FROM WASTE TO WEALTH.

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 245, 12 July 1928, Page 1

FROM WASTE TO WEALTH.

World’s Greatest Tree-Planting Effort

Pioneer Company Leads the Way.

Possibilities Too Vast for Imagination.

No. XI. “ Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” This old adage is strikingly exemplified in the manner in ■which other companies have copied the efforts of the N.Z. Perpetual Forests, Ltd., in regard to afforestation •work. Imitators have sprung up like mushrooms and so great has been their number that there is a grave danger that the foundations of many are not as well and truly laid as they might be. In this fact there is of course an economic danger to the nation.

So successful has been the work of the N.Z. Perpetual Forests, Ltd., and so keen has been the desire of some imitators to follow in the steps of this Pioneer Company, that they have not hesitated to blatantly copy their methods in evefy possible manner. Some of these new companies have even gone so far in their flattering by imitation that they have conveyed the impression that they were connected with, or subsidiary to, the N.Z. Perpetual Forests, Ltd. N.Z. Perpetual Stands Alone.

This, of course, is far from being the 'Case, and it cannot be too plainly stated that the N.Z. Perpetual Forests, Ltd., stands alone. It is the great pioneer company, and has no connection either directly, or indirectly, with any other company which is at present trying to attract investors. This plain statement should be borne in mind by any intending investors, and no matter what they read, or are told, they should ever remember that there is but one pioneer company which has stood the test, and done all, and more than all it set out to do, by way of afforestation work. That company is, of course, the N.Z. Perpetual Forests, Ltd. The wonderful work accomplished by this great pioneer company whose field headquarters are situated in Putaruru is almost too vast, and too near, to be properly appreciated. This being so, it is somewhat difficult for the lay mind to visualise its work in the proper perspective. Vast Work; Vast Resources.

No company has approached the N.Z. Perpetual Forests in the amount of acres actually planted in trees, and no company is likely to for no other company has the organisation, the financial resources, or the necessary land at its command. Without land, of course, there can be no trees, and to be successful trees must be planted in sufficiently large and accessible areas so that the blocks can be efficiently and economically worked. The N.Z. Perpetual Forests, Ltd., to date has acquired no less .than 150,000 acres of land—no other company has anything like this total, the bulk having only some few hundred acres each.

At the end of this, the 1928 season, the N.Z. Perpetual Forests Company will have planted no less than 100,000 acres, all. of which have been blanked m, roaded, and provided with firebreaks. To cover this area 70,000,000 trees have been grown in the company’s own nurseries under the supervision of Mr. B. A. Goudie, an the careful and painstaking manner in which these trees have been reared and transplanted is borne out by the manner in which they have grown m their permanent positions. On the older blocks planted in 1924, a height C" Of 18 and 20 feet have been reached, in the Tokoroa district, planted . as late as 1926, so great has been the growth that what was bare brown waste is now plainly tinged with a < pleasing green.

/ Views of Experts. With 100,000 acres of land thus planted it is of interest to try and stress what the possibilities are. In the following quotations it is well to note that all the extracts are the opinions of recognised experts.— Mr. E. Maxwell computes that in pumice country a diameter of 12in is attained in 11 years.

Mr. C. H. Cockayne stated: “Under favourable conditions (i.e., similar to the territory acquired by the N.Z. Perpetual Co., Ltd., which is recognised as the best land for the purpose in the world) a diameter of over 16in is obtained in the first 12 years. Ten inch heartwood boards showing only eight annual rings are regular in the timber that is being converted at the present time.” State Guarantee.

N.Z. Forest Service Circular No. 3: “ The most remarkable feature about insignis pine is its incredibly rapid growth. As a rule a three year tree measures about three feet in height. After that period the growth increases at a rapid rate, sometimes as much as from 6ft to Bft vertical growth being made annually over a number of years. Average specimens twenty two years old showed an average annual vertical growth of 4ft, whilst an examination of the timber in open grown specimens shows a diameter increase of two inches sustained annually over ten to twelve years of the early period of the life of the tree.” In regard to volume the figures given in regard to insignis, which is described as one of the most valuable exotic timber producing trees, is 10,800 cubic feet inside the bark, in 20 years; 15,700 cubic feet in 25 year's and 20,750 cubic feet in 30 years. It may be thought that timber from such rapidly grown trees would have little value. There is, however, a great weight of evidence to show that such is far from being the case. It has been used extensively and successfully for building, houses and sheds built from it having been still in an excellent state of preservation after 37 years. When impregnated with creosote it has stood the test satisfactorily as railway sleepers for over 11 years. It is regarded as the best timber in New Zealand for concrete casing. Looking Ahead.

It is an excellent timber for case and box-making, being light, strong of good appearance, and holding nails well. (Several well-known Auckland firms are already taking advantage of the work of the N.Z. Perpetual Forests, Ltd., by providing for their future requirements in this direction).

Of its value for this latter purpose Mr. John Westwood, president of the Victorian Case Makers’ Association, wrote in the Melbourne Arugns of 9th August, 1927, as follows: — “ For many years I have used with satisfaction as much pinus insignis timber as was procurable. My only complaint is that in the past neither the Government nor private enterprise, except in a few rare instances, has shown sufficient foresight to cultivate supplies.” It is quite suitable for cheap furniture, and selected boards can be, and have been, used acceptably for high grade work. It is well adapted for the manufacture of kraft or strong brown paper pulp. Tests on both the laboratory scale, and in the semi-commercial way, have shown that the wood is easily pulped by the soda process, as well as by the sulphate or kraft process, and and that the yield is high.

Pulp for Newsprint. Further research work in connection with pulping insignis has solved the question of bleaching it for the production of newsprint. In this connection Mr. L. R. Benjiman, after a visit to the State a-a private plantations, wrote in 1927:- “ The things which struck me most were the remarkable growth of this species (p. insignis) under the conditions existing in pumice lands, the abundance of water, the ease of transport, possibilities of power development, and the splendid sites available for .pulp mills. I have for some time past carried out investigations for the Commonwealth on this timber, and publications already issued by the Government indicate the good opinions I have formed regarding it. I am convinced that p. insignis will be one of the most important pulp woods used in Australasia inside 20 years, and, furthermore, that the plantations now being put down in New Zealand . . . will supply the requirements of a very large industry in the centre of the North Island.” “ Greatest Gift.” As E. H. Wilson says in his book “ Northern Trees in Southern Lands,” “It looks as if this pine will prove the north’s greatest gift to the new forests in this part of the world.” Such is the extraordinary growth of pines that, in short, New Zealand ! can grow two forests in the time that it takes the most favourable, of ; other countries to gr ow one. It is j not too much to say that even now the I general public has r'' fully grasped the latent possibilities ; n pine trees, simply because those possibilities are | too vast for the ordinary imagina- | tion.*