FIGHTING THE SAND DRIFT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3720, 18 October 1906, Page 3

FIGHTING THE SAND DRIFT.

WHAT A WOODHILL FARMER IS b DOING. The Uses of Lupin and Marram grasses. [“Farmers’ Weekly.”] “ There is not very much to see here, but you can make a little useful ‘’copy ’ by inspecting our efforts with lupin and marram grass, to resist the serious encroachment of the sand, which is a matter of grave concern to many settlers on various parts of the New Zealand coast.” So wrote Mr Richard Monk, ex-M.H.R., in reply to a query which had been sent to him by a ” Farmers Weekly ” representative, concerning the work upon the farm originally taken up by Mr Monk, and now held by his son, Mr_H. b. Monk, at Woodhill, in theHelensville district. - ' . Settlers on the coast lands 01 New Zealand, but more particularly in the Taranaki and Kaipara districts, have had a good deal of trouble in contending against the sands which drift in from the sea, and which constitute a very real menace to settlement in their immediate neighborhood. In the Kaipara district the sands have accumulated along the harbour for a distance of, roughly speaking, forty miles, and may be said to have overwhelmed the whole of that country for a distance of from two and a-half to five miles inland, so that there is an area of something like 140 miles of country which consists of mere sand bills and wastes. Practically the whole of country comprised in these sandy wastes is reserved for the natives, and it is consequently a very open question whether anything will be done to reclaim it for many years to come. It is, however, indisputable that, thirty, or forty years ago, a portion at least, of this land was cultivated by the Maoris. Mr Monk’s farm of 700 acres adjoins the Maori reservation, and portions of the farm on the western boundary have been reclaimed from the sand drifts, Av’hich have overwhelmed more than one Maori settlement, the remains of which are still plainly visible from Mr Monk’s land. Accepting the invitation extended to him in Mr Monk’s letter, the writer visited Woodhill on the 18th inst., and was shown Over the farm by Mr Monk himself, several photographs being taken to illustrate the inroads made by the drifting sands, and She work accomplished, and in progress, in reclaiming the lands so encroached upon. Mr Monk explained that he had been fighting the sand drift for the last ten years by planting lupin and marram grasses with, as it now seems, a very fair measure cf success. The lupin belongs to the leguminous class, and like peas, beans, vetches etc*, is a good fertiliser, having power to assimilate and fix the free nitrogen of the atmosphere by means of the bacteria which are developed in the root nodules. It grows luxuriantly in sandy soils, and spreads in every direction, providing it can keep its head above the sand; and under such circumstances, it strikes its roots deeply and thus helps to bind the sand together. The marram or beach grass, is another sand-binder, which seems to revel in difficulties, and once it gets a hold is never really overwhelmed. • It may be buried deep in some sand storm, yet it finds its way to the surface again, and by means of its interlaced and running root stocks, binds the sand more and' more firmly together until in time the shifting sand is fairly conquered. Both grasses, therefore, are great sand-fighters, and by their more general use it is • possible the sand drift difficulty may be partially if not wholly,

overcome. What may- be done in this direction is apparent from the work accomplished by Mr Monk and his neighbours. On the western boundary of their properties the Maori lands, now little better than sandy wastes, are situated. From Mr Mo.ik’s boundary fence there stretches, as far as the eye can reach, an apparently illimitable expanse of desert; the only bits of colour on white sand hills being the patches of marram and lupin which mark the site of the Maori settlements, where thirty or forty years ago the natives grew their kuraaras and cultivated their peach trees. Walking across the sand towards the furthest of these 11 settlements,” about 300 yards from the boundary fence already referred to, the writer saw the tops of the karaka trees rising about a foot or x 8 inches above the surface, and in another place more to the north Mr Monk pointed out that the sand had encroached fully 150 ft on the land, thus partially overwhelming another Maori settlement. Asked where all the sand came from, Mr Monk said the scientists attributed it to some upheaval of Nature. His own opinion based on observations during the last thirty years or more, was that it came in from the sea. That opinion it may here be remarked, is endorsed by another gentleman who knows the country well, and who believes that a large amount of sand has been washed down by the Waikato, and swept back again by tidal action upon the coast. Told of the scientific theory that the sand hills were probably due to some great upheaval, this gentleman remarked, with a twinkle in his eye, ‘ ‘ That reminds me of a story I read the other day. A gentleman who was greatly interested in horses, and who owned several racehorses, was travelling on one occasion by coach. He had a box seat, and remarked to the dnver that he had rather a good team. ‘I don’t know so much about that,’ said the driver, ‘but that one there (indicating one of the leaders with his whip) ain’t half bad. He’s a scientific horse, he is. ’ ‘ And what might a scientific horse be ?’ queried the gentleman. ‘ Well, sir,” was the reply, ‘ we calls him a scientific horse because he thinks he knows a lot, but he doesn’t know' half as much as he thinks he knows.” There is, we imagine, no need to enforce the moral, if moral there be.

Recounting his experiences, Mr Monk said that he had found it necessary to construct breakwinds in order to give the lupin a chance of growing. They had built these up with bags and trees, the latter laid lengthways and forming a barrier from 6ft to Bft high. But these walls or breakwinds . soon disappeared, the sand sweeping up and overwhelming them, and the lupin plants sharine'the same fate. Latterly, however, he had adopted a new plan, which was giving greater promise of success. Breakwinds were constructed (as shown in the illustrations) by means of trees placed vertically in the sand, other trees being placed T-shape over them. These breakwinds were constructed along the line of the prevailing winds, so that the sand was carried past them, yet sufficient shelter remained for the lupin to establish itself. But even with that style of break wind the sand accumulations were very con • siderable, as was shown by the fact that of x6ft saplings placed vertically in the ground, only four to five feet remained visible. By means of these breakwinds, and by constant planting out the lupin Was beginning to assume the ascendancy in places, and a considerable acreage of sand had been, as he hoped, permanently reclaimed. Oil this land, as the writer saw, the lupin was growing luxuriantly, and the once sandy soil had been so thoroughly inoculated with, nitrogen bacteria as to jhave been completely transformed. “ Our trouble now is to clear the land of the lupin and lay it down in pasturage,” said Mr Monk. Several lupin plants pulled on this land were all seen to be bearing the root nodules, which indicate the presence of the nitrogen fixing bacteria, and the land was, moreover, clearly changing its character, evi- : dently as a result of the fertilising 1 qualities of the grass.

Not only has a very fair quantity of land been permanently reclaimed from the sand drifts, but Mr Monk is satisfied that the lupin and marram grasses between them are holding the sand back, and by planting out at favourable seasons ue is hopeful of securing even better results. Only on the Saturday preceding our visit, Mr Monk had planted out some two thousand of lupins. The season seemed propitious, as rain was seen to be coming, and experience has taught him that it the plants can only secure a week of ‘ ‘ dripping weather.” after they have been put in, they are fairly safe.