TREE PLANTING.

Patea Mail, 5 July 1882, Page 4

TREE PLANTING.

A nurseryman writing to the Timaru Herald says :—The comparatively treeless aspect of the Canterbury province, will undoubtedly in time be changed into one of great beauty by the belts -and blocks of forest trees which will intersect the plains and clothe the flank of our hills' and mountains. *Not only will we have a more beautiful country, but the effects of such blocks, &c., will be beneficial to our climate, in that droughts will be almost impossible, and the winds robbed of their strength ; and above all there will be serviceable timber to take the place of our fast diminishing native suppty. Without going into the manner in which these re- . suits are brought about, I would like to draw the attention of the southern planters of this province (who seem to enter more largely into planting than proprietors in the north) to what threatens the accomplishment of the above objects. Those engaged in the rearing of forest trees often hear the complaint that “ It’s no good planting on my land, nothing but insignia will grow or “ Look at Mr ’s trees planted five years ago, and now nothing but scrub.” These expressions and confessions of experience are very common, and they will be the experience of many more if the indiscriminate manner of tree planting is not abolished. I am not alluding to Finns insignia and others which are hardly fit for burning when arrived at matufity, 1 and can therefore be of no great value to the country excepting as shelter, but to real timber trees which in quantities form sources of wealth to nations, incomes to individuals, and act beneficially in every direction. As an illustration, and knowing that many of your readers are interested in it I will explain ray meaning by referring to the cultivation of larch. The ultimate aim in planting larch is, of course, the production of timber, second to none in the world ; therefore, it would be very foolish of anyone to incur the expense of establishing and attending to a plantation which in the end would yield a worthless timber, either on account of its gnarled appearance or the small growth of the wood. To ensure valuable timber, larch must be planted in its proper place, and accompanied with its suitable nurses or congeners. On the plains I very muchquestion that larch will ever form marketable timber, although many persons have planted it for that purpose, and after it has reached a medium size will come to a standstill and die out; this, to ray knowledge has been the experience of many in other countries, and especially where there has been a grave! or shingle bottom, no matter what depth the overlying alluvium has been. Now as every failure in tree-planting tends to discourage others, all interested in the spread of treeculture should be very careful in recommending what trees to plant, and persons planting should bear in mind that there are trees adapted for every variety of soil and every description of locality, and that where one class of trees perish others would flourish and assume all the vigor possible. On the flanks of hill-sides and bottoms of valleys, where the soil is of a clayey nature resting on a rocky bottom or debris, larch would tower to -a great height and well repay all expenditure. These situations are numerous in this province, and, not being of such value as the flat land should receive the first attention of planters. If there were no hill sides destitute of trees, then persons might risk the larch on the plains, but as this is not the case, I see no reason why time and money should be thrown away in opposing nature, which is certainly done when larch I

is planted out in the open plains.' In this situation, where the soil is deep and rich, it thrives, and if sheltered \vould rapidly rise into a good-sized tree ; but it would be short-lived, and the timber when cut would warp and run into cracks during the process of seasoning, owing to the unnatural way in which it was reared. An equal mixture of larch and spruce planted not more than six feet apart on the side of a valley slightly sheltered would result in one of the most pleasing sights man can witness. The spruce, on account of its dense pyramidal habit,

orms the best nurse tree for the larch and possesses with the larch the rare quality of soon maturing its timber, and straight growth and utility of timber when young, so that all after thinnings as the trees draw each other up, are valuable for posts, rails, scaffolding, masts, yards, and a variety of other purposes.

As with the larch, so with any pther trees. Planted in their proper situations 1 ! success is the result; but placed where nature never adapted them to grow, disappointment ensues and cause men to look upon the formation of forest enclosures as a very uncertain speculation. The great value of a plantation (properly planted) in after years should induce intending planters to be very careful in what they plant, and to see that the trees, soil and position are in perfect harmony.