WATTLE CULTIVATION.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 78, 29 November 1884, Page 7

WATTLE CULTIVATION.

In referring the other dny to tiie necessity for a scheme of i'oie&t conservation and renewal being adopted in New Zealand, we incidentally mentioned the wattle as one tree which is> deserving of attention. In Victoria the Government plant these trees along the side cf the railways, anil in south Australia \ratfcles are also planted under direction of the Forestry Department The.-c tre«'S, which are valuable for their bark, t ifii timber, and theii gum, attain env\\ maturity, and can he giown at a t.pk-n did profit. Nofewe; than ab<,ut 20,()U0 wuttle trees cau be plan tod to tlie acre. a>m as they are mnly for stripping in three or tour years, tnere is an .dino&t immediate leturu for the capital invested X^roin the fourth to the tenth year o! tiieir auft« r u )iuld of aeveutom toiu o. itiU'k i>ci' auve e«tt Ue relied uyo% iQ

money value of whir' 1 is for the tcnn, £610. Tito expenses of planting and working ate calculated it £200 per acre, so tMore i« a clear profit of £110 per acre over the ten years. The trees have to be cat dawn in rotation to give place to new ones, and the wood is in great demand for making casks and tierces, besides being much priced by bakers for tirowood on account of its groat heating power. In Victoria experience has provt'd that wattle cultivation is highly remunerative, and there is reason to expect that it would hi muc'i more so in JS'ew Zealand. The lliversdale Manufacturing Company, of Auckland, lately experimented bv planting ten aces of wattle trees at Avondale, which in three years grew to : height of twelve feet. And tree gave the extraordinary yield o F s(>lbs ol bark, which means about 90 tons per acre tor four years' growth, as against the 17 tons obtained in Australia. These facts go to show that enormous profits could be made here, on account of the greater productiveness of the climate. For wattle bark thde is a steady local market, the wood would al c o be in great <iem-ui<J, win'le the gum exude 1 by th 1 tree is a profitable articles of commerce In addition to these great economic- advantage-:, the wattle is a beautiful tree, with a deliciou^y scented yellow blossom, so that its extensive introduction into New Zealand would not only prove advantageous from a commercial point of view, but would also minister to the a^tbetic bense. No better combination of the dulce cum vtile could, indeed, he obtained, and we. hope to find wattle cult tiro receiving er« long that attention which it so well deserves. — Auckland Star.