The Hawaiian gazette., 1901-09-17
FORESTS
OF KULA'
Forester Haushs
On Their Bad
Condition.
WOULD FENCE
IN LARGE AREAS
Range Cattle Would Thus Be Pre-.
vented from Browsing
Among Trees.

Among Trees.
! returned Sunday on the Claudine from
Maui, where he has inspected the for
est growing on the mountainous slopes
Of the kula region. He reports that
the forests are In very bad shape ow-
ing to the dcpredations ctsnmitted both
by cattle and by boring insects. He
strongly recommends that the govern
ment fence in the large tracts OF land,
the leases OF which will soon run out,
and which will amply repay the cost
of fencing by the forests which will
grow upon them after they have thus
been protected. AS matter OF fact,
the whole area which lies between the
upper boundaries Of the corn planta-
tions. which at places run Up as far
as 5000 feet, and the timber line ought
to be protected by fencing. and the
ranchers would find II profitable II
they fenced in their own upper bcun-
diaries. The fencing would be Of great
use by keeping out cattle which UP to
this time have been allowed by their
owners to browse among the trees
when they were turned out. In one
place, where there is a continuous line
of about six or seven miles. the fenc-
ing would cost approximately 500 a
mile. In other places, where the land
! IL leased the fence will have to be
broken continually. which. of course,
will make 1t much more expensive. Mr..
| Haughs therefore proposes that half
of the expense of the fencing OF the
! boundary lines be borne by the owners.
! That such fencing is very necessary
can be seen from the fact that in many
places the upper slopes are now COM
pletely denuded.
The other great enemy of the forests
is the vast number OF borers which in
| fest these regions. a species of bird,
which is indigenous to Hawaii and
which is very active in destroying
these various pests, has before been
able to cope with the insects, but as
this bird Is being gradually wiped out
Of existence, the borers are now in
great force. They have practically no
parasites. and are therefore immune
from any Interference, when no birds
prey upon them. Any tree which Is in
the slightest degree sickly will imme-
diately be attacked by the borers, and
when once attacked, It's doom is seal
ed. Besides the indigenous borer there
are number OF different species of
Imported borers that will even attack
healthy trees. MIR. r. c. L. Perkins.
the naturalist OF the Bishop Museum.
had a measure drawn up for the Legis-
the birds be transplanted from the diff
ferent islands, and that close time
from October to the middle of Febru-
airy. be instituted. This measure,
which would greatly simplify matters,
failed to become law. Mr.. Perkins
states that the Kula forests have been
| in a bad condition for the last ten
years. He strongly recommends the
fencing Of the forest lands, quoting as
an example. the case of the forests
of Waialua. where fencing rapidly re-
stored thinning forest to n densely
| growing thicket in the course Of q
couple of years.
! The forests in Kula consist mostly of
koa and ohia, while for new paintings
Forester Haughs has proposed various
| species OF acacia,
ssssssssssssss
sources Of these islands, together with
exhibits by the natives, including any
historical features they may present.
/ as well as TO arouse a general inter-
est In our new possessions, and, at the
same time, give to these people COM
prehensive idea of the relative merits
of their products and methods, viewed
| side by side, with those of other coun-
| tries
las the time Is short between now
and the opening OF the exposition, we
urge that the matter be taken up Off
cially at the earliest possible oppor-
tunity, and that commissions be APP
pointed to proceed with the work of
securing the very best there Is in the
islands in order that truly great ex-
hibits may be the result"
Colonel Clarence r. Edwards, chief Of
the division of insuiar affairs of the
war department, responded as follows:
by direction Of the secretary of war,
/ have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your letter of the 18th inst,
relative to the exhibits of. Cuba and
the Philippines at the Louisiana Pur-
chase exposition
COPIES OF your letter have been
transmitted to the military governors
OF Cuba and the Philippines. as well as
to the civil governor, William II. Taft.
at Manila, suggesting that commissions
be appointed to take in charge the work
OF preparing proper exhibits from these
countries.
The secretary Of war directs me to !
inform you that he is heartily in accord
with the purposes of such exhibits, and |
hopes to make them as full and COM
prehensive as possible.
These commissions will be authoriZ- |
ed to confer with such representative
as you may care to send, who will be |
extended every official courtesy"
to
Ten Chinese gamblers were arrested