AFFORESTATION

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 131, 26 January 1932, Page 6

AFFORESTATION

KILLING OFF WEEDS SUGGESTED EMPLOYMENT OF RELIEF WORKERS ,SUPPORTED. WELLINGTON WRl'TER'S VIEWS. When avenues fqr the relief of unemployment are being discussed, the question is sometimes asked why the removal of noxious weeds and the afforestation of the unkempt, poor quality land where gorse and broom luxuriate, are not tajcen in hand as one job, but the -planting of those areas with pines or other suitable trees -that would in time kill out the weeds. There are- thousands of acres of this sort of country not far from all the big centres, or the small centres for that matter, where camps could be erected to absorb many of the unemployed, but it seems that there are more than the usual number of obstacles to what would appear to be an obvious course, says the Wellington Posi. The views expressed by this writer are of particular interest in view of the recent proposals for the elimjnation of ragwort submitted by Mr. C. H. Clinkard, M.P., member for Rotorua. To Whose Profit? If the work were to he restricted to the Crown lands, the difficulties would he minimised, but the great trouble in any State effort towards the double purpose alluded to is the tenure of the lands concerned. The

main value of such a scheme, apart from the absorption of unemployed and the value of the timber grown, would be the ultimate bringing into production of farm lands at present smothered in weeds. If farmers were benefited, the country would share in the increased production, but unless someone comes along and says in effect, "Here are 1000 acres of land J can do nothing with, take them over for twenty years, do what you want with them, and I will do what you say is necessary to help," the path is blocked. Timber cannot be grown on someone else's land without a hard and.fast agreement, otherwise an arrangement entered into with the best of objects by both parties would lead to endless complications later. Plafiting would undoubtedly produce revenue at some future date) but to whom should that revenue go? If to the State, then the owner would require some adequate consideration, and if this was given to the owner, even though partly, other owners whose lands are overrun with weeds. of whom there are thousands in New Zealand, could with equity seek simi. lar State assistance.

Costly Eradication. There is now legislation allowing the State to clear lands of noxious weeds and charge the owner with the cost, which would be a simple means of providing employment, except for the fact that in many cases the reason why the poorer lands have not already been cleared is that the owners cannot find the funds to do it with. On some of the worst infested farms, the cost of clearing would be- so great that the farmer would be put out of business if he had to face it. Planting, while it would produce revenue in time, would also definitely put the area out of production that would add to exports until the whole of the ground was cleared of timber. For the first four years after planting, the trees would be in danger of being smothered by the gorse and broom. After that, with their heads above the tangle ,and their roots well down, it is considered that they would hold their own. A considerable number of men would have to he employed in clearing the trees during the first four years, however, to ensure that the cost of the actual planting was nnt. wnsfo/P

Locking Up Feed. While gorse, broom and blackberry do not spread far of themselves, the annual invasion outwards being restricted to the distance the plants grow and cast or drop their seeds stoclc, birds, and human beings spread che seeds in various ways and for inealculable distances. Every bad patch of gorse, if the ideal methods were initiated, would be ring-fenced, and ihe owner of that property would keep che far-flung seedlings down by grubbing. Farmers, however, like their stock to get all the feed available, and there are some sweet pickings in the glades in the gorse, while sheep get a lot of feed off the young shoots.

Tackling Weeds- Alone. Quite a lot of work could be found in a systematic eradication of these weeds by relief labour, but it is held by experts that there is aj time in the life oi a gorse patch when it is almost ldle to attack it except by the most detailed attention to every plant. After a period of years, the patch reaches a stage when the old bushes are declining, and the carpet of seedlings is so deprived of light that it does not get a start, and this is said to be the best time to make war on the pest. But this means a period of years, and here again the army of expert inspectors required to decide when a patch is "ripe," and able to d-etect owners with a convenient belief that their gorse has many years to go before it should be touched, would cost money, which is the one thing of which both Government and owners are short.

Danger of Fire. The maintenance of plantations, while not unduly expensive, is still a charge that must not be forgotten in any such scheme, and there is always the danger of fire (which many farmers rely on every year to give them some spring feed, from gorse areas) wiping out the plantation, perhaps after a score of years, when it is nearing the revenue stage. All- plantations are split up, or should be split up, by fire-breaks, but in a gorse country, unless the fire-breaks are grubbed and carefully burnt clear. every fire-break would become a sure fire conductor of gorse. After making inquiries our informant was of the opinion that there .; appeared to be little chance of reconciling the agricultural and forestry viewpoints so as to encourage owners to offer areas for treatment, and that the prolilems could best be tackled independently,