KAPONGA.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1921, Page 2

KAPONGA.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) Under the auspices of the Farmers’ Union, Mr. Page, of the Forestry Department, delivered an interesting and instructive lecture to.a good audience in the Oddfellows’ Hall, Kaponga, on Friday, 14th instant. The Riverlea branch was well represented, and all present showed keen interest In the subject —forestry. In Introducing Mr. Page, Mr. W. Hollard (chairman) pointed out the need for a much closer attention to afforestation than In the P Mr. Page said that the Government, in emphasising the importance of systematic treeplanting, had In view three definite purposes—(a) trees for shelter; (b> trees for firewood, and. (c) trees suitable for general farm purpuses. The native forest of New Zealand was I the most beautiful in the world, as well as the richest In valuable timbers; so that Its disappearance must be recognised as ft very distinct loss to the Dominion. In the past, although the destruction of the bush was necessary in order to promote settlement, yet reservations should have been made In order that the rivers should not suffer, and. Indirectly, the fertility of the soil. Mr. Page said that for a. movement such as he advocated, it was first necessary to win the support of the general public. Forestry was quite distinct from arboriculture, which latter limited its attention to single trees, while 'the former dealt with plantations, no matter how small. It would require years of research still to find out and tabulate the suitability of the different trees for local areas. It had been stated that the cutting period for the king of the New Zealand forest, the kauri, was 100 years. It had been demonstrated that its rival, the silver flr, for the first 50 years had an advantage, but that later the kauri not only outstrips the silver flr, bv.t also produces better timber. Municipal bodies and settlers should consider seriously forest extension work. It would first be necessary to obtain an appreciation of the public as to what is really wanted. There should be an extension of cooperation between the State and the individual. The diffusing of forest knowledge should be systematically organised through the medium of lectures, moving pictures and through the schools. Every year, said the speaker, large sums of money left our Dominion for Australia and America. For the year ending March 30, 1920, no less than £278,273 was paid to Australia for timber. This money did not represent the full loss to the Dominion, as the employment of bushmen, mill-hands, etc., would be a distinct advantage during the present strenuous times. Owing to the great variation In our climate and soils it was necessary to study each locality separately. What would be an excellent tree for one district might be quite unsuitable for another only a few miles distant. The Forestry Department was gradually getting together a large fund of information, and this, when complete, would be invaluable to posterity. Owing to the denudation of the oush. New Zealand was more liable to floods than In the early days, while, on the other hand, the droughts that were so disastrous to a certain part of the North Island last autumn were probably attributable to the destruction of the forest in that. area. Al though early settlers did good work in the plantation of shelter belts, the work was not universal, with the result that the good was minimised. The direct benefit to be derived from plantations lay in the fact that they were capable of breaking up our strong westerly winds, and of increasing our soil fertility by conserving moisture, thus leading to an extra growth of grass, with its resultant increase In milk supply. The best land should not he used for forestry purposes. Rough gullies where slips abound were good spots in which to plant trees. Stressing the necessity for planting, Mr. Page said that there was a world scarcity of timber. In answer to the argument often heard that we could get what we want from America, it is not generally known that the timber supply from the United States was estimated to last not more than forty years. Although Canada, Brazil and Siberia have immense areas of forest. New Zealand cannot compete with the countries of Europe in obtaining supplies. Coming to the question of what to plant, Mr. Page spoke first of the plnus radiata, or; as it was commonly known, plnus insignis. In its native home, California, it was a worthless, straggly tree, but in New Zealand it would thrive in almost any locality. Its only competitor in speed of growth was the eucalyptus. Quite recently a portable mill was taken into the Waikato district, and trees, forty years of age, sawn up—the timber being exported to Australia. Pinus radiata could be planted on areas infested with blackberry, and if the latter is cut for a couple of years it will ultimately be exterminated. The best method of planting was to put the trees In rows six feet apart, and six feet from tree to tree in the rows. Planted in this way, they grew to a great height, got rid of side branches, and had straight trunks.

The macrocarpa should be planted in rows four feet apart and four feet from tree to tree. The timber was easy to split, and could be converted into quite good posts and rails. Probably the most useful trees were the eucalypti. These, unless planted quite close to the coast, grew in New Zealand with marvellous rapidity. Eucalyptus mocarparl was a fast-growing, hardy tree, and easy to transplant, the timber being durable in the ground. Some posts on Mr. Reynold’s farm, in the Waikato, were quite souhd after twenty years. Eucalyptus pilularis is a tall, rapid grower, not so durable as eucalyptus macarparl, but better for timber purposes. It is easily split, and makes splendid rails. Eucalyptus eugenloldes is not so suitable for high altitudes. It makes good railway sleepers, flooring boards, blocks and bridge timber. Eucalyptus muclleriana grows well at Rotorua. It was somewhat difficult to rear over Its first year, but after that is quite hardy. It makes valuable building timber, sleepers, rails and wharf material. Eucalyptus obliqua, or stringy bark, familiar to us in the form of Hobart palings, is no trouble after passing the seedling stage. The frosts of our high country may possibly be too severe. Though good timber, it is not durable between wind and water. Pinus muricata, or Bishop’s pine, is a good shelter tree. It is not as lofty as radiata, has prickly cones, and resists the salt spray. Its habit of sending out low lateral branches is, for some purposes, a distinct advantage, while the timber itself makes more heart than radiata. Pinus ponderosa, the yellow pine of the United States, Is a tall, stately tree, whose branches are not as close as those of some other pines. It is known as heavy pine, bull pine, etc., is a great frost resister, with timber eminently fitted for joinery purposes. Pinus radiata, previously mentioned, will grow anywhere from the North Cape to the Bluff. It is not durable In the ground unless treated with some preservative. Some cottages built of this timber at the State coal mines at Huntly, though guiltless of paint, present a glass-like surface to the weather, which makes this timber superior to the best 0.8. rimu. Douglas flr or Oregon pine would thrive In New Zealand. It is more graceful and less depressing than plnus radiata. It resists frost well in its early stages, and is a valuable timber tree. It is most suited to low, moist localities, for in the drier areas it is liable to attacks of red spider and thrip. The timber is somewhat coarse, but can be used for building purposes.

The redwood of California, found in America in California and Oregon only, can, strangely enough, be grown, not only in Europe, but almost anywhere in New Zealand. It is a fast grower, makes, valuable building timber, and, though rather short in the grain, is very durable in the ground. This tree is rather delicate as a seedling, but after its first year grows rapidly. The European larch is a fast-growing timber, but cannot compare In the end with the redwood, which produces, tree for tree, four times as much timber. For shelter purposes only trees not too high and retaining their lower branches should be chosen. The Lawson cypress grows well in New Zealand In moist situations, stands trimming well and grows into a dense hedge. Cypressus Lawsoniana favors dry localities, is not long lived, and opinions vary as to its capacity to resist salt, spray. One tree about which there can be no doubt in this respect is the Japanese pine. The well-known maeftnearpa makes a. handsome tree, and its timber takes a splendid polish. As fencing posts the macrocarpa is not used as extensively as it would be if its durability In the ground were better known. The Forestry Department advocates what is known as double notch planting. The turf is removed, and a spade is driven into the ground and worked backwards and forwards. A second cut of the spade is then made across the first out. . The result is a slight raising of the

centre of planting ground. By this method It is quite easy to plant 300 trees per day. An acre planted 6ft Dy 6ft would take 1300 trees, and macrocarpa planted 4ft by 4ft 2800 per acre. Mr. Page recommended those present to get the seedlings and line them out to be transplanted the following season. To raise seedlings the ground should be first worked very fine. A 12in by Un plank should then be placed on the dug ground, which has the effect of rolling. The seed is then sprinkled on, fine soil seived over the top. A frame 91 n by Un, covered over with scrim, is necessary to give the seedlings shade. As they grow more can be introduced gradually from the windward side, and then, when the plants have hardened off, the seedlings should be pricked out into a cut benzine tin, at the rate of 100 to the tin. The young plants should get their moisture frpm below. To this end the tins should be inserted in moist soil. This treatment results in the young trees developing a mass of roots. The only further work in connection with the young trees is to give them a good wrenching to stimulate the growth of fibrous roots. At the conclusion of Mr. Page’s address Mr. Hollard moved a hearty vote of thanks to the I lecturer, which wag carried by acclamation.