MT. PLEASANT.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19814, 30 December 1929, Page 10

MT. PLEASANT.

WHERE TROPICAL FRUIT GROWS. OPEN-AIR CULTIVATION. Few people realise that within five miles of Cathedral square it. is possible to see tropical fruits growing in the open air. It is a fact, nevertheless, and a representative of The Pbess, who accompanied Mr J. M. Baxter, a C hristehurch nurseryman, to Mi. Pleasant on Saturday, was taken to the residence of Mr Arthur Morten and shown oranges, lemons, passion fruit, and almonds flourishing on the hillside with all the vigour which characterises their growth in their habitat.

Mr Baxter has always been of thj? opinion that such fruit could be grown at Mount Pleasant because of its mild climate and comparative absence of frosts. He states that observations taken there show that when there are ten degrees of frost in Chnstcburcn Mount Pleasant escapes almost complete! v. What little frost there is at Mount Pleasant is. he asserts, harmless to plant life for the reason that it is dry and powdery.

Huge Lemons. Although planted only about three years ago, a ponderosa, or wonder, lemon tree is now in bearing and is carrving fruit in some instances ten inches in circumference. In Mr Baxter's opinion it is possible to grow this fruit commercially. Other citrus fruits which flourish on Mr Morten's property are Lisbon lemons, oranges, and grape fruit. A feature of the orange tree is that it blooms at the same time that it is bearing green and also ripe fruit. Just eighteen months after being put down, a single plant produced 150 passion fruit at a time when such fruit was being sold in Christchurch at four for a shilling. Two years ago a number of lemon trees were planted on the property, but as the ground was turned over onlv to the depth of one spade they made no progress, many of them, in fact, dving. The following year, benefiting from the previous experience, gardeners, under the supervision of Mr Baxter, broke up the ground to s depth of two feet by spade work, and by the use of gelignite the depth was increased bv a further four feet. The result of this operation was that the water which had previously poured down the hillside was retained, thus providing the plants with the moisture necessary to enable them to thrive. On the same piece of ground paper shell almond trees, which two years ago were only four feet six inches high, have now attained a height of nine feet.

Pohutukawa in Bloom. There are many examples of native and exotic plants on the property. The pohutukawa is among the former, and at the present time the rata is in bloom, its brilliant scarlet flower making a wonderful sight. Mr Morten's garden contains what is probably the most comprehensive collection of native plants in the South Island, and it. is difficult to believe the fact that only ten years ago the property was covered with tussock. One of the most beautiful of the exotic plants is a Queensland prickly pear, which, if one can judge from this particular specimen, does not spread and oust other plants here, such as it does in its country of origin. In spite of the dry weather so far experienced this season the plants are all growing luxuriantly, and it is evident that they find the conditions of Mount Pleasant congenial. Collection of Native Plants. A short distance further up the hill, perhaps about a third of a mile from the Mt. Pleasant tram stop, is Mr Baxter's own property of 3J acres, where may be seen some wonderful specimens of native plants. There is a considerable quantity of clay on the land, but in a gully which runs through it there is a coating of 16 inches of rich black soil, from which great results are being obtained, thus providing abundant evidence to justify the faith Mr Baxter showed when he planted the trees there against much advice to the contrary. Only five years ago the land was practically a wilderness, whereas today it is a veritable paradise for lovers of native flora.

Here one may see white pine, rimu, matai, veronica, black pine, miri, matipo, puriri, puka, broadleaf, mahoe, titoki, olearia, coprosnia, karaka, kotukutuku, ngaio, kawa kawa, the Chatham Island lily, moko moko, ribbonwood, whau, beech, fern, broom and other plants. Of the native broom there are 36 differeut varieties growing on a hillside, these having been got together at a cost of about £l5O, although they have no commercial value. Acacias, or low growing varieties of wattle, make another fine display, as also do some gums which were planted from pots three and a half years ago, and are now 15$ feet high. No fewer than seven different varieties of panax have been made to flourish here, and four different varieties of native fuchsia.

Puriri and Other Trees. One of the most interesting of New Zealand trees to be spen on the property is the puriri. Some thirty years ago, according to Mr Baxter, the steamers Tutanekai and Einemoa went sixty miles up the Northern Wairoa to get some of this timber to he used for railway sleepers, it being regarded as being probably the most durable timber in the Dominion. Each sleeper cost the Government about 4s 6d at that time, but as the timber possesses the virtue of being practically indestructible, the transaction was a payable one. Some puriri taken from the same river was found to be in a perfect state of preservation, except that the sap had deteriorated.

Another interesting tree in the collection is a puka, which was obtained from the Three Kings Islands, and tho leaves of which attain a diameter of 13 inches. The titoko is another tree of which good specimens are to be seen. One of the most handsome of natives, it is noted for its berries, the top portion of which is red and the bottom portion black, the berry itself being inside a shell shaped like an acorn. Regarding the karaka, which was at one time indispensible to the Maoris for food, it is not indigenous to the South Island, but was brought here from the North Island and planted first at Kaikoura and Banks Peninsula, by the Maoris, and today is not found farther south than the latter locality. The native fuchsia. Mr Baxter explains, is known by the name of kotukutuku, and its berry by that of konini. The ngaio is useful for providing shelter belts, and kawa kawa, which grows to a height of from eight to ten feet, is called the pepper tree. The distinction of being the largest forget-me-not in the world is enjoyed by a plant from the Chatham Islands, the botanical name of which is myosotidium nobilp. The plant i s also known as the Chatham Island lily, although in the strictest term it- is not a lilv.

Oift for Posterity. Two different varieties of an epephite, the New Zealand broadleaf, and fourteen varieties of the ribbonwood are in the collection, and there are some fine examples of the moko moko, or wine berry. The whau as a rule doei not grow south of Auckland, but on the sunny slope* of Mt. Pleasant it find*

conditions as favourable as in the north. Other interesting plants in this unique collection include five varieties of beech and three of the cabbage tree or cordyline.

Mr Baxter, who has hi turn been a farmer, milk vendor, and farm salesman, states that he did not take up tho study of horticulture until bo had been back in the Dominion for two and a half years after serving in the Great War. He believes that 98 per cent, of all New Zealand plants can be grown satisfactorily on Mr. Pleasant, and asserts that it is his intention ultimately to hand over the gully with its collection of plants to the publi>\