c.—v.

84

[W H, FJELD

would, 1 feel sure, sell at a reasonable price. Each year it is being further eaten into by fires, and in a few years it will be hardly worth saving. Fencing and judicious planting of fire- and wind-resisting trees and shrubs on the edges would effectually prevent further inroads into this as into other forest-areas. The Paraparaumu Bird Reserve, which is the first bush reserve of any magnitude on the Manawatu line after leaving Wellington, the whole of the forest for a distance of forty miles having been ruthlessly destroyed, should be extended by the purchase of adjoining native forest. Though perhaps beside the subject, I would strongly urge more drastic measures to save our native birds. At the present season of the. year, when the koekoe is in bloom, the bush about Waikanae was at one time alive with tuis feeding on the koekoe flowers. Now there is hardly one to be seen. The pea-rifle is largely responsible for this. The native pigeons have met with a similar fate, and are now practically as extinct as the huia in the bush still remaining at Waikanae. I have myself preserved several areas of beautiful bush in the Waikanae district, and regret exceedingly that I did not save more. The preservation of bush is, however, an expensive matter for the private owner of limited means. The erection and maintenance of fences is costly, and it Is usually impossible to save reserves from the ravages of wind and fire unless the margins are suitably planted. Tn addition to these outlays, and the struggle against natural forces, there is the continual annoyance and discouragement resulting from marauders who, when in need of timber or saplings for rough sheds, yards, and other purposes, do not hesitate to help themselves from the nearest bush reserve belonging whether to the Crown or a private individual. A severe penalty ought to be provided by statute to meet such cases. As the owner of a considerable area of sand-dune country at Waikanae, with two miles and a half of sea frontage, I should like to say a word on this subject, though the valuable report of Dr. Cockayne, F.H.S., on " The Dune-areas of New Zealand " does not leave much to be said. The checking and planting of bare and wandering sand-dunes is certainly a subject in which tho State should be taking much-increased interest. The Crown should resume and treat with prison or other labour all areas which private owners are neglecting, and owners who, at great expense and often with signal failures, are striving to combat the evil should receive some encouragement in the shape of advice, and where possible a supply of suitable young trees for planting. The Crown should acquire a sand-dune area on the sea-coast, and conduct experiments for the benefit and guidance of all interested in this difficult subject. Personally I have spent considerable sums in checking and planting drifting sand, and, partly through dry, windy, and otherwise unfavourable seasons, and partly through lack of knowledge, much of the money spent has been wasted. The advice contained in Dr. Cockayne's report has, however, been a great help to me. I am convinced that the true apd permanent remedy for sand-drift is afforestation, which will furnish not only timber for the distant future, but posts, rails, &c., in the near future for farm use, and much-needed shelter for stock, and to break the force of the prevailing winds, and so reduce the danger of drift-creation among the dunes farther inland. I have established numbers of plantations which are already of great benefit to me, and I have a small nursery of forest-trees ready for planting this year, but my difficulty has up to the present been to provide the first line of shelter along the sea-coast to take the first force of the westerly gales which beset the coast in which I am particularly interested. I am quite satisfied from my own experience that our sand-dunes are eminently suited for the growth of certain timber-trees, particularly conifers, eucalypti, and wattles, if only the coast shelter can be provided. As an instance of the growth of certain trees in sand, I may mention that in poor sand, though of course in a sheltered situation, 1 have planted seedlings of the ordinary silverwattle in the spring, and twelve months after, in the succeeding spring, they were 12 ft. high and in flower. A subject to which I think the Government might turn its attention is the establishment of a State botanical garden. Adjoining the Levin State Farm is a beautiful and historic spot, the late Sir William Buller's Papuitonga Lake property, containing about 300 acres, of which about half is lake, and which I believe the trustees are willing to sell at a reasonable price. The North Island agricultural college is likely to be established on this State farm, and Papaitonga should, I think, form an adjunct of the farm. Already there is a considerable area of beautiful bush upon it, containing most of the forest-trees and shrubs found in low altitudes in the central province of the Dominion, and the land would, I think, be found to be well fitted 'to grow all our native trees and plants, except pei-haps those indigenous only in the extreme north and south, and those which require alpine or other special habitats and soils. Such an institution would be of enormous interest and educational value. With regard to the question of State encouragement and assistance in tree-planting, I am strongly of opinion that all private bush reserves, plantations, and nurseries should be absolutely freed from general and local taxation, and the State should as far as possible provide, free of cost, up-to-date advice to all persons desirous of afforesting their lands, and in some cases give trees also. While saying this I should mention that the officers of the Agricultural and Lands Departments are always ready and willing to furnish advice on afforestation, as on other subjects within their ken, but up to the present there has not been sufficient specialization in the science of forestry.

Leonard Owen Tripp sworn and examined. (No. 87.) 1. The Chairman.} You are the Chairman of the Wellington Acclimatization Society?— Yes. i. In the South Island we had a good deal of evidence regarding the depredations of deer in the climatic reserves. We also took evidence from the presidents of the various acclimatization societies as to the other view of the question, and we should now like to hear your views on the subject. Do you go into the bush at all? —I go deer-stalking generally every year on the