PINE TREES SNAP LIKE MATCH STICKS

Chronicle (Levin), 21 February 1947, Page 3

PINE TREES SNAP LIKE MATCH STICKS

GALE HAVOC AT TANGIMOANA Pine trees measuring to 21 feet in diameter were snapped off Uke match sticks when the cyclone that struck New Zealarid. lffst* week-end wrought havoc in the afforestation area at Tangimoana. Areas oi' trccs two and thrcc acrcs in extent were razed to stump level when a wind with a velocity of over 90 miles per hour swept through the pl.antation ieaving a wake of destruGtion ahd desolation. The plantatiou of some 500 acres was originally all'orested in 192(3 and Ihe timber would liave bccn ready for uiilling about 10(30, OJlicers oi' Llie Furestry and Lauds aud Survey deparlnientd, wlio visitod the seenc yeslorday, estimatod rhat, with Ihe exiating uiills available and tlie preseut dcmaiul, alaiost 100 per cuiit. of llie fallen timber will be lil for u.se. ilowever, the linaneial retiiru will uol be nearly so grcaL as it would liavo becn had ihe timber becu cul in auullicr ten or iiftoeen years tinic. Tlie effect of Ihe wind "was peculiar as Ihe damage varied eonsidorably and was morc evidcnt on thc eoaslal strips (hau on Ihe inlaud areas. Evidencc of trees being uprootod by tlio wind was almost eomple.tely absent, the majority being snapped . off froin anything from two to tweuty feet abovc the ground, Tlie reasou for tliis lies in tlie lact tliat tlie troes were planted in a sandy eoaslal dislriet aud were able to obtain a liriuor roolhold in Ihe ground. Trees planted in heavier soil are invariably uprooled by a gale. Tliis faetor is likely to liavc n profound influence on future afforestation sehemes. It was estiinated tliat approximately 1,250,000 super feet oi' tlie i'allen timber ea n be nsed. The average height of the trees destroyed was about 90 feet. Tlie afforestation area was originally held under grazing t.enure by tlie Lands and Survey Department aud ai'ter World War I, tlie Government afEorost-1 ed the area as a nieaus of arresting saud drift. and wind prolection. The huccoss of tliis afforestation area in a Bandy dislriet will possibly lead to xurtlier develnpmeuls for tiiis purpose in similar distriets. Losses on Tarms Rather considerable damage was done by last weok's cyclonie storm in the Rangitikei eountv. Many farm buildings wero completely destroyed aud the losses on sonie fanns amounted to over £1000. In the Ohingaiti district, tlie milking of tlie eows proved hopeless on tlie Saturday morning. Farniers report tliat when mustered into thc milking sheds the cows just wtood shivering with the eold and refused to give the milk down. Poultry suffered too and many failcd to survivc Ihe severity of the storm. At Taihape Ihe rainfall was torrential, the moasurement for the 24 liours being over 6ins. There were manv slips on the roads and miich country slipped. Onc farmor of the Taihape district lost a large nuniber of stud Roinney ewcs. Iu the Rongotea district, a milking shed was destroyed and tlie farmer with his (30 cows to milk is making shift at a ueighbour's shed.