The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-10-23

hf forests OF the iHAnds have been
ROLLING backward and upward
That there 1ro various causes which
bring about che destruction of forests
900 D8u agree. That at One Time there
was too much forest land is another
point upon which most of us can agree.
but that the wholesale destruction of
forests can go along as Ct IS now oc-
curing no one. but a man who does
not know what be- 81 talking about can
agree in The forests are the life blood
of the Territory and we are only now
beginning TO realize the terrible harm
we have done our Islands by not TAX
ing care of our forests.
one can never contemplate these
beautiful Hawaiian Islands without
thinking how great a wrong has been
done to them through forest denuda-
tion and IL is not the foreigner who Is
entirely to blame. 1t is the old Hawai-
ian chief who must bear some of the
burden of reprobation The magnih-
cent forests of Waianae, forests which
stretched onto the Leiehua plains were
practically destroyed by the Oahu
chiefs in their greed to find sandal
wood, which they desired to turn into
so-called civilized "Luxuries'-gin,
champagne, silk, velvet and gems.
With the example of ST. Helena be-
fore us we should take the greatest
care of our forests. The recuperative
power Of our soil is very great, and
with a little care much can be done to
reiustate our forest land. We have a
specimen of it in the Makik forest,
where the trees are hourishing in fine
shape. 1t is not so many years ago
that it was planted out, and now there
is a dense growth. This gives us an
example of what can be done. At Lii
hue on Kauai a somewhat similar ex-
pertinent was tried, and met with
signal success. At the latter place a
German forester was engaged who laid
out the forest upon scientific plans. The
Makilli forest was not laid out on
highly scientific plans, but it accom-
plished its object as an experiment and
an ocular demonstration.
The success of the Nuuanu reserve
is another pointer as to what can be
done with care. Before the Hillebrand
Ranch rights were acquired by the
government the upper part of the val
ley was pretty well denuded, and even
the thick and apparently impenetrable
"Hau" was becoming trampled out. A
decade or so Of perfect peace with no
cattle to trouble the growing under
brush, or interfere with the young
trees. has produced a wild tangle of
jungle which greatly helps out our wa
ter supply.
The cattle men have strenuously de-
MED that the cattle destroy the forests,
but the object lesson is before us in
many places. Trees do not live for ever,
they die like everything else on this
globe, but young trees should take the
place of the old ones. 1t is true that
cattle may not actually kill the old or
adult trees, which die when their allot-
ed time comes, but they very effectual-
ly kill off and trample down the young
trees which form the recuperative ele-
ment of the forest. Thousands of
acres of such lands can be shown on
Hawaii the old trees dead, and no
young trees or underground whatever.
Land Commissioner Boyd does not
know how to class such land.
Good forest cultivation and preserva-
ton on definite and scientific lines we
must have. Perhaps the next Legisla-
ture may give attention to this subject.
The last Legislature was far too much
engaged in politics to care whether
forests increased or decreased, or
whether there were any forests at all.