PLANTING IN SANDY SOILS.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1135, 7 January 1884, Page 2

PLANTING IN SANDY SOILS.

Mr J C Crawford, F.G.S. a former old resident in the Wellington district has forwarded the New Zealand Times a pamphlet upon a method of fixing light soils. Possibly the matter might bo of. interest to the Freezing Company so we quote what onr contemporary has to say as follows : —Mr Crawford’s experiment has a special interest for us because it was made in the immediate vicinity of Wei* lington, in that low lying sandy soil between Evans Bay and Lyell’s Bay. In 1859 ho imported from Edinburgh £5 worth of the seeds of the common bent grass and the sea lyme grass, and these ho sowed at the spot mentioned. For some years he saw no sign of the seeds having sprung up, but at length ho noticed a small bunch of them in a sheltered glen, and on seperating these and planting them out, they throve so well that there is now quite a large acreage covered with them, and clover and other grass seeds now take root and a fair pasture is tablishod. Mr Crawford recommends the grasses should be planted out in the places where they are required and that they should be planted very deeply. As the operation of planting requires some care, ho prefers Maori to European labour, the Maoris being found to be more patient and more careful in this kind of work. Should the proposed plan answer elsewhere, it would be very valuable In utilising very light sandy soil hitherto condemned as utterly valu!ess. : In fact, with the exception of bare granite' peaks and pumice hills, there is very little land which may not in some way be turned to good account, though it is not always easy to find out the proper way at once-