THE DESTRUCTION OF BUSH

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1963, 21 January 1914, Page 10

THE DESTRUCTION OF BUSH

NO EFFECT ON RAIN. Interesting comment on tho effect f cn rainfall in a district arising from the destruction of.tho bush was made iiy Mr. D. C. Bates, Government meitt'oroTogist, in reply to an inquiry by a I'P'ahiatua "Herald" representative on tfie question. Tho letter runs as follows: —"I find tin referring to the rafhfall returns from l'ahiatua that tliey do not uphold your contention that the rainfall is less now than what it was twenty . years ago. . .■■ In Wellington and tho other 'chief centres wo liavo records going ■ back over GO years, ljut as far as I can jisee no definite cycle can be propounded 'from them, and in no case is it shown, 'c.xcept in individual years, that the jTainfall is less now than what it was 'twenty or oven sixty years ago. It ;has been suggested that tho destruction 'of forest growth in a country has had . the effect of , diminishing the rainfall, Unit'tills has been proved scientifically Tincorrect. Because heavy rains aro experienced'ill country such aa the West I Coast where denso bush exists, and a rainfall takes place in tne East I Coast "district -where there is practici ally no bush, docs not prove that the 'bush attracts more rain. Tho bush isl rtho effect and not tlio cause of the 'intense rainfall. With regard to other places in New Zealand having a greater rainfall than Pahiatua, I am enclosing a. mean annual rainfall map from which you will bo able to see at a glance ; tho differences. Tho mean annual rainrfall map shows that the average rainfall for fully three-fourths of the 'North.lsland is over -50 inches and un'der 70. The average rainfall for the Pahiatua district is 51.64 inches. The rainfall •in the Pahiatua district ■ ac•cordingly compares moro.than favourably with that 'of the greater portion of tho North Island, being only 1.641 inches, more than what would 'entitle: it to'b'o included in tho driest quarter of tho northern hair of New Zealand. In tho South Island there are extremes. On the West Coast the average rain-fall-is over 100 inches, while in Central Otago.it is under ~20, inches."WOODVILLE SHOW, Very ,-encouraging. entries "nave .been received by the Bush Districts A. and I*. Association for their show on Wednesday, January 28, and the names of some of tho exhibitors stand for a very high degree of excellence. The competition classes are all well .filled. Probably the noval feature (for the country public at any rate) is the ten-mile motor-cycle race. Motor-cyclists speak highly' of the 'Wb/idville.'race'coni'se .as a' track. It is very Icypl.'and.' its .curves, are ideal from their point of-view. It is expected that the heavy machines will do a lap to the minute—well over 60 miles an hour.