FORESTS IN NORTH.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 210, 5 September 1930, Page 9

FORESTS IN NORTH.

STRICKEN BY SEVERE FROSTS

MANY PURIRIS LEAFLESS,

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.)

WHANGAREI, this day.

The extraordinary . severity of the frosts this season has been most apparent in native bush areas of North Auckland. The Mangakahia Valley, long famed for the beauty of its puriris, now presents a sorry spectacle. In midwinter the leaves blackened and now they have fallen off, leaving the trees. as bare as the deciduous oak or elm trees.

Maoris who have lived in tho valley all their lives cannot recall ..this ever having happened before, although some older ones speak of the winter of ISB2 as.comparable for cold. It is feared that the,recovery of the trees will be a slow process' as all the small twigs have, died and no leaves can appear until the fresh wood grows.

Taraire trees have been similarly affected, having lost their usual glossy greenness and being now covered with sickly leaves, resembling yellow paper. It is stated that the forest growth in the beautiful Mangamuka Gorge has been affected, but to a lesser extent.