WATTLE CULTURE.

Patea Mail, 14 August 1882, Page 4

WATTLE CULTURE.

Wattle bark is now much in demand for the tanning and leather industries. Planting a few acres in wattle should prove profitable, as the demand for the bark is continually increasing. The Australasian in reply to a correspondent the following as a common method of cultivation : Let him lay out his ground in squares of 12ft each. This done, let him take every third line and at the intersections of the cross lines drop two or three seeds. That is all for the first season. The second season he does the same with the next line. The third season be finishes. He can then strip the first season’s sowing and sow again. The seeds, when planted, to be lightly covered to save them from the birds. As soon as the seedings are well up the weakest to be pulled up and thrown away, leaving one at each intersection. After the stripping, the stripped trees to be cut down, burnt, and the ashes strewn over the ground. The , second year of growth, or sooner if the plant is strong enough, clear off all the superfluous branches, so that the stem will grow up straight and clean, giving more bark, and greatly expediting the stripping. When the seedlings are, say, six months old, stock can be turned in on the grass. As long as there is a good bite of grass, stock will.not interfere with the wattle, nor, for the matter of that, will stock at any time. The time for sowing should be directly the seed is ripe ; they will then catch the first rains. The best kind is the wattle that has a smooth leaden-colored bark, the tanners liking it best, as it contains the most tannin, gives the greatest weight per acre, and commands the highest price in the market. A tree 3 years old will give half a hundredweight at the least. The ground, laid out in squares of 12 feet, will contain something over 300 trees ; that allows for each year’s stripping 100 trees, giving two tons and a-half, which, at the moderate figure of £3 10s per ton, gives the return of £8 15s per acre ;—a very handsome return, and a certain one, for the labor invested.