CLAMATION OF SAND AREAS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 218, 22 February 1915, Page 3

CLAMATION OF SAND AREAS

REPORT BY GOVKRXMEXT EXPERT. The encroachment of tlx- sand aloe;: various parts of tho coast of Taranaiv has engaged the attention of those interested for some time prist, and various experiments have been undertakefor the purpose of ascertaining the her method of checking it. At the instigation of Mr I). J. Hughes, a member of Oo Harbor Board, Mr ft. de Uavliss. Fields Instructor of the Agricultural Department, recently visited the Bell Block district with a viev,- to reporting as to the best method of reclaiming sand in that locality. At. the Harbor Board meeting op Friday. Mr Hughes presented the following report, and as it is of interest, in other parts of the province, we publish it in full:—

With reference to the sandhill area adjoining Mr Kalwav's property anil now covered with tree lupin, as this lend is right on the eoast and is at times exposed to very high winds, it would be deeidedlv unwise to denude it of lupin before some adequate shelter has been provided. It would appear to me that a belt of three or four chains wide should be left in those lupins immediately along the coast line, and that thereafter provision should be made for planting suitable timber. On most similar '' coarsest, and purest and '-and is found near the coast, the oualitv of the soil improving as the land recedes from the sea. Hummocks of drifted sand are often found collected for a considerable distance inland, with small sandy flats, some ef which contain very fair soil sHinterl between these sand ridges. The 'eo;-.:h'litie i ; of these sand areas gTeatly denend upon the average depth at which moisture may be found under normal conditions.

Many of the sand areas in New Zca'nnd have Iven spoilt by indiscriminate treatment. Instead of raising a main dune across the prevailing wind, attempts have "been made merely to anchor the sand wherever and whenever some vegetation has taken root. The result has been t.hat« irregular hummocks have been formed bv an occasional bunch of lupins and other vegetation, and sand vnlle*" 'T gorges have been scooped out bof'veen by the prevailing winds. This has largely been the case with the area in question, and a considerable area of rough country covered with irregular hummocks lias been formed where one or two mai n dunes might have been built, up. having moderately wide intervening valleys between them. which eventually might have been made into valuable land.

I would suggest that, after leaving a belt of lupins of, say, three or four chains in depth right along the coast, belts running at right angles to tho direction of the prevailing wind, say, from two to three chains wide, be cleared. allowed to dry, and raked away from the uncut, lupins, and then burnt at a s"ison when the fire is not likelv to snread in the unburnt portions. " The idea, therefore, is to clear alternately i belt two or three chains wide and to have a belt of lupins standing two or time chains wide, so that they mayhold the sand, and also form regularly r'-enrring bolts of shelter for the young plantations which are being raised in the intervening clearings. Ih following'out the svstem cdvocated one of the chief difficulties to be dealt with will bo the keeping down of tlis growth of young lupins, which will be an ever-recurring problem o n the clearings for some time to come.

On tho limnniockv area cutting and clearing by hand will probably have to bo resorted to owing to tho uneven nature of tho eountry. On the more level areas. by planting tho trees at intervals. of say. three feet in rows. «av. nine feet, apart, after the initial Hf'arinff of old pxowtli lias been romovod, it would be possible to keep the erowtli of voung lupins down bv the use of a scrub-cutting machine, having a somewhat shorter knife than the one usually supplied—such as tho M'Cormick mower, big No. 4. with special heavy bar, short strong knife, and heavv finJTiTs. J CUTTIXG.

The initial clearing should be made by cutting the lupins before the seed informed as close to the ground as possible. These can be allowed to drv where they are, and their lmlk will be considerably reduced. Later they should be ralced into convenient heaps, as it will not be safe to bum same until such time as there is no fear of the fire spreading in the belts of growing lupins reserved for preliminary shelter purposes. Lupins should be cut before they seed.

After the lupins have bpen cut, or even during the process of cutting, a mixture of suitable grasses may be broadcasted on th o land, and the grasses will have the shelter of the cut lupin plants until Mich time an these are {Fathered into big heaps for the purpose of burning.

.After the heaps of cut lupin have been burnt, thp patches on which the burnt stacks stood will of course be resown, and, later, a heavy roller mav be draped over the land", and bv'thia means old stumps, etc., which have been sticking up anjl would be likely to impede "the passage of the scrub-cutter when cutting the young lupin plants Will be broken down.

. When the young lupins grow, at intervals, a s required, the cutter will he put over the ground to keep down the young and, should the grass seed be enabled to get a hold, the grasses will materially assist in stamping out the lupins. The young growth thus cut will be left as a mulch upon the ground.

Wliere, owinpr to t-lio uneven nature I ' of tlie ground, it is not pnsslMe to run ; the cutter tlie outtintj must ho ilone ! ny manual labor. Tii mu*li oasos*. Ihmvever, it should in all probability he only necessary to clear the lupin for about half the space intervening between the trees, and. indeed, (h«. trees niislit in all probability in the vounffcr 'stages considerably benefit hv the shelter thus provided by t.lie lupin, but the use of the scrub-flitter for clearing the lupins, where the ennfi-rnration of the eountrv allows it. would bo the cheaper method, to the hi;ih cost of labor, a report unon the dune areas of New Zealand bv T)r. Oockavne of nhrislchurch. Xew Zealand, the'followin',' trees, amomrst others, are spoken of as spray resisting species, suitable for <'"' ie afforestation:-Pinus maritime (Cluster Pine). Pimis halepensrs (,\lep'"l Pine), pinus insicnis (Mom-rev Pine) Cnpressus macrocarpa (Mmiter'e<- '

I'i-ess). Pinns muricata (Bishop p:.„ Tamariy "-allien (Tamaresk). Olearia Traversii (riialliam Island Akeake). All these are therein classified as fairly I -•iivii v-re--N( ;M'f Other varieties of trees mi'.-ht doubtless lie ;rro\vn as the distanee from the coast increases and conr \}>f>»onv in (Tip jtrcu of siukJ fountrv •■•'Wn'sv Vr Siilwav'i farm are one or two small flats Ivinjr between the sandIf i(. is not desired to plant these with trees, the Innins wipht be cut before seeding and left to drv. T.ater (he drv material illicit: be raked together where necessary and b"rnf at a season •••' I here was little danger is:' : to the lincnt areas. At a suitable season after the burn ""•ass seeds could be sown. ami. after n roller had heen put over the land to h'-enl: down dry st'unns. and such Vke obstacles, -ft,. r-,.-, I b-"Mf t Im" irfelilne could. lie utilised, to! Veen down the young growth of the lupins.

<Jn sand areas of this description it should be a rul e that burning fshtmU never be resorted to except in the hrw( instance when it is desired to make s clearance for the passage of machiH- v\ and then perhaps only on land KiTr.ia' to vwch of this, in which certain var. ties of grasses will take root fa.v quickly. Ah a preliminary grass mixture ' -.md country of this nature, I won suggest cocksfoot Sib.. Danthopia pile. I "lb,, white clover lVall).. YorksYiTu For 31b.',' Danthonia semiammhiria i/.1b., Microloena stipoides lib., Medieago lupulina lib., Pea pratensis lib., Prairie 41b Lotus corniculatus V»ll>.. Agrostis canina lib., suckling clover 21K. Lotus llispi(hl , V.U).. dogtail 21b. Paspe.lon, dilitatum lib. A somewhat heavy sowing is necessary m order to ga.n a pood take, s'nee in sand country most of the seed frets lost and manv young plants (lie out. Manv grasses are ,1 ere included which would not be metal ,1 in a mixture for better class count y hut success is only likely to be obtained bv sowing the grass suitable to the conditions, althougli some of them nifi) not be of tho highest quality the mam thing being to obtain a good which will consolidate the land and add ;;l C lls to the soil, and ally improve the fertility o As I did not go over the reserve at the Breakwater, I <lo not feel abhn to offer any definite but it would appear to me that c n siderable areas of bare land exist there and that >nuch initial work might b neccssarv in order to raise protect dunes and also fix the sand.