THE RECENT GALE.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 April 1918, Page 3

THE RECENT GALE.

TELEGRAPHIC TROUBLES IX TARAXAKI. CHIEF ENGINEER'S STATEMENT. The telegraph wires in the King Conn-, try lire zone were damaged not Dccause the poles were burnt, because right through, the bush country iron poles are used as a, first precaution against damage hy lire. The damage, which was fairly extensive,'was brought about by trees and brandies of trees crashing down on the wires and breaking or "earthing" them. Curiously enough, the greatest telegraphic damage done during the recent storm period was not in the, fire zone at all. but in Taranaki. At Mokoia, near Hawera, there were fifty-three breaks in the wire within a length of half a mile, which Mr .T. Orchiston (Chief Telegraphic Engineer) say; 3 is. about a record for New Zealand, reports the Dominion- The reason of the breaks, without exception, was not the gale itself, but the number of pinea (:pinus insigmis in most eases) growing near the line, which were blown down bodily ,or had great limbs broken off, which did the same damage to the wires. "These pine* "give us more trouble with our wires than anything else I know of," said Mr. Orchiston. "We are al-. ways repairing damage (o our lines of communication through these trees, and it comes to this, tiiat we should prohibit pines being grown within, say, a quarter of a mile of the telegraph line. Here, you have instances of the Press and'the business of the country being held up because a pine or a branch of one snaps a, wire- Tt became so bad iri Otago once that the Department helped farmers to remove the trees near the line, pointing out to them that it was in their interest to keep the lines of communication intact. These pines grow ii]) so quickly that thev lose their strength, and the result is that great limbs snap like carrots under the pressure of a aale. It should be made prohibitory for anyone to tplant pines near telegraph lines!"