THE FIERY CROSS.
THINNING OUT DOMAIN TREES
BOARD DISCUSSES BIG IMPROVEMENTS.
Some years ago, when a member of tho Christchurch Domains Board declared at a meeting of tho Board with something approaching honest pride that he had never set foot in tlie domains in his life, nobody appeared very seriously shocked. There were, of course, many earnest and conscientious workers on tho Board at that time, but public interest was slack, the Board in tho administration of its great estate was lamentably linntli-. capped hv lack of funds, and there was at least-.a. semblance of excuse for apathy on the part of Board members.
Very largely, if not entirely as the result-’ of the Board’s own efforts, this condition of affairs has passed away, it is to be hoped for ever. Various committees of the Board visit the domain at frequent intervals; tho Board, possesses rating powers; annual carnivals swell the revenue of tho domains; more applications are made every year for sports grounds than the Board can immediately grant, and. altogether there is neither excuse nor opportunity for apathy on the part of the members. AN ANNUAL CUSTOM.
A custom originated in recent years has done a great deal to, remove the possibility of any present or future member of the Board being able to boast that he has never set eye or foot upon tho domains. This is the annual tour of inspection undertaken by the whole Board. The members set out in the morning and tramp all over tho 250 acres or so of territory comprised in the domains. The primary purpose of these expeditions used to" be the thinning out of trees—a sort of reverse to Arbor Day, but,at tho present time the objects of the Board on such occasions are constructive. Improvements are plotted out, and plans are laid, not necessarily for immediate, execution, hut as part of a well-ordered programme of progressive development. The members of the Buard assembled yesterday at tlie Moorhouso statue at the hour of eleven o’clock in the forenoon, to take part in the annual openair meeting. There were present Messrs H. J. Beswick (chairman), C. D. Morris, S. A. Staples, J- M’Oullough and W. H. Cooper and Dr L. Coclrayne. Later in the day Messrs H. Holland and J. Jamieson joined the party. Mr G. Harper, being in Wellington, was granted leave of absence. WHY TREES ARE CONDEMNED. Led by the curator (Mr J. Young) the members set off on their long tramp. A member of the gardens staff bearing a pot of red paint and .a paint-brush accompanied them, his grim office being to mark with a scarlet cross on all trees condemned by the Board. Trees are condemned for a variety of reasons. They may be dead, or partially death They may be unshapely or of lopsided growth. They may have been planted too near other and finer trees to permit of the latter obtaining proper nutriment for future development. They may, if growing on tne river banks, have so weak a hold on the soil, owing to tlie undermining of the soil about their roots, that they are likely to topple into the river with a crash to the grave danger of any of liis Majesty’s lieges who may be passing in boats, canoes or other craft. Again, tho tree may be regarded as spoiling a vista or cumbering a space which on aesthetic grounds would be better left vacant. For these and other reasons too numerous to particularise some scores of trees were yesterday inscribed with tlie insignia which will bring tho executioner and his axe. ARBOR DAY WORK UNDONE. The Board was not always unanimous about these executions. Occasionally a tree was saved from destruction by a narrow majority. A somewhat heated discussion took place on a proposal to take out a number of young trees, planted a few months ago, on Arbof® Day ; on the left bank of tho Avon, looking upstream from the bridge leading from the Acclimatisation Society’s reserve to the gardens. It was argued that tlie oaks and ashes on tlie landward side of the walk bordering the river needed no competition from a further row of trees 011 the river brink, and this view finally gained the day. The young trees, many of them very promising /specimens, will he transplanted, so that the enthusiasts who planted them will not have had their labour in vain. NEW' BRIDGE PROPOSED. A little further up tho river, at the point where the river, dividing the North Park from the gardens, sweeps round in a wide curve and incidentally closely approaches Riccarton Road, the chairman called a halt and broached a scheme. He suggested that at some future time the river should be bridged at this spot, and that large entrance gates/should be erected on the Riccarton Road, facing the bridge. Tho Tramway Board might bo induced to make the spot the terminus of its penny section outwards on tlie Riccarton line, and the gardens would be accessible by a penny tramway service from Cathedral Square. The bridge a little further downstream, near the Acclimatisation Society's reserve, could be moved still further .down the river. The proposal met with general approval, and it was agreed that the project should be borne in framing the programme of future works. _ IN THE SOUTH PARK. A tour of inspection was then made of the South Park, where the work of fencing the Lincoln Road frontage, involving the cutting down of an ancient hawthorn hedge, was found to be partially completed. The question of treating the broad now pathway left by setting the fence back behind the outermost row of trees was discussed, some members favouring laying it down 111 grass, while, others advocated the use of poison to prevent grass growing. No formal resolution was carried. The caretaker’s cottage in the southwest corner of South Park was visited, and it was decided to renovate the fencing and rebuild a dilapidated "'ashhouse. Several trees were marked for destruction, the curator in one case receiving instructions to thin out a whole grove of young trees. A proposal considered while the party wore in tho South Park was one involving the elimination of tlie northern part of tho pathway which crosses the South Park diagonally from opposite the Saleyards to the Hospital corner. It was suggested that tho path should lie diverted to come out on Lincoln Road, opposite tho AVest Christchurch School, leaving tho north-east corner free for use as a sports ground. No definito decision was arrived at. LUNCH AND BUSINESS.
Lunch was served in the United Bowling and Tennis Club’s pavilisn in North Park, and after members had satisfied the hunger and thirst gained during two hours of tramping, pipes, cigars and cigarettes w’ere lit and the Board transacted a little routine business. A letter was received from Mr J. W. Irwin, on behalf of the Riccarton'residents, asking that the new fence on the Western boundary of the Park should be continued as far as Park Read. Financial assistance had been promised by residents. Mr'Jamieson said it was possible the Beautifying Society would subsidise the work. It was decided to allow the matter to
stand over till the Society’s intentions in the matter were made known. NO MEETINGS IN THE GARDENS.
An application from the AVomen’s Christian Temperance Union for permission to hold a mothers’ meeting in connection with tho Plunket Nurse movement, on tlie archery ground, provoked considerable discussion. Messrs Holland and Cooper spoke in favour of granting tho application, and the chairman and Messrs Morris and Staples opposed it. A compromise was finally arrived at,' and permission was granted to the Union to hold a meeting in North Park, just opposite tho tea kiosk. All members were agreed that the Plunket Nurse movement was well worthy of support, but it was thought uuwisoto create the precedent of permitting a public meeting of any sort to be hold in tho gardens. All application from the City and Suburban Cricket Association for the use of a piece of land “ at Pilgrim’s Corner” as a cricket ground was referred back to the applicants for a more precise specification of the land required, the chairman remarking that the western portion of the Park near Pilgrim’s Corner had already been let 'for the purposes of hockey. An offer to sell the Board English minnows was referred to tho Acclimatisation Society. Miss Steel was granted the lease of the Domain tea kiosk, at a rental of £B9 per annum, for a term of one year.
SINFUL CYCLISTS. On resuming the tour of inspection in the North'Park, tho question of constructing a special cycling track alongside the present liorso and pedestrian tracks leading from the Plough Inn corner to a point a little to the north of the United Club’s grounds was considered. Incidentally the chairman spoke some hard words concerning cyclists. He-said they were continually leaving gates open, and even tied them open so that they might ride straight through. Sometimes they took gates off tho hinges. Dr Cockayne said the cyclist received less consideration from public bodies than any other section of the public. The chairman retorted that the Board received less consideration from cyclists than from anyone else.
The question of constructing tho path was deferred pending consideration of the estimates. THE POTATO PATCHES. '
A crop of potatoes, covering seventeen acres, next required attention. This crop, laid down on the northern side of the track just indicated, seemed to have been smitten sore with blight or frost, and a discussion ensued between the botanist and the practical potato-growers of the party as to what ailed tho tubers. The scientist said he would not advance a definite opinion. until 110 had made an examination under the microscope, but the practical man unhesitatingly pronounced that frost and not blight had attacked the potatoes. Another potato patch of four or five acres in the north-east corner of tho North Park was found to be similarly affected, but in both cases the unhealthy plants were in a very small minority. SPOILING THE VIEW.
Crossing over Carlton Road into the Fendalton side of the North Park the party came at once upon the prettiest part of the whole domain. The river, narrow at this portion, was overhung by a great willow, the houghs of which interlaced with those of trees on the opposite bank. The stream here runs deep, and appears blue, giving the spot the name of “the Blue Deep.” It is a favourite haunt of those amateur photographers who have an eye for pictorial possibilities, but it will soon lose its attractiveness for these and other lovers of natural beauty. The great willow was tried and found guilty of some technical offence, and marked with the scarlet cross. A gnarled old pine, just opposite the stile which gives ■access to the Fendalton side of the domain at its eastern, end, was also marked for destruction. 111 this case there was more than technical justification, as the roots of tho giant were half-clear of the earth on the river side. DRESSING SHEDS TO GO.
Getting back to the North Park proper, the Board decided to grow a hedge, in a curve, around the Canterbury College tennis courts, and it was resolved to instruct the football clubs responsible for the upkeep of two dressing sheds in the clump of pines, near Victoria Lake, to have the sheds destroyed. The buildings were found to be in a filthy condition, and one of them was worm-eaten. The meeting terminated at about 4 p.m. THE BOARD’S AIMS. Chatting to a reporter after the meeting the -.chairman of' the Board spoke very hopefully of the prospects of improving and developing the domains. “ A feature of the; Board’s work that makes it worth doing well,” he said, “ is that we are building and planning not for a day, but for possibly a hundred years to come. We liavo a magnificent domain hero in Christchurch, and now that the financial outlook has improved so greatly there is no reason why we should not mako it tho best in Australasia.”
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Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16484, 25 February 1914, Page 12
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2,020THE FIERY CROSS. Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16484, 25 February 1914, Page 12
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