HIGH PRAISE

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 94, 22 April 1931, Page 10

HIGH PRAISE

FOR CITY FORESTS

VALUABLE EXPERIMENT

High commendation of the work done by the forestry operations-of the City and Suburban Water Supply Board was contained in a letter received at the board's meeting to-day from the retiring Director of Forestry1 (Mr. E. Phillips-Turner), who wrote to the chairman as follows: — '-' ■ "I have the honour to inform you that. pursuant to the provision of the Wellington;-City and Suburban Water Supply Act, 1927, I visited, in company with your forester, the afforestation activities of your board at Akatarawa, and I*-am very pleased to express the opinion- that the work so far carried out deserves high commendation.' SHADE EXOTICS THRIVE. "The most outstanding undertaking has /been the underplanting of milled indigenous. forest with the -shade-bear-ing exotics. Cupressus Lawsoniana (Lawson's cypress), Sequoia soiiipervirens (Calif orniau redwood), Cryptomeria japonica (Japanese cedar), and Pseudotsuga Douglasii (Douglas ;fir or Oregon pine). All these trees produce tim-^. ber of recognised high value; and :their present virile growth and. .healthiness warrant the-expectation that;1 their success will be continued to the ultimate establishment of a forest of commercial timber trees of very high money value.

UNDERPLANTING A SUCCESS.

"The success which has accompanied Mr. Perham's underplanting is in any case gratifying, but it is .the more 'so_ to myself as T have for many years had. the L opinion, that our milled -forests should be so treated. : In a forest, immediately after milling, the, : planted trees have a-most favourable condition of :soil, protection from wind, and protection from ,too; much direct sunlight; also only a small number of-trees per acre are required. la : afforesting' opencountry there are the disadvantages that the burning, which has to precede the planting makes the soil less favourable, arid wind and excess' of .sunlight get to. the young trees; also far more trees'per acre have to be used than is the case .with areas, that have been milled.

MILLING PRECAUTIONS^ ■" Opinions-have sometimes been expressed that' the amenity value of our indigenous forest is irreparably ■ destroyed when it has' been subjected, to milling. In-other""parts of "New Zealand I have frequently seen forests which hive beeu milled, : and in-which a comparatively few j'ears afterwards the re-growth and recovery have been so abundant that the amenity value has been restored, and none but an •experienced bushman would know that the particular/ area had even been -.interfered with. Where ; milling us -done, however, it-is essential that precautions be taken against the occurrence of fires in the milled'areas, otherwise the bush will bo succeeded by scrub and' fern which create a continuous fire risk, and which also, seriously... retard regeneration. .:. ■';' '■■;■•;■■' -.' ; '•'■■': '. ■ .':■'■ NATURAL CONDITION BEST.

"I do not' wish it to be. inferred from the foregoing/that I am in favour of unlimited millings of the board's re-, serves; on the other hand, I am strongly of'the opinion that the bulk of the-for-ested, area be kept,strictly,in.its absolutely .natural condition.' : Goats.are said to be plentiful in the board's reserves, and I cannot stress too strongly the; importance of dealing, 'with .those - most destructive.,of. forest, pests, before they become'so numerous as to require an excessive expenditure of money to exterminate'-them.' In conclusion, and us my terra as Director of Forestry terminates on the 31st instant, I would like to express 'niy' very' high opinion of the ability of your forest'officer, Sir. Perham, and I feel that the board can with perfect safety' follow any. advice he', niay give'- with respect , to '■: afforestation. and; the'management of your permanent native forests." , ~ "': ANSWER TO CRITICISM. Mr. P. Robertson, - Mayor of Upper Hutt:. "That ; effectively , replies,; to Press criticism." -.- , ; : , / ■'

Mr; Troup: is an-answer fo every criticism. I think it is most! satisfactory1 in every way. We can look 'no higher than the man who is: set apart specially by Hie Government to see that the. forests are watched in every possible-way. He has stated that we have made a most valuable experiment, and one'that promises to be: successful in every way. I think that our officer should;be congratulated." ■■••

• Other members -of the board agreed, Mr. Robertson pointing put > that the milling operations of the board, once so much under suspicion, had been vindicated. .!':.■• '■.■■•.••.....-. • :