TREES ON FARMS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 131, 19 June 1937, Page 19

TREES ON FARMS

Plantations of Great ; Value MASSEY LECTURE j 44 It is a common. idea thafc p'iantiiig a tree is of b.enefit only for posterity, but if we Only knew sbmething aboul; 'it we WOuld rCalise "that df is a behcfit (fo ourselves. The, adyantagea which are many eome sooner than they are Wealiaed. The day that a plantation is .established it hecomes an. assef.", , Thus epoke Mr. C. H. Williams in his 'address pn timbers for statipn plantations and their uses to the annual sheepfarmers* cobferenee afc Massey College last wepk, 4 4 £ s. d. 4s not the only consideration in, tree-planting,'* said .Mr. Wiliiam.s, '"We are a duty to the fiiture genera.Hon aixd alsb to fche animal's under ouy charge. " The" firat requirement on the farnr was. shade and prbtection of live stock, explained Mr. Williams, who stated that tree-planting had been wisely incorpoy rated qh farm management it haa had a" decidedly beneficiai effeet on wool pro-, ductiom 44B6sides"the shelter they aff ord, - plantations have tfie 'effect of _ modifyixxg extyemes of. temperatures* It is, however, important flint the. sun should not be planted out. 44Planting east and west should be avoided a»s the sun can frequently not penetrate, with the result that pastun-es aro spoile.d," The planting of a plantation on the farm required a good deal of thought •in which ixtility and eonvenience should - be iaken intq eonsidetation. If planting for posts, there .was no point in haViag the plantation near the homestead when tho posts had to be packed out tlp'ee Qr four. nulea, When building yards a few suitable trees should be planted nearby tb provide for the time in . 15 years. or sq When the yards wenld have to be renewqd, *'Tho homestead ehould not he oveiilookcd," said the speaker, 4 4 although the surroundings of many show that ihe valne of shelter ia not evidently appreeiated. A plantation undoubtedly affords, best, 'shelter. but to gain the most pyotection from wind th© belt of trees should be placed well back fronx the housa.'* t '* On any farm a supply of firewood was essential and. for this the'euoaxypte provided a good range of splitting ■\voods. An important feature aftey eufting was that they renewed thefiiselves. The blaek wattle whioh ' was va rapid growing sort was a good firewood type, but rxnf ortunately it was liable to a blight. Touching upon the question of posts, Mr. Wiiliams said that a few years ago he would have been prepared to rOcoiumend macraearpa, but of late he had t seen many cut from this timber decay very quickly. He had, however, known. them.to; last for 25 yCars in the ground and stilj b.e sound. The branchqs often made good posts, but those split from immature macraearpa were not durable. It ' was doubtful if any wero durahle until they had nearly reached ' maturity. The eucalyptus macartharii, being frost «hardy, was oixe of the easiest to* establish, It was a good splitter and when'matiire yielded good posts. Speakiixg of the Eucalyptus Begnan, Mr. Williams said that on his farm some years ago he milled oue at 24 years of age which yielde'd 105Q feet when sawn into rails and gate timber. The costs, ineluding transport to the sawmill, worked out at 15/- per 1Q0 feet as against 50/- for other suitable timber at that time, Summing up the value and use of timbers on the farm Mr. Williams said that tlie questions of vital importance to farmers wero: (l)'What is the relative durabilxty of the various exotic timbers that can be suceessfully grown in our districts? • (2) At what age can the dilferent varieties be expected to furnish durable timber? (3) How far can durability be increased by preservative treatment? (4) What is the best or most ec'onomie preservative to use and the best metkod of applying it?