preservation and extension of the forests, but 
not until five years ago was a comprehensive statute passed 
creating an effective board of agriculture and forestry with ade- 
quate powers. Since then 444,000 acres have been set aside by 16 
proclamations of the Governor on the recommendation of the 
Board as forest reservations, of which 61 per cent, is Govern- 
ment land, and within the next few years this area is expected 
to be extended to about 750,000 acres, or about 80 per cent, of the 
total forest area, of which about 70 per cent, will be Government 
land. Government and private lands are sandwiched in with each 
other and it is of the greatest importance that the Government and 
private owners cooperate with each other in this matter. For- 
tunately the need is so obvious and the methods of procedure 
have been of so friendly a nature that practically no difficulty has 
been experienced in obtaining the active cooperation of the private 
owners in the setting aside and fencing of reservations and the 
keeping out of live-stock. In addition to this nearly one-fourth of 
the sugar corporations besides many ranchmen and others, are 
actively engaged in tree planting. Only a comparatively small 
percentage of forest area or area available for forest on the main- 
land is in Government ownership. If forestry is to be carried to 
the extent desired it is essential that private owners be induced to 
cooperate with the Government or else that private lands be con- 
demned for forest purposes. The principal means of bringing 
about cooperation would seem to be education — a means which 
this conference will largely serve to effect and which is already 
being effected through many other channels. 
It is not alone to the question of irrigation in connection with 
the sugar industry that science has been called upon to contribute. 
It has been called upon to contribute equally in almost every phase 
of that industry — in methods of manufacture and cultivation, fer- 
tilization, chemistry, entomology, plant pathology and physiology. 
More than $2,000,000 is expended annually in the purchase of 
fertilizers, besides which large quantities not purchased are used. 
The cost for this item alone averages $4.55 per ton of sugar or 
$22.20 per acre per crop. The planters maintain an experiment 
station with a large corps of scientists, covering nearly every 
department of the industry, at an expense greater than that of any 
experiment station, public or private, on the mainland, with pos- 
sibly one or two exceptions. 
