The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-05-19
LEWIS e. CO.,
Agents, Honolulu, n. !.

the past. In order to use our timber
and at the same time permit its growth
so that the supply may not give out,
we must go into forestry. Our lumber
trade amounts to $1,000, 100000 a year,
and next to agriculture is the largest
industry in this country. All the mines
of metal of all kinds, and quarries all
over the earth, produce but $500, 000, 900
per year.
"The first thing we must do is to
protect the forests against fire. This
can be done by proper organization,
and a start in that direction has al
ready been made by the States Of Min
nesota and Maine. Forestry is an in
dustry requiring such large capital
making it necessary for those who fol-
low it to reap their profits frequently
after period greater than the average
lifetime, and for these reasons indi-
viduals will naturally be slow to en-
bark upon such enterprises. 1t is more
properly the function of the Govern
ment than of individuals. The Govern
ment of Austria is now spending ST.
900, 900 per annum in the increase of its
forest property, having realized the ne
cessity for timber culture, as well as
the fact that proper restrictions against
the destruction of such wealth could
only be fully realized when the forests
belong to the Government"
INDIVIDUAL INVESTMENT.
would it be possible Mr.. Fernow
was asked, "for an individutl to enter
upon forestry in this country and to
secure at once and continuously a re-
turn of per cent?
mot only could a return of per
cent be secured, but much larger re-
turn would result if the business were
entered upon in the right way. In the
first place, in order to make forestry
pay, it must be pursued on a very ex-
tensive scale. Let me take 1000, 900
acres of Southern pine lands and l will
show you an industry that will pay II
or Is per cent, and will become more
and more profitabl as the years go by.
But it is not all forest land that will
yield immediate returns, and, whatever
the returns may be, it can only be sue
cessfully pursued by the investment of
an enormous capital.
"The Importance of forestry to the
farmers in the West is not realized by
them today. There is an idea in that
section of the country that timber suit
able for house building can be supplied
NY Tic VI trees 1Ou
may plant trees there, but they will not
yield timber in that section of the coun-
try. AS l have said, timber must be
grown where nature has shown that
timber has grown. We have got our
timber from the East and from the far
West, and that vast section of the
country lying between the two mount
ain ranges, desirable for agricultural
purposes, has and will continue to de-
pend upon the country to the east and
west of it. For these reasons the far
mer of the West is thoroughly inter
ested in forestry, because he has no
other building material than wood. He
is without stone, and it would be
very costly thing for him to supply
himself with brick. 1t seems strange
that those portions of the country
which have abundance of timber are
the portions which could best get along
timber for building purposes,
for they have plenty of stone. When
the farmers of the West begin to real
ize this condition | think they will
take a deep interest in forestry"