The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-08-04
HAWAIIAN REFORES7ATION.
IMPORTANCE or THE MoTE-
 HENT TO THE ISLANDS.

AEAI 1O THE AcLAHDos
 Native Forests of the Mountain slopes
 -The SIesuite of the LorIand and It's
 vaIue-causes Tint Have worked to
 the Destruction of Valuable Wooded
 Lands.
 In the Hawaiian Islands it is now re- Icognized that forest preservation is a matter of great and immediate impor- ltance to the leading economic interests of the territory, says the Boston Tran script. The chief agricultural interest iof the islands is sugar growing. In i1sOS the exported sugar was valued at ,$25,S110,6s4. or ninety-six per cent. of ithe total exports.
 The supply of water on which suc- lcessful cane cultivation depends comes, ito large extent. from the forested higher slopes of the mountains about the plantations. But the situation is complicated by the fact, that cattle Iraising, which in economic importance stands second only to the sugar indus try, depends largely on the use of the forest for range, and oyer-grazing has been the principal cause of injury to the water-holding power of the wooded area.
 As a preliminary to the formulation of farsighted policy in the interest of the islands as whole, the territory a year ago asked for an examination of the whole question on the ground by an agent of the United States Department of Agriculture. The report of William F. Hall of the Bureau of Forestry, who made the examination, gives much in- formation concerning these Hawaiian forests and their uses.
 Only five of the eight islands are large enough to be imported in forest study. In these there are two distinct kinds of forest nearer sea level in the drier portions of the islands, the other in the regions of heavy rainfalls on the mountain slopes. They never blend or even meet. The forest of the sea level is made up exclusively of mes quite, so prevalent in the drier sec tions of the southwestern part of the United States. In the Hawaiian Is- lands. however it grows much denser, taller and straighter than in the States, having changed its habit of growth in response to altered conditions.
 It is not native, but was introduced in 1887 by 3 seed planted in Honolulu. The tree still stands in a healthy condi- ton, having diameter of two feet and io hot nf faa sprung fifty thousand acres of mess quite or as they are called, algaroba < forests, divided among the several is- lands. The wood is chiefly valuable flor fuel and fence posts The forests are exceedingly important as furnish- ing cover for the soil and abundant food for stock The mesquite pods are eaten by cattle in summer as they fall to the ground from the trees, and are gathered and fed dry all through the year. Because of these uses, and the wonderful powers of reproduction and extension which the algaroba forests possess, they are most valuable asset of the islands.
 The native forests are those of the mountain slopess and are all essentially of a tropical character. About three- fourths of the native forests are com- . posed of lehua. This tree is found in regions of heaviest rainfall, and under best conditions attainss diameter of four feet and height of one hundred feet. Commercially, except for fuel the wood has little value, for in drying 1t checks and warps badly. It's impor- Itance is as a protective forest. It's stand is thin, but the most luxuriant undergrowth is always found beneath its small crowned trees. Indeed, so luxuriant is this undergrowth of ie-ie vine and similar climbers, fern growth ranging from few inches to thirty feet in height, and mosses, that virgin forests of fehua are often impenetrable, is created for water conservation.
 The present forest area is about twen- ity per cent. of the islands small frac- tion of what 1t was hundred years ago. The destruction of the forests can be traced to three chief causes: Clear ing for agriculture, stock grazing and grass encroachment. Cattle were taken Ito the islands in the eighteenth century, and for years were protected by rigid Ei Al lWo I1y 1915 they had so increased in number as to be a menace.
 The anti-slaughter laws were re- pealed, and gradually their number has been reduced to the needs of the is land. But their work of destruction has been accomplished. Much of the undergrowth of the native forests was of a succulent character, peculiarly agreeable not only to cattle, but also to goats, pigs and deer; all of these lpreyed upon the forest and year by year their trampling and grazing showed more plainly in forest areas wrecked and ruined. The encroaching grasses occupied the ground and pre- vented reforestation. Tn the rainy dis tricts the EIilo grass and in the drier sections Bermuda grass was the offen- der. Between them they occupy vast stretches of country that were once we'll forested.
 Clearing for agricultural and home stead purposes is responsible for very much of the forest destruction. Since the bmest use to which the lands of the islands can be put is agriculture, no fault can be found with such cutting, provided it is not carried so far as to I ..