KAURI FOREST LEFT, 107 
those of fifteen years ago, while firewood is at famine prices at every 
large town in the Dominion. The timber industry, which was worth 
about a million a year to the Auckland District, was obviously doomed. 
It was the best rural industry, employing the greatest number of hands, 
but for some reason it did not exercise its influence, possibly because it 
was thought that a ‘‘backwoods’’ policy of forest destruction was 
inevitable. 
As the forest was pushed farther and farther away from the City of 
Auckland. where it was most wanted, its working and utilization became 
more costly. The timber was first given away at low prices, then at 
nominal prices, and then ceased to have any value. Finally came a time 
when, with the communications available, the forest was too inaccessible 
to work at any price. Thus it has come to pass that there is still a 
remnant left, and a remnant very precious to the country, at this time 
when it is saddled with the war expenditure; and there is the further 
advantage that the development of this forest fits post-war conditions of 
employment. The following figures show that the quantity of Kauri 
forest left is no negligible quantity, but the most prompt action is neces- 
sary to save it for the country. It must be remembered that, apart from 
certain special areas of extraordinary value (in wild forest) the culti- 
vated forest produces ordinarily, per acre per year, from five to ten or 
fifteen times as much timber as the wild forest, so that the demarcation 
and hberal redemption of the forest that is left should result in the 
complete restoration of the Kauri industry to what it was when it did 
so much for Auckland City and district. 
Quantity oF Kaurt TIMBER LEFT. 
In “‘ Forestry in New Zealand,’’ p. 12, 1909 (Lands Department), 
the mature Kauri timber left to the Dominion was set down thus :— 
In private forest 6 ... 276 million sup. ft. 
In Government forest AM A AS. *. 
Total cx. ... 486 
33 
The last Forestry Report of the Lands Department (March, 1917) 
stated that Kauri is being now cut at the rate of 52 million sup. ft. 
vearly: at which rate the Kauri forests will be finished in seven years. 
In Auckland I had an estimate this year of the total quantity left 
in Government forest as approaching 300 million sup. ft. The Waita- 
kerei purchase may partly account for this more favourable position. 
From further inquiries that I have now made, and from an estimate 
that Mr. Kavanagh has been good enough to check, it seems that the 
total quantity of Government Kauri timber now left is something like 
the following :— 

Waipoua Forest ... aa ... 80 million sup. ft. 
Warawara a os a 6 60 a 
Puketi ... act’ a -. LQ0 be 
Waitakerei, &c. ... °F eo rene “ 
Total 548  2EO 
These figures will be taken for what they are worth. Their value is 
chiefly as a rough indication of the quantity of demarcatable Kauri forest 
left. A recent return (October, 1918) makes the total about 200 million 
sup. ft. . 
