THE LAND PROBLEM

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 146, 15 March 1919, Page 10

THE LAND PROBLEM

A. MATTER OP RECLAMATION. • : Sand dune reclamation may not concern > a great many of our landholdersbut • there are considerable areas of land suffering from denudation of a sort, or being . menaced by tho encroachment of sand, '. says an exchange. To thoso landowners ■ .'who nre affected, an extract from the report of the superintendent of the Selwyn ■ Plantation Board will he of interest. . Tho report states:' "Already wo are in ■ possession of the exact knowledge of how ': to proceed on sand dunes and of what varieties of trees to plant. On the sea- : ward side the use of the pioneers, Pinus . pinastor and P. inuricata, paves the way ' for the intensive interior planting of IJ.1 J . . insignis at about-6ft. Gin. apart, and I'. ponclerosa at about sft. (pure). The necessity of devoting energy to Uie afforestation of cortain reserves bearing a sandy fiitffftce, whilst at the samo tihie defeating the encroachment of dunes over arable areas, is apparent. Perhaps the greatest drawback in this connection is the presence of rabbits in the dune localities j but should systematic simultaneous poisoning be undertaken by the board and adjoining property-holders, and the trees be sprayed before planting with a solution distastefulto, the rodento, it will in all probability be possible to dispense with wire netting."