THE LOVE OF TREES

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 32, 6 August 1936, Page 4

THE LOVE OF TREES

LORD GALWAY'S LEAD

A GROWING CULT

There may come a day when the [follies of past populations -who ruthlessly chopped down the native forests, irrespective of the value.of the cleared land, will be redeemed by the wiser counsels of a maturer generation of equally good New Zealanders,. and if this ever happens, it will1 be due to the ardent disciples of the cult of the tree and shrub, represented by the horticulture and beautifying societies of the Dominion.

The Governor-General, coming from a country of centuries of experience, is even keener on the reafforestation of the country than many New Zealanders who consider themselves ■ enthusiasts. His Excellency notes the difference between the eroded watercourses of New Zealand, compared with those of his.native land, where, though the I rainfall is rather like .that of the West | Coast, privately-owned woods have been maintained, preventing, the cohdi'tion that obtains in New Zealand to- | day. The case of .the Waikato River, I mentioned below by Captain S. Holm, emphasises the need for tree planting, and if the love of trees'and an appreIciation of their value, is implanted in I the cities of the Dominion and spreads to the back country, the meaning of Arbor Day may achieve an economic significance, though today it is chiefly the aesthetic outlook' which attracts votaries. Such thoughts must have come'to many who listened to the addresses at the official plantings at the National. Group yesterday. . /

Those . present stood bareheaded while the Carillon played the National Anthem upon the arrival of the Government House, party; Passing to the warm comfort of the lecture hall, where the girls of the secondary schools and the public.were already gathered, I the Viceregal party took their seats on the platform. The Mayor, (Mr! T. C. A. Hislop) said i that it was not only then that their Ex-icellencies-had* shown their interest in 1 silviculture'". He referred to the former I general activities on Arbor Day, which had. suffered a- relapse, but now, he 1 saidj 'there, was a revival, due to the ! work, of the Horticulture Society and >lhe Beautifying Society "whom, on be--1 half,of the city, he thanked. The beautifying in "this "way of the^spot on which 'the National Group stood was a happy .augury for further, beautifying of the city. . \'- , Mr. .G, A. Troup, on behalf, of the trustees; expressed appreciation of the attendance of .s"o many pupils, of the secondary an,d technical colleges. Trees appealed to the youngest'and the oldest., He spoke of the impression made upon-him-'as a 1 young man coming to the Dominion'for the first time, by the forest-near \Dunedin. The outlines of totaras F .rimijs,,matais, miros, and kahikateas, amongst the big trees, had a beauty of their own. Speaking to the boys,and girls he asked them to look on trees as friends. Man might erect memorials, but there was no memorial like a .tree. Man's memorials, were dead; trees> were alive. He mentioned the case of a South African who had visited riim, who told him that he lived on 'a plateau -3000 ft .>high, and that he was taking bade with him 281b of kauri seed, with which he'intended to plant-600 acres. That.memorial would exist, if the trees-grew,^nd he thought they would, 4000 years after the'sower had diedi - Mrs. Knox Gilmcr, on behalf of the Wellingtons Horticultural Society, thanked/their Excellencies for their practical interest in Arbor Day. His Excellency>s'°'enthusiasm would have an incalculably stimulating effect on the interest in the movement. She apologised for the absence of Mr. J. A. Campbell," as representing the instituted ';,■ Captain.jS. Holm, on behalf of the Wellington Beautifying Society, said thai-it was doing all it jcould to inculcate a love of trees in the rising, as well as the older, generation.' "Our ancestors," he said, 'Mid not welcome trees. With axe and fire they destroyed them. We know now that that was a mistake. We are doing" our best to beautify, the city, but we do not want to stop there. We want -trees planted from end to end of the country. My father, on a small Government steamer, used to go right up a river during the Maori War. Today, three miles up that rjver, there is not three feet of water. The only remedy is to 'plant trees." His Excellency had given a cup for the best .maintained stretch of planted highway. If the girls and boys present looked after it, the Marine Drive, the planting of which was commenced by her Excellency that day, would stand a good chance of winning that prize.

' Lord Galway, remarking that his talk on Arbor Day had been given elsewhere, expressed his pleasure at bemg-iriyitedto take part-in the ceremony and planting. "This building," he said, "is a monument to the vision of, those, who .realised that New Zealand ."required,,-an art gallery and musem, >as a> centre of culture for the capital city.. The building, magnificent as it is, is 'not g sufficient unless the surroundings are beautifully laid out. I am-speaking-to'the-'boys and girls, because they- will have the .gardens to maintain, and I hope that when _ the time comes that you have homes of your own, you will attend to -their gardensjvery carefully. ."Tr^es cannot be planted very" close to homes, but there are flowering shrubs thatj can, and these are the things that make a home beautiful. I encourage you to be generous^ gardeners. It ■is wonderful what can be done to? help friends with their gardens 'by giving,them cuttings and seeds. I I have never gone to the garden of Mrs. Knox lGilmer, and I have been there more than once, without being given plants to take back m the car. That is what I mean'by a generous, gardener."

The Mayor having expressed thanks to the trustees for the:use of the lecture hall. for' the first '.time, .the planting was proceeded'with,:his Excellency planting the first tree.