BOTTLE LAKE PLANTATION.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18100, 16 June 1924, Page 6

BOTTLE LAKE PLANTATION.

VISIT OF INSPECTION.

MR 1. YOUNG'S WORK

Figures supplied •• by Mr James Young, Superintendent of City Parks and Reserves, at an inspection or Bottle Lake reserve on Saturday, made it abundantly clear that that official is effecting a great saving in planting there. The inspection was made at the invitation of the chairman of the City Council Reserves Committee, Cr. K. TL. Andrews, those p resent ,jeins i Crs. W. E Leadtfr, A. W. Beaven, and W II Winsor. Messrs J. 5. Neville, Town Clerk, C. Dawe, City. Surveyor, and J. Young. ' . According to statements maca to, :he party by Mr Young, last year , ..fantf-d, and considering the unfavourable season experienced the trees hava done well; Mr Young's predewssoi Mr Sickens, planted 408 acres, and up to.the present Mr Young has put down about 540 acres, the period covered beirnr about two years. In 191.-IS tne expenditure on planting as .^ acc ° r Y"i ing to figures given by Mr \ouifc Cs4d: lf;J8-ri>. £1333 12s ltt;J9l9-20, • c-693 6s a Id; i<>2o-21. £495 os /d- 1921•~2 £630 19s lid; total expenditure, C 3605 Us 8d In 1922-23, under Mr Younz'a supervision, the expenditure llTIm rla-od. and in 1923-24 £52. • 2s 4d. making a total of £lG2o l's 3d. Mr 'Young stated that the cos* ot planting'over the period given prior to hir, taking over the work, was about £7 >4s an atfre, and for the whole periwL of his predecessor's term of office £lO an ncre, whereas in the last two. vears the "tost of the work has been 'aboirt £2-per acre. He accounts for the previous high cost by the fact tiyat some .of the blocks were planted no fewer than four times owing to the trees dying. He is of the opinion that t'n'e planting was carried out too closely, f'.n'ly four.feet .being allowed between /the trees, whereas he considers they 'should not have been planted more ; closely than' eight feet apart. Had such an interval been observed, lie says, the City Council would be "growing revenue"; by adopting the close-up policy they only "grow expenditure." He state's'that'lie had to put down GO.OOO trees to fill' up" the block which was planted in 1921. After inspecting some young plantations, the . party stopped on a sand. j dune to overlook a 70-acre block shortly to be planted. This block consists of higil .land and low land, and Mr Young suggested that' the. low land shouhl.be planted; with -Eucalypt Ros- > trata, a red gum, stating that he had 120v000 gums in the nursery ready for planting. ; ■ <■*■ Cr. Winsor expressed the opinion that pinus insignia should be. planted, whereupon Mr. Yoting demurred. "Commercially," he said, "the poorest Aus» tralian' gums are better than pinns insignia. I would never plant insignis i? I had my way, except'for shelter. I would plant something better each time. Bed\gum;i3 first-class timber for railway sleepers, bridges, or Vanyv thing elsej- bat f this cannot said, o£ .insignis." Asked'if he thought Douglas fir would do well on the low ground, Mr Young said ho was sure it would, and adfled that ; he would put a- belt of pinus insignis round the better trees, as insignis provided; the finest shelter in the world. • Mr "Winsor did not favour the plant- . <Xng:;. without experimenting with them first. "tlTe don't know if they Trill do here," he said. Mr-Young: There is too much experimenting altogether with .timber. That'is how the Government is ruining the country. V Walking through a plantation at an- . other part of the,- reserve, which ..had ' Beeia: planted about fourteen years ago, i the'ipa'rty, was struck at the bad condition of the timber. "Pinna Austriaca, and Pinus Maritima are among the trees "growing here. ■ Owing to . their being planted-too closely together, they have been unable to get sufficient light and air, with the result that hundreds of them are dead.' Members of the party were able to pull up some i of them by,the.roots...--There is a firepreafc'in.the.plantation^",but as it is ionly abont six paces -in .widths insteacr of. a chain,, and as the foliage from the trees, on either side of it is touching, it is obvious that it would not serve the ; purpose.for which it was intended. Owing, to tie number 'oi dead trees in the lighted match thrown among them in dry .weather would probably make a clean sweep of it. '■"■.■. ..■•■"-.. • , :, ' .. In another part of-''the.'' plantation, "which probably has .a tendency rto be swampv although on Saturday it was perfectly dry, the following particulars are written on a stake: "Abies Dougiassi, planted 1911 v four years old." The information Btnkes one as 'strange in* that there are no trees of any sort near the stake. . ~.' Asked what he would do to save the plantation,-Mr Young-said: I would cut out every second tree. There is still time to save the forest, but you must riot wait another year. Mr Young estimates that only abont 10 per cent; of the trees planted by him will fail to grow.. He is a great believer in macrocarpa, which he would advise every farmer to.grow. It comes into use quickly, he says, is good for gate posts and a variety of other purposes, has a great heartland will last for almost any length of time. It is intended to make a fuller inspection at a later dote.