THE TREATMENT OF DRIFTING SAND.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7781, 7 February 1891, Page 6

THE TREATMENT OF DRIFTING SAND.

We referred briefly in our local column in yesterday's issue to a lecture delivered by Mr M. Murphy at New Brighton op Thursday night on how to convert drifting sands into fertile soil. The lecture was flven at the request of the New Brighton improvement Association, and , was listened to by a large and attentive audience. The following is a summary of Mr Murphy's remarks:—He began by describing one of the most notable instances onTecord of the work of fixing a large area of loose sand. It appears that some time ago the inhabitants on the coast of Gascony, in France, suffered severely from the erratic motions of sand that covered an extent of country near the coast 120 miles in length by about three mile, in width. This sand during storms frequently overwhelmed entire villages, and on one occasion covered a a church so completely that Only a portion of the spire remained above its surface. A French engineer "uamed Bremontier undertook the great task of fixing this large area of sand, and he accomplished it by sowing the seeds of pines, broom, gorse, and other plants capable of thriving on barren soil, protecting their seeds or Slants from being covered or blown away y erecting fences of brushwood and Blab palings, which also prevented the wind getting such a hold as formerly. The seeds under this protection took root, and now .the whole wilderness of sand is covered with a forest of pines, which nob only "prevents the sand doing further mischief, but turns the arid waste to profitable account. Mr Murphy argued that if the task of fixing some four hundred square miles of sand could be accomplished in France, there ought to be no difficulty in the way of dealing with, the comparatively small, area of loose, sand at our own sea side resort, New Brighton. He went on to say how the work might be carried on, giving a list of the pines, grasses, and plants suitable for'the purpose, and including in this list several Native plants likely to prove successful. He pointed to the necessity of Improving the plantations now in the hands of the City Council, which, for some reason or other, have been neglected, suggesting that these plantations should b&placed under the control of the New Brighton Improvement Association. It was fully to plant trees and give them no attention. ■ Mr Murphy then gave a brief history of Arbor Day iv America, whicb, as its name' suggests, means a day devoted to the planting of trees. This pleasant and useful holiday was first originated by the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture 'in' the- year 1874 During that l year twelve million trees were planted in the States, and from that date to the year 1886 the number of trees planted on Arbor Days reached more than a hundred millions, a good many of which I have been planted by the public school children, who have a holiday for that Surpose. Mr Murphy advocated an Arbor lay for New Brighton, when all the inhabitants, including the school children aud any visitors who chose to join iv the fun, should plant trees wherever trees were required. Such a day. might be made a pleasant holiday, and might end iv a friendly gala. - Many of the trees •required for the soil were plentiful in Government and private nurseries, many of the public plantations yielded every year vast quantities of seed, and with regard to those seeds or plants foreign to New Zealand, they could be imported at a very little cost. The lecturer referred to the promenades which it has been suggested to form at New Brighton and advised that a space, a chain and a half in width, should intervene between the promenade and high water mark, andthat this space should be sown with the trees and plants already referred .to. To secure their growth he thought it might be necessary to form a sea wall, which could simply be a fence of slabs a little above high water mark. He also suggested that a belt of the same width should be fenced and planted to the ( westward of . the. -proposed esplanade to . protect it , from the loose sand on the hills. J He referred to the advantaged that would accrue to New Brighton from the erection of a jetty, showing that timber'for house building, for fences' and ■ firewood, could be landed there direct from the Bays, instead of having to be taken to Lyttelton, through ; to Christchurch, and round by road to New Brighton, and thus save nearly 25 per cent, on actual cost of wood at the mills. This might stimulate building, and with this advantage the rough timber used for fencing the sand, hills would cost very' little. It would be very little use forming esplanades if steps for their protection from the loose and drifting sands were not taken. Not only should the NeW Brighton Improvement Association work in this matter.but everybody who owned sections in the place should take part. He considered ail the community ought to act in concert, and then' the desired improvements could be carried out successfully and New Brighton could be made famous throughout the colonies as a watering place. Large quantities of seaweed were being constantly tossed up on the-each by the Pacific'waves, "and if this was gathered and allowed to dry for a few days it could be put ou the sand as manure. The river could' be made a much greater attraction if an uninterrupted path was made along its bank and clumps of trees planted along it at intervals. The river already offered attractions in the way of boating and fishing, but with groups of trees along its banks these attractions would be heightened. Mr Bligh had proved the power of knowledge in dealing with barren country, for he had turned a naked patch of dry, blowaway sand into a pleasant garden by the judicious planting of the right kind of trees and shrubs. Mr Murphy concluded by saying that he had endeavored to lay before his audience what he considered the possibilities of New Brighton, and it only remained for those most deeply interested to carry out the work of subduing the sands well and successfully. He predicted that when Christchurch had one or two hundred thousand inhabitants New Brighton would also have a. large population*