HIGH COUNTRY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26640, 10 December 1947, Page 6

HIGH COUNTRY

EROSION PROBLEM REMEDIAL MEASURES VIEWS OF LAND BOARD MEMBER “The whole question of our highcountry runs is at present being studied by a Royal Commission which, after the fullest inquiry, will report its findings to the Government. It is highly desirable that the commission should be given facilities to visit and inspect as much of this land as possible, particularly those parts that are being devastated by soil erosion,” said Mr J. S. Adams, of Otekaike, a member of the Otago Land Board, in an interview with the Daily Times yesterday. “It is generally believed that a vast area of our finest and sweetest winter country is rapidly deteriorating and that drastic measures will have to be taken if it is to be saved from destruction.

“It has been my privilege to see something of the administrative as well as the practical side of this question,” Mr Adams continued. “ The causes of soil erosion are many, but one of the most important is faulty subdivision. Experience has shown the necessity for what is called ‘ balance ' in subdivision—that is, that each holding should contain enough low, or winter country, to balance its high, or summer country. This balance has not always been kept. Many holdings possess far too little winter . country and the owner is compelled to keep his stock on this part of his run for long periods. This results in bare paddocks, depleted pastures, under-fed sheep, and a heavy death rate. I know of a flock of 1000 ewes on such a place which reared only 150 lambs iast year. Each run should contain enough low country to provide for all the lambs required for the upkeep of the flock, as the purchase of young sheep for that purpose is too costly a business to-day. , Many Runs Too Small “ Many runs , are too small to be economic,” Mr Adams added. “In their laudable desire to place as many settlers as possible on the land, those charged with the important work of subdivision made many sections too small., In the case of the Benmore run, for instance, it has been found necessary to amalgamate many of these small sections. “The evil of overstocking cannot be too strongly condemned, for this is the real cause of most of our soil erosion troubles. In an endeavour to their way and make ends meet, many runholders have been tempted to overstock their properties. The result is that tussock and native grasses are eaten out, thus exposing the bare soil to sun and wind to be dried up and blown away, or washed down into the rivers during heavy rain. The man who tries to keep the last possible sheep is ‘mining,’ and not farming, his run. Overstocking encourages rabbits. They flock to the warm, bare, sunny slopes, preferring them to those parts of the run that are well clad with vegetation.” The depredations of these rabbits and deer, particularly the former, were responsible for the destruction of the vegetation of much of our best run country, was the opinion of Mr Adams. The rabbit, he said, was a very close cropper, which also poisoned and dug up the grass around its warrens, many of which cover hundreds of acres. The rabbit problem would have to be grappled with and settled if erosion difficulties are to be overcome. He added that other and better methods of deer culling would have to be employed, as it had been found that indiscriminate shooting resulted only in driving the deer further into the hin-. terland. Spelling the Land “ To my mind, regrouping offers great possibilities as a remedy to the -present position,” Mr Adams said. “I suggest that a thorough survey by competent men should be made with a view to cutting out all uneconomic holdings and adding them to neigh-, bouring properties in need of additional land. Card" and thought would have to be given to building up the economy of ,the remaining runs and providing each with sufficient low country for all practical purposes. The survey I suggest should : indicate which areas are suffering from erosion, so that they could be marked out for spelling for a period of one or more years. Spelling is the most effective, if not the only, \yay of bringing such land back into production,” he said.

“ In view of the importance of bringing such land back rents should be remitted for the period of spelling,” Mr Adams concluded. “In rabbit-infested country a plentiful supply of fabbit netting is of the utmost importance, and this should be made available at the earliest possible moment. As this whole question is a - national one, I would suggest that,netting should be heavily subsidised, and that rabbit de-' struction be given first priority in the matter of obtaining supplies.”