TREE-PLANTING.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 12015, 17 October 1904, Page 10

TREE-PLANTING.

TO THE EDITOB Of Iltt MIKSS. Sir,—A letter appeared in "The Press" of October the 12th, signed "J. B. Armstrong," atating that tho atatementa\ I made in my letter of October the 7th were , What I said was quite correct, irrespective of anything Mr J. B.Armstrong may say to the contrary. Mr J. B. Armstrong states that I wasnever foreman in hia timei only sent as thne.keeper on that . one.. occasion, wherca* i 63,000 trees were planted Hinder my direci tion. Surely that .would constitute "tire I position of foreman. Continuing, .he I atates tliat in 1876, when I said I waa i foreman, and for many years afterwards, jhe was assistant curator hi the Domain, in charge of tlie nursery, and is able testate positively that Mr O'Callnghan was i revcr foreman during hia time. Heffurr r ther adds, that the Domain Board had nothing to do with railway plantations or reserves, or with'tho nursery in which tho young trees were raised m large numbers, up to the abolition of provinces the nursery, railway-plantations, plantation reserves, school grounds, etc., and' even Hagley Park itself, were under the control of the Provincial Government, and, the late Mr J. F. Armstrong had sole charge of the plantations, 'being only responsible to the Superintendent and the Provincial Secretary. - Now, sir, I say positively, in amwer to tho above, that- tlie Domain Board in the days of provincialism liad just as much control over the Domain and parks, etc., as they have at the present time. The only difference that,.l can see is, that tho parks and Domain, being public property, they were trahnferred at the time of the abolition of tlie provinces to the general Government, and that the lnte Mr J. F. Armstrong was aa responsible to the Domain in 1876 as Mr A. L. Tavlor is responsible to the Domain Board in 1904. And, I may add, that the Board in 1876 were responsible to-the Superintendent, so is tlie Board of 1904 responsible to tlie Minister of Lands. During mv time of service under the late Mr J. F.. Armstrong, I supervised the planting of the plane trees in the avenue towards Riccarton in the Xorth Park, and al*o the inner avenue in the South Pork, nlomr. Lincoln road, West belt, and Riccarton road. etc.. and alro other jobs of far more importance." As for pruning, there waa none 'in thoae days; had there been, there would be no need of the hue and cry' at the present "time. I believe •dill the Domain Board and their present head gardener aro quite capable, of coping with the work of thinnimr and pruninztrees in parks, etc. Thanking you— Yours, etc.. ... - JOHN O'OALLAGHAN, r 98 Windmill road, Addrngfon. October 13th.

Fruit yield Increased twofold by spraying fruit trees in winter with Montauk, the best insecticide known for scaly blight, eta Manufacturers, Nimmo and Blair, Dunedin. Local agents. New Zealand Farmers' Co-op. Association, Ltd., Christchurch. 2