58 HE PUHIPUNI KAURI FOREST. 
mated (p. 98) at a vearly average of er? fe. 8d. gross (Lor timber, 
“oum,’’ fungus, and all forest produce), or £10 16s. net. This 
is arrived at by taking Kauri royalty at 16s. 8d. per 100 ft. sup. qug. 
(2s. per cubic foot*)—a fairly high figure, but a figure which It 1s 
believed Kauri will ultimately reach, since in the coming timber scarcity 
it is precisely timbers of the durable softwood class which will become 
most valuable—timbers such as Teak, Kauri, Cedar, and Mahogany. 
(This point is discussed at p. 105, but it may be mentioned here that 
16s. 8d. per 100 ft. sup. has already been realized for Cedar in Queens- 
land and for Stinkweod in South Africa.) Those who prefer to do so 
can estimate the future Kauri royalty at half this, and the revenue from 
the Kauri forest will still be high—viz., £7 17s. 8d, gross and £5 16s. 
net. (‘' Balance Statement.’’ p. 98.) The lower figure is about the 
highest revenue from the most profitable of cultivated forests in Europe; 
but it must be remembered that such forests yield timber of a lower 
grade than Kauri—viz., perishable softwood—and that they are open 
to the competition of other forests at no great distance away. This is 
not the case in New Zealand. Whether the Kauri royalty be taken at 
ls. or at 2s. the cubic foot—which are about the extreme limits—the 
revenue from a good Kauri forest such as Pulipuhi would be higher 
than that from all farm lands on such soil, 
FAILURE OF PLANTING AT PUHIPURTI. 
On what is described as the worst of the soil (1,200 acres being 
reserved for this purpose) unsuccessful attempts have been made to 
replant the Puhipuhi Forest, both with native trees and introduced 
trees. Mr, Matthews reported (Lands Department Report, 1903) ‘‘ pro- 
posals for planting have been made to my superior officers.”’ Some 
400 acres of Totara—half a million trees (Forestry Commission, p. 12)— 
were planted. The Totara did not grow as it does in its native forest— 
in fact, it hardly grew at all: much of it died as it stood. It was 
then abandoned, and later shared the fate of the rest of the plantation 
in being burnt. 
The failure of this one attempt to replant the native trees on any 
large scale was unfortunate, Totara is one of the native trees that 
best stands planting in the open. Any one of these four reasons would 
have been sufficient to account for the failure of the planting of the 
Totara trees here: (1) The destruction of the forest soil ; (2) the planting 
of a shade-bearing tree in the open; (5) the exposed situation ; (4) the 
rank growth of fern not combated with adequate mulching. The Totara 
might have stood one or even two of them: four was a good deal to 
ask of it. The failure was nearly complete, and fire finished it. 
Similar attempts to plant the native trees in plantations have failed 
both in New Zealand and South Africa. But though these trees may 
fail when planted in the open, they can be preserved and multiplied 

SS Ee ee 
* ote 
Bers In this report, where I have had constantly to refer to both the short-measure 
ritish cubie foot used in New Zealand and the real cubic foot, it seemed best to write 
them differently, thus :— . 
A true cubic foot .. i, ts is ce. ft 
The British quarter-girth or short - measure cubie foot 
i, unfortunately used in New Zealand ( Pell. en , 
Superficial or board feet measuring 12 in. by 12 in, by lin, 
c. ft. q.g. 
eens ¥ sup. ft. 
n New Zealand the millers’ unit is 100 superficial feet — 81 cubic feet 
In America the millers’ unit is 1,000 superficial feet = aad enbic feet. 
