STATE FORESTRY

Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 11

STATE FORESTRY

PROGRESS IN AUCKLAND. (Pbom Ouk Own Corskspowdznt.) i AUCKLAND, February 13. The Herald's special reporter published this morning a most interesting article in ! connection with the work of the State ■ Forestry Department. He says: — "One of the most striking improvements being made on the pumice lands of the Rotorua district, and one which will have far-reach-uig effects on ail the thermal region, is the planting of trees carried out under the New "Zealand Forestry Department. Hitherto the lack of trees has been a sericus drawback to the scenic effects of this most interesting part of New Zealand. The contour of the country is picturesque enough. An artist would delight in the outlines of hills and peaks, valleys and plains, but the sombre covering of manuka scrub on brown fern stretching in endless vistas grows monotonous. The Forestry Department— one of the numerous sections of the New Zealand Department of Lands^ — is planting trees by the million on the hill sloi>es about Whakarewarewa and Waiotapu, and it takes but little imagination to realise how this will add to the beauty of this district and to the wealth of the nation. The State nurseries at Whakarewarewa are among the interesting features of that place, and New Zealanders should certainly include them among the sights that should not be missed. They were instituted just about 10 years ago. and in this short time have raised 23£ million trees. It is easy enough to talk glibly of millions, but the human mind does not really grasp their significance. The capacity of the nursery is rapidly increasing. East season over 7,000,000 trees ■were raised, or nearly a third of the total for the 10 years it has been in existence. I That the pumice soil is admirably adapted for the growth of forest trees no one can doubt after seeing Whaka'rewarewa "or Waiotapu. Even at the nursery no great amount of fertilisers is required. The seed beds are manured every second year, and when the season's crop is removed they are allowed to remain fallow for a year. No manure is used in the permanent plantations. The principal variety of tree raised at Whakarewarewa is the larch, which represents about half the total amount. This tree produces a very useful class of timber, which can be used not only for general farm purposes, but for railway sleepers, bridge work, and general building. As an instance of the rapid growth of larch on these poor pumice soils, one can see quite a number of trees which have reached the height of 25ft in five years. Ac the maximum growth of this tree in Europe, even on the most suitable soil, never exceeds 2ft per year, it will be acknowledged that pumice soil must have some magical properties. Other larch ■treee panted nine years ago in another part of the pumice belt were measured recently, and several of them were 35ft in height and were 9in in diameter 2ft from the ground- Each of these trees would produce" a straining post and two ordinary fencing posts. As farmers establishing larch plantations would place the trees about 6ft apart, this would mean 1200 trees per acre, or ?690 posts. Another tree largely planfpd is the Corsican pine. About 30,000,000 of this variety have already been established. This tree is nearly as useful as the larch, and in the Rotorua -district has an annual growth of sft after its fourth year, or about twice •the European rate of growth. Unlike the Jarch, which revels in high dry uplands and does not like low or swampy ground, the Corsican pine will grow at any altitude from sea level up to the snow line, and in almost any soil from pure sand to stiff The only other pine Brown in large numbers is the heavy wooded pine. The timber of this tree is largely imported ■into New Zealand from America for general joinery. It is a tree suitable for any soil if not too wet or for any elevation, and frequently makes a growth of 3ft to 4ft yearly. There are about 40 varieties of the eucalyptus family grown, but only four or five out of this number are well adapted for the pumice country. The c e gums make a growth of from 4ft to 6ft a year after the fourth year. The broad leaved trees, such as oak. ash. elm, »nd sveamore, have not proved themselves eenerally suitable for the pumice lands. They icquire a rather stiff clay subsoil, and would flourish best on the old gumfiolds. Attached to the Rotorua State Nursery are two plantations. That at Whakarewarewa contains 10.000 acres, of which 2315 aero« ha\e been planted with about five million trees, the year's nlanting representing- about two mi'lion. The Waiotapu plantation contains 6000 acres, already fenced, and of this area 2728 acres are planted with about seven million trees. PRISON LABOUR. The Waiotapu plantation is worked entirely by prison labour, and the experiment of 'utilising this form of lalxmr ■has been most successful in every respect. That those who have broken the laws of the colony should have the opportunity o r carrying out such interesting and valuable work for the State is undeniably a .good plpn. About 40 or 50 prisoners are employed, being drawn from the gaols of Wellington and Auckland. The men like. +he work, and give very little trouble. They work well, and take an interest in tTie ffrowth of the trees- Evidently treeplontincr has provefl a turning point in the careers of a good many of these men. for quite a number of ex-prisoners are now employed by the Forestry Department in various- parts of the Dominion, and give every satisfaction. Latterly a new departure has been made in this respect. A 6pecial camp has been estiblished near Waiotapu for ex-prisone^s, and these men are offered contract work, enabling them to earn about 8s per day, and thus giving them the chance of making a fresh start in life. Ac giving an idea of the popularity of this ;nove among the .prisoners. I may say that over 50 t>er cent, of the men under sentence have expressed their intention of joining this camp when their, term ie up. • A MILLION ACRES FOR PLANTING. The importance of this forestry work to the State may be gausred from the fact that there are fully a million acres of Government land on the Kaingaroa Plains available for tree-planting. Several experimental plantations were made on these plains about nine years ago, and though in very exposed positions and on the poorest description of soil, the trees have thriven ama^inely well, '

Men raising their own seedlings and not counting the cost, of their own labour could produce young trees for about 5e per 1000, and could plant them out at a cost of £2 per acre. At this rate nearly every farmer - could probably utilise some portion of his land, for. beside the advantage of shelter for stock, larch plantations on pumice land should yield at eight yeans old o\er £70 per acre from fencing posts alone. EFFECT ON CLIMATE. It has always been contended that the establishment of a fcicst affects the climate, and, asked if any change had bein noticed in this direction, the Chief Forester told me that before the plantations were c lished at Waiotapu sharp frosts were experienced in the valley even as late a« December, doing considerable damage to all classes of trees arrowing in hollows or gullies. Since the trees in the plantations have made several feet of growth the frcsts have become sensibly lessened in their intensity. COMMERCIAL RESULTS. Looked at purely from the commercial standpoint, this State tree-planting promises great results. In the Government report on plantations and nurseries for 1906 the trees in the Rotorua nursery alone were valued at £26,690, those in the Whakarewarewa plantations at £16.629, and at Waiotapu £17,618. The total value of all the State plantations in New Zealand is £148,388, whilst the total expenditure has amounted to only £88.779. In calculating values the trees were estimated at 25 ■per cent, less than wholesale trade rates, so it can be seen that the work is going to be profitable to the State..