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36

If the vegetation on this hill was burned, one of the most attractive pieces of scenery on this tourist routs wouldjbo destroyed, and both for the safety of the plantation and the preservation of this beautyspot, a fire-break should bs formed alongside the road-line. This can be done either with the permission of the Native owners or by purchasing the land outright. It is proposed to erect a fence alongside this road in order to keep stock from wandering on to the plantation reserve. .length of fire-breaks formed and ploughed were as follows : 130 chains by J chain, 357| chains by 1 J chains ; ploughed, 65 chains by 2 chains, 267 chains by \\ chains, and 155 chains by \ chain. Pruning was necessary amongst the older pines and larch, in order to suppress double leaders. All the pines and the greater portion of the larch have now been gone through, and the work, which requires a great deal of care and discretion, has been carried out in a very satisfactory manner. In maintenance work clearing growth round the young trees has been the chief item. The fern and tutu grow exceedingly fast, and requires to be kept cut down for several seasons—until the trees are of sufficient size to hold their own. Good results have been obtained with the trees planted during the year, and of these the larch has on the whole made very good growth, with a very small percentage of deaths. A considerable amount of damage was done to the previous season's planting of this species in the Waipa Valley by a severe frost which occurred in November. Many of the young trees had the points of the leading shoots destroyed by the frost, but have since made a good recovery and are developing new leaders, although a considerable amount of pruning will be necessary in order to suppress some of the strong side-growth. Oregon pine has not made good growth, although those planted the previous year are making good headway. Norway spruce and Menzies' spruce have done fairly well in the lower ground, but have made little or no growth on the tops of hills and exposed ridges, where a number of deaths have occurred. Acacia mdanoxylon, although planted very late, has made splendid growth, many of the trees being now 4 ft. in height. Pinus densiflora, Pinus muricata, Pinus tceda, Pinus Ihunbergi, and Pinus Sabiniana were planted for shelter purposes near the prison-camp, and have all done weU, P. tada being deserving of special mention. E. amygdalina and E. paucifiora were the only species of Eucalypti planted, and were used principally to replace failures; both have done fairly well, E. amygdalina having made slightly the better growth. For the coming season preparations are in hand for planting about a million trees. Owing to the frequent rains it has been an extremely difficult matter to get a good burn, and, in consequence, the work has been retarded somewhat. Expenditure. £ s. d. Amount at the 31st March, 1906 ... ... ... ...7,856 19 11 Pitting—l,l2o,47s pits ... ... ... ... ... 525 1 7 Tree-planting—67l,s6s trees ... ... ... ... 268 7 '2 Clearing 187 acres ... ... ... ... ... ... 349 2 4 Cartage of trees ... ... ... ... ... ... 18 11 0 General upkeep of plantation ... ... ... ... 880 19 4 Horse-feed ... ... ... ... ... ... 92 7 9 Fencing—new ... ... ... ... ... 59 2 6 Tools, implements, &c. . . ... ... ... ... 38 9 2 Eoad-formation ... ... ... ... ... ... 50 9 8 Supervision of free and prison labour .. ... ..". ... 144 7 8 Proportion of Nurseryman's salary ... ... ... ... 30 0 0 Supervision ... ... ... ... ... ... 26 0 0 £10,339 18 1 D. J. Buchanan, Assistant Forester. H. A. Goudie, Nurseryman in Charge.