116 NATURAL REGENERATION. 
soil would deteriorate, and a too sudden exposure to full light, to sun, 
and to wind would harm the young trees. | 
As mentioned in ‘‘ Waipoua Kauri Forest,’’ in two places where the 
old trees have been removed there are enough voung Kauri trees on the 
ground to easily replace them—eight or ten young trees for each old 
tree cut. Where this usual way of producing natural regeneration fails, 
one or other of the means indicated below would be considered by the 
‘“*‘ working-plans *’ forest. officer. ‘ 
Discussing natural regeneration of Kauri in Auckland with those 
who have known the Kauri forest all their lives, the consensus of opinion 
is that natural regeneration is sufficient for practical purposes. I fee] 
sure that if those who hold the contrary view could visit the cultivated 
European forests under skilled guidance they too would be convinced, 
The visit must be under skilled guidance. I have known visitors who 
had been to forests where natural regeneration was nearly universal 
come back and ‘tell me they had seen all the forest operations from plant- 
ing to felling. What they had really seen was some little planting where 
natural regeneration had failed, or where there was some special provi- 
sion of the working-plan requiring it. 
Sal (Shorea robusta) is an important Indian forest-tree. Its natural 
regeneration, however, is not good enough to satisfy foresters, Now, 
what did the Indian Government do? It did not proceed to burn the 
forest, which is rather like hanging a man because he has got a sore 
throat. It made a scientific investigation of the matter, and the results 
of that investigation are recorded in ‘‘ Indian Forest Records,’’ vol. 5, 
part 4. (Government Printing Office, Caleutta; 1s. 7d.) 
Similar reasons, a too dense undergrowth, prevent abundant natural 
regeneration in most of the ‘‘ mixed forest’? of New Zealand. This 
subject will be discussed more fully in Part IT, 
MEASURES FOR AlpInG NaturaL REGENERATION. 
(1.) “* Nettorements *’ and Improvement Fellin qs. 
This is cutting or ring-barking trees of inferior species, and thus 
making the covert (shade) less dense for the better trees. It would include 
cutting Nikau-palms, Tree-ferns, and in places brushing. 
Beech is girdled in central Europe when there is no market for it, 
to prevent it dominating Oak. Girdling (ring-barking) heavy timber in 
Australia is done for 3s. or 4s. an acre. Ring-barking is not in fayour 
with the Marlborough (Waipoua) settlers, because the trees are apt to die 
too slowly, but in forestry where the object sought is to reduce the covert 
it will generally be sufficient to stunt the trees. New Zealand ring- 
barking should be more economical but less effective than that of Aus- 
tralian hardwoods, where the heartwood is usually dead matter, so that 
when the sapwood is cut through the tree dies. 
Nettovements is a French forest term for thinning out inferior species, 
though in the case of older trees it is included in ‘improvement fell- 
ings.’’ It is evident that there is much of this work to be done in the 
Kauri forests. In the course of discussions with Ranger Maxwell on the 
subject of Kauri reproduction I have explained nettoiements to him. His 
opinion is favourable as regards the practicability and usefulness of this 
work, but he has fears that it might lead to fire. That is a matter of 
organization (p, 145). With the forests organized as explained later I 
should not have much fear of fire. 
