CLOTHING THE HILLS

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 279, 22 August 1934, Page 4

CLOTHING THE HILLS

Scheme of Tree-planting Needed.,. MRS. KNOX GILMER’S VIEWS “It io with no small sense of gratification that I noticed a letter in ‘The Dominion’ from H., P. Plckerill, of Sydney, commenting on my remarks on tree culture which appeared in your paper before.- Arbor Day,” said Mrs. Knox Gilmer, president of the Wellington Horticultural Society, in the course of an interview yesterday. “Not everyone may know that the writer was Professor Plckerill, the brilliant dental and plastic surgeon, formerly atOtago University, and now of Sydney. Coming from such a man, his words should have extra weight in impressing on the public generally the value of tree-planting as an investment likely to yield rich dividends in loveliness for generations to come. Society in Agreement, “Our society quite agrees with the sentiments so well conveyed by Professor Pickerin, when he visualises what a beautiful place Wellington would be if its miles of' barren hills were clothed in trees. There is an inherent love of the bush In everyone,} yet wherever settlement has taken place the bush has been ruthlessly and senselessly destroyed. Wellington even had to fight to retain the bush at Day’s Bay’a few years ago, yet how proud everyone is of it now, and how. all so seek every opportunity that of- , fers of . enjoying its peaceful beauty. There is nothing half so lovely in Sydney harbour as this gem of native bush, yet even the eucalypti and the pepper trees, and the Morton Bay figs help to beautify the slopes of Sydney harbour sufficient to catch Professor Pickerill’s eye. "In conclusion, I would like to say that the Horticultural Society would like to see the Government plant trees, not only on Point Halswell, but on the hills and gullies near Fort Ballance, while the City Council should not lose a season in planting at least a couple of hundred trees at the back of Scorching Bay—now a City Council domain. Indeed, all our hills need dressing In Nature’s furbelows to hide their bareness. ■ Definite Scheme Needed. “A definite scheme of planting is required—Just as urgently as a scheme of town-planning—so as to ensure that sooner or later our hills from Peni carrow Head to Beacon Hill will one day be planted. This cannot be done in-a* year or two, but with so much relief labour available there have been golden opportunities to begin such a work in recent years, yet comparativelyl little has been done, except by the City Council, which is concentrating to some purpose on the Town Belt. Personally; I would love to see such a scheme outlined on practical lines, and put into operation. It would ensure that the Wellington of those who come after ufj will be a very beautiful place to; live in, as not only would the afforested hills provide a scenic glory unsurpassed, but it might even have an effect on the climate. I do hope that something of the kind can be done ini the rehabilitation of the precincts of; the eity I love so well.” ' . STTTTT.