SAND-DRIFTS

Otaki Mail, Volume 26, 2 June 1919, Page 4

SAND-DRIFTS

( NEED FOR ACTION ON THIS COAST. 1 The following correspondence- between the Foxton- Chamber of , Commerce and Mr W. H. Field, M.P. for the* district, will be read with interest:— Town Clerk's Office, Foxton, May 20, 1919. W. H. Field, Esq., M.P., 'Wellington. Dear Sir,—l am instructed by, my Council to bring under your notice a resolution of the Foxton Chamber of Commerce which has been endorsed by this Council, and to request that you give the matter your support, it being a matter, which vitally. affects the whole of the West Coast district. The resolution reads as follows: — •'That the member for the district be asked to bring under the notice of the Minister of Lands the necessity for taking steps to stop the sand drift menace along the coast between Paekakariki ■ and Wanganui, and recommend that the Crown acquire such Native lands for afforestation or other purposes of utility.'' Yours faithfully, • ,"'.. W. J. WATERS, Town Clerk. Wellington, 24th May, 1919. The Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Foxton. Dear Sir,—l was glad to receive your letter inviting my sympathy to the direction of combating the sand drift evil on the sea coast from Paekakariki northwards, 'and planting useful trees on sandy laud, which is now not only lying waste, but is in some cases spreading and „ covering valuable swamps.

I can promise you my hearty cooperation in the matter. I need-hardly remind you that this is a subject which, is not only not new to me, but to which I have been devoting my attention for fully twenty years, and to a large extent unaided. I. am the owner of about 2K miles of sea frontage at Waikanae, and when I'took up the land several hundred acres of it consisted of moving sand. 1 have succeeded, at considerable expense, in covering it all with the aid of marram grass and lupin, and have now, in many places where previously the sand was drifting, an increasing supply of rough feed in the form of cocksfoot, paspalum and prairie grass. Furthermore, I am told by. Mr Frederick Easton, of Foxton, that cattle*wil do well on lupin if it is cut down and allowed to wither. In this way he feeds a'quantity of cattlo through the winter on his seaside property near Foxton. This is a fact well worth noting, and I am following his example on my Waikanae propcrty this winter. For something like twenty years, both inside Farliament and out, I have been begging Government after Government to acquire and deal with large areas of *and arid swamp country along the Manawatu and Rangitikei' coasts,'but my voice has up to- the present been literally that of one crying in the wilderness. By adopting this policy a large volume of surplus labour would have been usefully and profita--ably absorbed. My suggestion was that the sand drift shpitljl' be subjected to judicious planting of marram grass and lupin and afterwards planted with pinus radiata (usually called inaignis), and the swamps should be cleared of • useless .vegetation and vacant. areas planted in flax. In some of the sheltered ivet and too poplars which arc, of ■ course, very fast growing, could-also have been established. It has been cs- I certained that both pinus radiata and I poplar furnish excellent timber for j butter boxes, cheese crates, and probably also for tallow cas"ks. I have proved conclusively, as have others, that the pinus radiata stands up against the heaviest gales and grows fast and thrives on our sandy laud. It would doubtless be wise to protect these trees by planting a belt of. pinus pineaster (usually called maritania) along the actual coast line. Had. injj advice been followed we should havi?, now almost ready for cutting. increasing supplies of pine timber for the'pur-' 1 .poses above mentioned to take the place of our fast disappearing white i pine. Furthermore, large areas of flax i would havc-;been available, and the ! royalties la'sr. year, about £2 per ton for j green leaf, would have gone a long way I towards covering the total outlay. ' Practically nothing, however, has yit beclT uOM- and I welcome the activity displayed EJ" l!>c I ' oston Chamber ci Commerce and all others who are m sympathy with it, in this great national work. I trust that in the near future the Government may be induced to take the matter in hand energetically. The result will, I am sure, be for the great benefit of the Dominion as a whole. Yours faithfully. :Jr- "W. H. FIELD.