TIMBER FOR SLEEPERS
Sir, —Mr. Semple was reported in your Saturday issue to have stated that "the majority of the sleepers used had to be imported because the New Zealand timbers were- not hard enough to^ hold the spikes." If all the aspects of the present position were known, probably Mr. Semple himself would be one of the first to try to remedy it, because we have here in New Zealand one of the recognised finest sleeper timbers, the puriri. This tree grows readily and quickly in many localities, and not necessarily on agricultural land. The fly in the ointment is the ghost moth, which so far has forced upon New Zealand the importation of most sleepers used, because the larvae of the moth so riddles the timber that it is hardly fit for anything .but firewood. Would it not be reasonable, in view of the values' involved, to take some steps to combat the moth, rather than to go on hoping 'that Australia may be able to meet our needs in the future as regards sleepers. If systematically tackled, the puriri would | become one of our most valuable forest assets.—l am, etc.,
(To the Editor.)
TIMBERMAN
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 79, 30 September 1941, Page 6
Word Count
197TIMBER FOR SLEEPERS Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 79, 30 September 1941, Page 6
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