1 Fez., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 155 
against bush fires and falling trees. There are many other trees in the scrubs 
which might well be the objects of care as well as the soft woods; such are 
crow’s ash, tulip-wood, lignum vitw, rosewood, brigalow, penda, all of value to 
the cabinet-maker, shipbuilder, and carpenter. 
The planting out of these nurselings is not a matter of excessive expendi- 
ture, considering the value of the work to future generations; and although 
posterity can do nothing for us but bless our foresight, it is our bounden duty 
to do something for posterity. Where would England’s supply of the “ brave 
old oak’’ have been, when wooden ships were in vogue, had it not been for the 
old stringent forest laws? Iam not at all clear that the first William was so 
very much in the wrong when he created the New Forest (although it may not 
have been a forest in the present acceptation of the term). He may have 
interfered with local interests to a certain extent, but, at all events, he gave to 
posterity an area of ninety miles in circumference ivr forest purposes. 
It is not my province to suggest how State forests should be managed. 
That part of the subject has been ably set forth in the reports of the Under 
Secretary for Agriculture, and in those of experts in forest conservancy. 
There remains, however, one phase of this important timber question which 
may be considered. I refer to the export of Queensland timbers, and 
articularly to the export of cedar. As already stated, our Northern scrubs 
fave been and are still being denuded of cedar for the exclusive benefit of the 
southern colonies. Millions of feet of this class of timber have been and are 
being exported from the Northern rivers to Sydney and Melbourne. All that 
Queensland gains by this export trade is the price of the timber-getter’s 
licenses, and the port and harbour dues of the vessels employed in it. For the 
rest, the log is admitted duty free into the southern colonies, whilst in some of 
them an import duty is imposed on sawn timber and joinery. Thus, the 
capital of the colony is being drained away without any quid pro quo. 
There are still large areas covered with cedar, beech, and pine which have 
not yet been touched, owing to their distance from port ; and, again, there are 
thousands of feet of cedar lying heaped up on the roadsides in the Cairns 
district awaiting either sale, transport, or a bush fire. 
During 1879 the quantities and value of cedar and pine exported from the 
colony were :— 
Feet. Value. 
Cedar ... oy .. 4,581,841 wo eel 
Pine... ee, ... 98,997,704 si! 23,421 
Total 1 a £63,562* - 
The inference from this is that Queensland, by a judicious attention to the 
conservation and reproduction’ of her forests, conld in that year have drawn 
£63,562 per annum from the southern colonies in payment of timber which 
would be constantly ready for market, provided attention were paid to forestry. 
What is the cost of planting an acre of cedar or pine? My experience 
is that it can be done for £5, exclusive of the raising of seedling trees. 
In our serubs, there is little danger of the young trees being damaged 
even by wallabies; hence the only fencing required would be one to safeguard 
the trees from wandering cattle, and even that would not be required in most 
scrubs. The young trees would require a little attention to ensure straight 
branchless butts during the early stages of their growth. If no trees were 
allowed to be cut for fifty years, the interest on £5 would amount to £25 in 
that time. Thus an acre of cedar-trees would have cost £30, plus the cost of 
caretaking for about two years, say £100. 
The number of trees per acre at 20 feet apart would be 108. Now, say 
that each of these trees attained a diameter of 2 feet in fifty years, the 
uantity of timber contained in 108 trees would be 178,960 superficial feet. 
he cash value at present of cedar is about £1 per 100 feet, including cost of 
cutting ; £1,789 would thus be the value of an acre of cedar-trees. 
* Compare Exports of Timber for 1895-1896, page 156, 
