2. Recapitulation.

In order to present the matter clearly, it will be well to recapitulate the argument of the former paper.

The two principal destructive agents, besides the axe of the bushman, are fires and cattle, to which should be added the wild pig, or “Captain Cooker,” as this animal does his full share. Any of these acting alone is sufficient to do a good deal of damage, but when they all act in conjunction, as they generally do, the destruction is greatly accelerated and intensified.

The whole of the forest below a moderate altitude throughout both Islands is more or less an open cattle- and pig-run, in which, by the browsing, trampling, and rooting of the animals, the undergrowth is gradually destroyed, the surface roots lacerated, and the soil trodden into mud, which in summer hardens almost into a bed of concrete. The consequence is that the larger trees, deprived of their accustomed nourishment and protection, grow thin and open at the top; the ground is covered with fallen leaves; the debris of centuries, now exposed to the sun and winds, is dried to tinder; and the whole place is ready to be swept by fire, which sooner or later inevitably happens.

In thickly settled districts, and in those where timber-getting is carried on, the destruction is most rapid and complete, as every clearing, timber-working, and road-line forms