FIVE MILLION TREES PLANTED.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1630, 23 December 1912, Page 4

FIVE MILLION TREES PLANTED.

_ « .— . HANMER AND ITS BEAUTIES.' (By Telejraph —Press Association.) Chrlstchurch, December 21. Since the commencement of afforestation operations at Hanmer Springs, where prison labour iB largely employed, groat advantages have accrued, and that in more than one direction. Not only has an area of about 2700 acres been planted with millions of trees, which will have a considerable commercial value as time goes on, but the bulk of the work of planting and so on has been • dono by men drafted from the prisons of the Dominion. Tho less restricted life at tho_ prison camp, the work in the open air, and the greater comfort of the life generally, have had a splendid influence on tho men, and resulted in many of them going back to the outside world to become decent citizens. . . An area of about forty awes is devoted to the nursery, and here millions of seedling trees are being raided. These include Oregon pine, larch, p,inns pondeosa, and pines from Austria end elsewhere. Between 2,000,000 nnd 3,000,000 seedlings have been planted nut in rows, and in time they will be transplanted out on the plantation. ~.,,, i The nursery is kept in beautiful order, nnd presents' n most attractive appearance. Alongside the nursery grow trees planted when the camp was first started some seven years ago. Already the larch trees are fully 12ft. high, and they ore growing very rnnidly. '_ Nearly all the figures in connection with the work run into millions. About 5,000,000 trws have lieen planted out. the record for any nno year being 1.200.000. Last year tho trees'nlantnd totaled 005,080, nnd no fewer than 234,575 were needed to replace blank? in rows cauf*d by trees dying or being destroyed. The area planted last year wns 2RB acres. From nny hilltop the, plantation makes a splendid sight indeed; as tho visitor nomes round the cutting on hi? way to Hanmer Spring it can ho wu ncros* tho plain, its vivid sxeon standing out in great , contrast asw'nst the brown background of the hills.