23

C—ifi

Gimmerburn Plantation Reserve. (Area, 1,200 acres; altitude, 1,200ft.) Owing to the dry spell during the spring, the trees planted have not done well, but those planted during the first year of operations here are doing fair. The number of trees planted for the year was 101,460, all of which were used up to fill blanks. The area planted to date is 173J acres. The cost of planting and digging (half -pits) was 15s. 6Jd. per thousand. An area of 24 acres was sown down in oats, the yield being 15 tons. 105 acres of self-sowti oats was also cut, yielding 35 tons. Oats and sheaf to the value of £73 Bs. 2d. were transferred to nurseries, and the value of oats in stock is £112. The expenditure for the year amounts to £366 lis. lid., and the expenditure to date £2,366 6s. 2d. The average number of hands employed was 1*56 (wages).

. Statement of Expenditure. £ g d Amount at 31st March, 1908 ... ... ... ... 1,999 14 3 Tree-planting ... ... ... ... ... ... 85 17 4 Cartage of trees ... ... ... ... ... ... 920 General upkeep of plantation ... ... ... .:. 72 15 5 Horse-feed purchased and grown ... ... ... ... 144 10 6 Salaries, Nurseryman's proportion 0f... ... ' ... ... 30 0 0 Supervision ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 6 8 £2,366 6 2 A. W. Roberts, Nurseryman in Charge.

Naseby Survey Paddock Plantation. (Area, 175 acres; altitude, 1,900ft.) . During the year the trees at the above plantation have made very satisfactory growth; the heavy snow-fall in July gave the land a good soaking, with the above results. The trees that are doing best are Pinus ponderosa, Pinus Benthamiana, and Pinus Laricio, Pinus Austriaca and Larix Europoea being somewhat slower. Trees to the number of 31,200 were planted out, at an average cost of 18s. sd. per thousand. 21,650 laburnums were also carted, and 10,000 were planted close with the plough, at a cost of £1 Is. 6d., the remainder being heeled in for future use. These are planted for protection to tire other species from hares and rabbits, and since planting fourteen hares were caught in traps alongside. The area planted was 10J acres, making a total to date of 143 acres. The number of trees in the plantation to the 31st March, 1909, was 389,285. The expenditure for the year was £193 2s. 2d., and the total expenditure to date is £2,266 12s. 7d. An area of about 200 acres is to be taken in on what is known as the Naseby Commonage, and a further extension of the above will be carried out here. Arrangements are being made to have it ready for planting in the coming spring. The average number of hands employed was I'2o (wages).

Statement of Expenditure. „ . Amount at 31st March, 1908 ... ... ... ... 2,073 10 5 Tree-planting ... ... ... ... ... ... 28 11 3 Cartage of trees ... ... ... ... ... ... 411 0 General upkeep of plantation ... ... ... ... 105 13 3 Salaries, Nurseryman's proportion 0f... ... ... ... 30 0 0 Supervision ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 6 8 £2,266 12 7 A. W. Roberts, Nurseryman in Charge,