The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28. 1911 DUE EAST OF HOKIO.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 28 October 1911, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28. 1911 DUE EAST OF HOKIO.

What is the state of Hokio? Does the sand drift still make headway. - ' Of a truth it doe.s ; day in and day mil ; and always the rising sun finds a l'"\v extra inches of good ground marred in qunlitp by the wind-swept grains. \n instructive and helpiul report on the .subject ol sand drilts, willi special reference to this district. was presented to Parliament j two or three months ago. but so far j there is no apparent movement, j here or elsewhere, to act upon its , recommend, lions. ct two-thirds I of Hurowlu nun Comity bins a direct | and financial interest in this matter, j and no pan of the county has a i greater OiC than that of Levin and j district. I {•".-■a use there is no j den invasion. no overwhelming | sweeping in of the there is no | sense of alarm : yet the danger is no | less real and menacing. Greater J land areas and more fertile ones than ours have been buried l>y drifting sands ; foretime. Present public- inlore-t requires a, safeguard: and always there is upon a community its moral obligation to undertake to-day the works that will lie ior posterity's beneiit. The matter of undertaking remedial measures against the saod encroachments is one that the local bodies of the county well might move in. Possibly the newly -elected Horowhenua County Council, when it first meets in December next (with the Parliamentary Genera] Election turmoil newly subsided), will go into this question with a determination to do something definite The work is large enough and important enough to necessitate the help and also the siipervi-sini of the Government and its experts. Imt no doubt some good could be done if isolated efforts were made by local authorities. The masterly auul detailed report which Mr Cockayne submitted to Parliament contains many valuable directions and details which would be of assistance to all endeavourers in this good oan.se. A study of it should he made by all councillors, aiiid by all others interested. In respect to grasses and other suitable growths for sandy areas the report is highly informative. Tn this connection we note that a few additional details are contained in a note by Mr Cockayne, on twitch grass, which appears in the latest issue of The Journal of the Department of Agriculture. Mr Cockayne states that twitc.li (agropyron repens) is generally looked upon merely as a : dangerous weed. This view is parI fitly corrcct, so far as cultivated j ground is concerned ; but under cerj tain conditions there is little douht I that it may .be quite a valuable <Tas.s for grazing purposes. Kor the formation of turf on fixed sand-dune areas there is probably 110 better grass to lie found. Tts strong underground stems completely protect it from being eaten out. It is also likely that it will prove valuable in regrassing certain of the depleted land in Central Ota go, and experiments in this direction are to he undertaken. As a- stock-feed it is excellent' and the yioldi of herbage compares favourably with any of our cultivated grass. But, .adds Mr Cockayne, its use would never he advocated, on land that is likely to be employed for .alternate husbandi ,v, as in fcli.fi t case it woufd become a most urn mitigated weed, as is well known by all fanners and gardeners.