FOREST-RAISING

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 60, 1 September 1911, Page 4

FOREST-RAISING

NINE MILLION TREES GROWN LAST YEAR.

In the- four State nurseries last year 8,!}">1,045 trees were raised from seed, and 7.588,285 trees were sent to the plantations. The area of lftml nmler plantations was increased by '2(11)0 acres, making 1(5,310 acres planted since the. commencement of operations in 1806, when, it may be stated, New Zealand took tlie lead among; Antipodean conntries in an endeavor to replace its rapidly diminishing forest*. The stock of trees in the nurseries at the end ot March last was 21,780,740, of which about nine, millions will be transferred to plantations during the year.

PRISON LABOR. The employment of prisoners at the plantations continues to bo satisfactory. although the number employed' dining the year has. been considerably loss than last year. Since prison labor was first utilised for*,this ipurpoac the total value of work done is £32,2 d.) Is 4d. The prisoners are building up for the country generally an exceedingly valuable asset, and the sceme of employing them will he continued, and. if opportunity affords, extended. Al !lil»hut Spring and Whaknrcwarewa jiii iitfttions free labor has been employed in addition to prison labor, but at Waiotapu, where the largest prison camp is situated, almost all of the new country lias been planted by prisoners. Tli" remainder of a block in this locality of some 700 acres will be afforested during the coining winter, and further planting will then' he undertaken on a block of 30,000 acres of Crown lands recently reserved for this purpose on the Iviingiuoa Plains adjoining the present plantations in the Waiotapu Valley. The initial fencing work in connection with the recently acquired I*2oo acres of undulating ground immediately adjoiniug the Naseby reservoir has been completed, and the result of the first season's planting has justified the opinion formed regarding its adaptability for afforestation purposes. Preparations are well in band for dealing with considerably over half a million trees at Naseby during the approaching planting season, and this number greatly exceeds that opernted with in any previous year in Central Otago. COST OP PLANTATIONS. The average cost per thousand for raising trees, in nurseries from 189(1 to 1111 l has been £2 4s 9d, but this is not a fair representation of the present position, inasmuch as three of the nurseries—Starborough, Kurow and Rnatftligiita— where climatic conditions are against the work, have been closed. At the two largest nurseries—Tapanui and Rotorua—-the cost of raising trees lffli been about CI per thousand, and. as far as can be foreseen, the cost for tlHl next few years will remain much the | same.

From 1800 to 1011 (the average cost of planting one thousand trees has fieoji

C 3 (is sd. while the eost of every acfe planted lias been £7 14s. The cost of the work depends very largely upon the climatic conditions and nature of the soil, and the figures for each station vary considerably. Tt should also be mentioned that at stations where prison labor is employed the value of such labor has lieen regarded ns an expenditure for the purpose of working out these averages. Taking the cost of raising the trees in the nujseries, together with the expenditure incurred on the plantations, it is found that on the average each acre of plantation has cost £l3 15s. Included in these calculations are the stations which have been closed, where the poor results were largely due to the adverse climatic conditions. Again, much v;tillable experimental work has been undertaken, and the expenditure on this is not likely to recur. At Dusky Hill plantation the cost has been excessive, oiling to the greater part of the area Irving to ho replanted, as the result of a destructive fire in 1008. occasioned

the carelessness of a fisherman. The outlook for the future is much more

encouraging. At tin; principal stations linn' in existence the work is at present being conducted on strictly economical lines, anil the records show that I lie cost, for forming the plantations varies from £ii to .£7 per acre.