NEW STATE FORESTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 39, 9 May 1927, Page 7

NEW STATE FORESTS

BIG SCHEMES IN HAND KING COUNTRY AND RIVERHEAD EXPERIMENTS ON RECLAMATIONS (From Our Resideyit Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Saturday. The purchase by the Government of 36,000 acres of land in the Karioi (King Country) district for tree-plant-ing, and the commencement of the work on the 10,000 acres at Riverhead, near Auckland, mark two distinct steps forward in the afforestation programme of the Department.

THE SUN man discussed the possibilities of the new area with the Commissioner of State Forests, the Hon. O. J. Hawken, who said that the Government proposed to plant about 2,000 acres this year, importing trees from Rotorua for the purpose, and a nursery to supply the future requirements of the area is to be established immediately. In three years the whole 36,000 acres is expected to be planted. With the arrival of the planting season, a stai't has been made on operations at Riverhead, where the trees are being taken from a nursery accommodating about two million trees already established there.

The possibility of turning some of the reclaimed land to agricultural productivity was mentioned.

Mr. Hawken smiled. “Not in this generation,” he replied. “Perhaps two or three generations hence something of the sort will become possible.” “To what use, then, will the best of the reclaimed land be put?” “Some if it will be fit only for forestry—never for anything else. There is a great deal of the land which has been returning to the Government only 3d an acre. Forestry should return more than that.”

“Will the return not be greater even tually ?”

“Oli, it is valuable for afforestat'on. But the forests take many years to come to maturity.”

“What of the dunes where the drift has been stopped? Will this be tit for light grazing or moderate productivity?” The Minister thought a moment. “I am afraid not,” lie replied. “The sand drift has been stopped, which in itself is of great value. But there are difficulties on the slopes. In the Rangitikei district the planting of the dunes has been quite successful, and experiments are being executed with flax-growing in many parts. Even here, however, there are difficulties, because much of the land lies in water for a greater part of the time. Flax can stand periodical floods—in fact the silt which follows does good in a nutritive way—but after a few weeks under water it will be no good.” And so the work goes on. The Hanmer area will be finished this year, the unplanted half of the 16,000 acres at Balmoral will also be completed during the current planting season, while in Otago and at Rotorua the forestry operations maintain a steady forward pace.