Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. CROMWELL: TUESDAY, AUGUST 15.

Cromwell Argus, Volume 2, Issue 92, 15 August 1871, Page 4

Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. CROMWELL: TUESDAY, AUGUST 15.

Mr Vincent Pyke spoke truly and wisely when ho declared that the man who planted a tree in this Province, was a Public Benefactor. Now that Spring-time has arrived we are naturally led to deplore the absence of that vegetation and verdure, which are 1 so pleasant to behold in less sterile regions. Barrenness appears to be the normal condition of our treeless, rocky ranges and thirsty flats. But as most of these Hats are alluvial, it simply requires irrigation, cultivation, and the extensive planting of trees to make tens of thousands of acres of | land fertile that are now of but very small 'value. The Governments of the United | States, of Victoria, and of this Colony ! have recognised the importance of preser- | ving their natural forests, and of creating | artificial ones where Nature has not euj dowed the land with timber. In this the ; Australians and ourselves are merely copying the acts of our American cousins. We I learn from an American paper that in the | State of lowa the planting of trees is e;iiconraged by law. Every acre of forest I trees planted releases taxation for tan i years on 100 dollars' valuation, and for ieach acre of fruit trees planted tax is exempted on 50 dollars' valuation for live I years; arid the same for shade trees and i hedges along the highways. There are now maple forests in several counties, from i which sugar is made, where fifteen years 'since there was nothing but wild prairie J grass and hazel shrubs. The importance ] of forests iu creating rainfall, and proj moling healthy humidity iu the atmosphere, j has long been recognised by scientific men. ! Only recently, Dr Mueller, the Director of ! the Botanical Gardens, Melbourne, directed !the attention of his Government to the subject; and efforts are being made to stop the destruction of trees iu that Colony. A j remarkable instance of the effect of man's labours upon climate is now going on in I the Great Salt Lake Valley, in America. | When the Mormons first settled that rei gion, they were entirely dependent on in*iIg.ition for their crops. The supply of j water was small, and they feared lost, with

the increase of their population, there might not be at last enough to irrigate all their lands, and famine must stare them in the face. But they have tilled their lands, planted trees, which are now large, and completely embower their city, and their gardens are full of fruit trees and flowering shrubs. Many thousands of acres, once barron, have been made more productive than in rainy climates. Enormous sums have been spunt in bringing water by artiticial channels from the distant mountains to make these now fertile fields. The face of the earth has been changed, and there has been a corresponding change in the climate. They have now rains from the sky almost enough to meet the wants of growing crops, u thing unheard of until within a few years. These facts are very important to those who dwell in such a district as this. But, although the district is remarkably destitute of trees, shrubs, &c, at present, there are some cheering facts to be mentioned. The adaptability of the climate of this district for the cultivation of all kinds of fruit is every season becoming more generally known. Large quantities of trees have been planted during the autumn and winter, and the quantity of land under this description of crop is yearly increasing. We are assured by practical men who have had extensive and varied experience in different parts of the Province, that this district will soon become the best fruit-pro-ducing district in Otago. The chief drawbacks at present are, —the want of some economical and effective plan of irrigation, and the absence of trees "of a larger i growth" to afford shelter from the high j winds so prevalent during" the summer J months. The planting of forest trees on I an extensive scale is a matter that should ! engage the earnest attention of all culti- | vators in districts so utterly destitute of i growing timber as this is. Not only would

plantations of forest trees tend greatly to increase the productiveness and acealerate the growth of fruit trees and other vegetable products; but would also very largely enhance the comfort of the residents by iniproviug the climate, and to some extent irodifying the burning summer heats to which we are now subjected, hi and around Clyde and Cromwell, there are some encouraging proofs of what may be accomplished by irrigation, judicious gardening, and intelligent perseverance in the cultivation of the soil. Artesian wells would, ve believe, be found immensely beneficial here, as tiny have in the Province of Hawke's Bay, and on the arid pastoral plains of Australia. Man can, to a certain extent, master Nature ; and compel even sterile earth to bring forth fruit. Where the rainfall j§ small, the cultivation of woods, grovJß and forests will create and increase fiU Climate is a thing capable of alteration improvement. Countries once fertile 8&j now nearly barren, and sustain buftSC handful of people ; their brooks are cISSI up, and their rainfall is greatly On the other hand, wells sunk in the 8H

sert make an oiisis, and the spot of increases with the passing years, ligßl showers fall upon the parched sands. jH vate individuals and public bodies nwJjTO much, in this Province, towards seciraggj fertility and verdure whore sterility exists. Every Municipal Council ifckd Road Board should take this work of ';&• boriculture in hand in its own locaMBJaJ while the Provincial and General GoJIHB ments should do all in their power to frP mote and encourage ik Arboriculture is far more important in Otago than acclimatisation ; but both should be fostered with a liberal hand. We have directed attention to this important subject, and trust it will sot be lost sight of ; but will literally

" bring forth fruit." We shall conclude by extracting a passage from au article in the American Agriculturist: — " Irrigation, cultivation, and the planting of trees will gradually work a change in climate and make rainless regions productive. The removal of forests tends to diminish the rain-fall. If the clearing process be carried too far, we do not get rain enough to give us average crops. The proportion of forest to cleared land should be as one to four, —one of forest to four of open, cleared iield. In France the Government regulates forest culture for the general good. Ilere every inan follows his own sweet will in destroying trees. The time is not far distant when our Government must place some restrictions on the removal of forests, and encourage the planting of trees on prairies and in rainless regions. The instinct of self-preservation, if it were enlightened, would lead fanners to preserve the forests upon the mountains and hills in which streams take their rise, and not to drain too many of the swamps in high lands. The springs at the source of every brook and creek Should be most sacredly guarded. These high lands are favorable to the growth of wood, and should be left as sources for the supply of fuel, timber, and rain, for the bonetit of the whole country and of posterity."