The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-04-07
.GIFFITHS ON
THE FORESTS
UNITED STATES EXPERT MAKES
A REPORT TO THE
GOVERNOR.
GRAZING CATTLE HAVE DONE
GREAT DAMAGE.
Rainfall and Water Supply Affected.
Cattle Must be Kept Out of the For
pgtg

e. NJ. Griffith, the expert forester sent
here from Washington to investigate
and report on forests Of Hawaii, has
made a report which has been receiv-
ed by Acting Governor Cooper, from
Yokohama. Griffith declares that the
destruction of forests here is due wholly
to cattle grazing, and that it is vital
to the future welfare of the Islands that
this should be stopped. Very disastrous
changes affecting the rainfall and the
conservation of water are declared to
have already been brought about, and
Griffith recommends immediate steps
to exclude cattle from the forests. His
general description of the conditions as
he saw them, in visits to almost every
district on each island except Kauai is
as follows
Formerly, the Hawaiian Islands
were covered with dense and almost
impenetrable forests which covered the
steep ridges and deep canyons eXtend-
ing down to the narrow strip of arabic
land along the coasts and up to an ele-
walton of 5000 or 5000 feet on the high
est mountains. Ever running streams
and springs occurred on all the islands
and the rainfall was fairly even and
much heavier than 1t is today
"The old chiefs began the destruction
of the forests by cutting enormous
quantities of sandalwOOd but the blanks
were soon filled up by other forest trees.
The rapidity with which the native Ha-
waiian forest can be absolutely destroy
ed is truly remarkable and peculiar to
the islands.
! Dense forests which were absolutely
impossible have, within the short space
of five to ten years, been completely
wiped out so that at the present time,
the soil is covered with a thick mating
of grass. This comes from the fact
| that all the natives trees have very
shallow root system so that the least
I 1drying up of the soil Immediately al
| fects their vitality.
In nearly all sections of the islands,
| the underground is composed largely
! of a dense mass of ferns which absorbs
| a very large amount of moisture thus
affording a most favorable protection
to the soil.
! stock, particularly cattle, are re-
sponsible for the destruction of the for
ests in as much as they eat and trample
down the ferns and other underground,
thus allowing the soil to become dry
and often hardened under the full force
or the hot tropical sun so that the
roots begin to dry up and the trees ma
| turally die. The worst feature, how
ever, is that as soon as the under
growth is killed out, the heavy Hilo
| grass Immediately covers the soil and
forms such a thick mat that it is inn
POSSIBLE for seed to reach the soil and
| terminate. Then the life of the forest
simply depends on how long the old
\ trees can survive, for as soon as they
4 fall the space which they occupied in
the forest is taken possession of by the
! grasses.
"Stock also destroy many trees by
stripping off the bark and by inJurlng
the roots which they have already eN-
posed by trampling. Another very bad
feature of pasturing stock in the forests
is that they eat and uample down the
young trees.
I'm a virgin forest where no stock
have been allowed to Craze, with very
few exceptions, the only trees Whlcl
are diving are those which would natur-
ally do so from old age. The virgin
Hawaiian forest is healthy but where
stock have destroyed the undergroWtf
the trees are dying in great numbers
and are found to be attacked by in
seCts particularly borers ana the larB'
girdling worms.
Insects can readily be collected bS
breaking off the limb of tree or in
turing it in some other way The FOR
ests which are being attacked by IN
sects are those whose vitality has beer
affected in some way, usually by stoci
F grazing. After investigating the matte
very carefully l should say that stool
: are alone responsible for the rapid de
+ struction of the forests. This is readil.
= admitted by those who have studied tn
matter carefully and from an unpre
I iudiced point of view; so that it SEEM
: essentially wrong that the welfare o
, the whole islands should be sacrificed
D to benefit the cattle business Whlcl
, forms such a small part of the com
Z merCial prosperity of the Islands
with a few exceptions the forest
Iare only valuable in conserving the wa
p ter supply and increasing the rainfall