THE GARDENS AND RESERVES.

Evening Star, Issue 14040, 22 April 1909, Page 8

THE GARDENS AND RESERVES.

MR TANNOCK'S REPORT. Mr D. Tannock, superintendent 'of reserves, in his annual report states : The most important event of the past' year was the furnishing and opening of the winter garden, the splendid gift of Mr R. Glendining. It is the first building of the kind in the Dominion, and has proved a great attraction to the Gardens. Trie ventilating and heating arrangements have worked splendidly, and the fine growth made by the plants in the tropical and subtropical sections, and the way they last in bloom m the greenhouse, is "ample demonstration of the suitability of the building tor the cultivation of the" various plants the greenhouse has been maintained in flower, as proposed. As soon as the bloom is past the plants are removed, and replaced by others which have been grown on in the nursery. The furnishing of a greenhouse in this manner means considerable.extra work and forethought. We have at present 275 chrysanthemums in pots and 600 primulas, cinerarias, etc., comincr on for the autumn and winter display ° the sub-tropical end is furnished with caieus, orchids, etc., oranges, bananas, coffee, camphor, etc., being planted out in the centre bed. The growth of the Abyssinian banana " Musa enseii," is very fine In the tropical section the benches are furnished with foliage begonias, orchids, crotons ferns, sensitive plants, palms, and other plants requiring a tropical tempera-

On one of the benches there is an interesting collection of economic plants ob- | tamed through the kindness of the GoverInor of Fiji. These include vanilla, coffee cocoa, rubber, arrowroot, tapioca, cinnamon,- allspice, black pepper, rice, pineapple, etc. The plants put out in the centre bed made good growth, and promise to develop into a bit of tropical jungle lhey include a cocoanut palin, bananas, screw pine, sugar cane, rubber, several palms, etc. The Chinese banana has made particularly good growth, and .should fruit betore long, when no doubt it will be an j object of interest. J The educative value of a collection of ■economic plants is verv great. -Many people have a very hazy idea of the appearance and nature of the plants which yield many of the articles of food, the and spices in use every clay. We were fortunate m receiving donations of plants from j :*# Wendming, the Governor of Fiji Mr \Vhitson, Mrs Maitland. and others, also hi obtaining a number of tropical plants from Christchurch bv exchange and purchase. There are 1,500 plants in the winter garden at present. Of these 498 were obtained by exchange, donation, or purchase, and 1,121 grown in out own nursery.

j Several new beds were trenched, a bor- : der formed round the boiler-house and one beside- the creek for moisture-loving plants the shrubbery border was widened, and the rose garden extended. A considerable "S? j er * °L new shrubs arld roses added to the collections. The paths are badly cut up as a result of the heavy carting, to the winter gardens but as it is proposed to put through the V alley_ sewer during the coming winter there is little use repairing them in the meantime. Three hundred yards of holly hedge was planted up the Opoho road, and there are plants ready in the nursery to . extend it another 300 yds during the com-' img winter. The watchman's house was repaired and painted, and the ladies' cloak room painted. Other buildings are in sjood repair, but one of the bridges will require to be renewed before long. The ferns made good growth, but more shelter is required, and it may still be necessary to cover over the" whole place with a light roof of ma.nuka- scrub. A considerable amount of clearing wa s done on the hillside, in preparation for planting out more specimen trees. Elderberry was again stumped right through and rough grass and weeds cleared round the newly-planted shrubs. Thev are now well established, and will no doubt close in and keep down all undesirable growth . There are many important and desirable improvements I should like to carry out but 1 fully recognise that there is no use creating more than we can maintain in E ood order, and with the winter garden to W rush, the weeds and elderberry to keep down the usual routine and nursery work to attend to, our present staff is fuilv occupied. By steadily working along the lines already laid down, the Wy 8 and usefulness of the Gardens will be increased from year to year, and an attractive and im terestmg garden, besides providing pleasure to the citizens and visitors to Dunedin ha< a benencia.l effect on the tram, and in'thii manner alone a considerable part o f th» expenditure incurred is returned to the Corporation.

ih §^ en ,^ S lald out in front of the Early Settlers' Hall, and arrangements have been made for planting a pi ec ? at th= side as soon as the iron railing is erected' With the Early Settlers' Hall, the 4ri CW levy, and the gardens at each end. what w at one time an eyesore is now an attractive part of the City. Another section of the Oval was top-dressed, levelled, and sown down, but- though grass eventually ™ ff6 well on spoil from sewers, the first year % somewhat disappointing. On the* older area, the grass is now well established but owing to the filling-iii material settling unevenly, levelling, and top-dressing will have to be done for some years to maintain a satisafctory surface. The removal of the. old picket fence was a distinct improvement, and there are other old fences round reserves serving no useful purpose which I should.like to see removed.

ihe growth of the shrubs in the street plantations and Anderson Bav road has been very satisfactory, consequently their, annual maintenance is much reduced* Several more sections of the Belt, near -Mommgton, covered with gorse and broom were stumped, fenced, and leased for grazing horses. Though in a few -cases, where there are not sufficient horses turned out to eat down tite grass, the gorse % coming away again, in most paddock* the results are very satisfactory, and. besides the great improvement in the appearance of this part of the Belt, it is now possible fo" people to walk all over what was before an impenetrable thicket of gorse and broom and a source of danger through fires starting in it and spreading to the adjoining properties. Horses, however,' are not % complete cure, tut sheep are., and I trust that in a year or two it may be possible to replace the temporary fences with sheep netting, place gates at the principal footpaths, and lease the paddocks for sheep The recreation grounds could then-be-in-cluded, and it would not be, necessary to divide the Belt into so many paddocks " \t present the grass in Hagley Park, Christchurch, is grazed with sheep, for which I understand, a rent of about £SOO is received, and sheep keep down the in a considerable area of Hyde Park, London and the. South Side Park, Glasgow. To keep down the grass, gorse, and broom'on the Belt with scythe and grubber would be a very expensive affair, and would absorb nearly all our annua] allocation. A number of shrubs were planted on the tip at the top of Stafford street, on the tip in Woodhaugh, on the bank above the tram line near Pine Hill, and near Maori Hill. The trees in Victoria Park were thinned. Elderberry was again stumped right through the native bush, and though the old stumps of elderberry which were too big to root out still send up shoots they are gradually weakening, and the number 0* seedlings annually decreasing. I consider we- have now got it under control, and unless neglected for a year or two there is no fear of it again destroying the native bush. It is satisfactory to note that there were, no fires of any consequence during the past season, and that the trees, shrubs, and j native bush made excellent growth. ! The removal of the old tool shed in the southern cemetery rendered a small'area available for sale, but in the northern the suitable ground will soon be used up. j Arrangements have been made to lay off j a considerable area in the eastern necropolis enough for a year or two, and the shrubs in the nursery out there will be used for extending the shrubbery and the hedge along to the sexton's house.'

The trees raid shrubs in nursery at present are: Lined out, valued at £250 12s 3d; lined in, 555, vahied at £l7 Tfe; in cutting bed, 1,481, valued at £2l 9sin bod, 5,200, suited at £ll 16s.

Total, 13,676, valued at £3Ol 14s 3d. Herbaceous and alpine plants, 6,110, valued at £B6 4s; narcissi and other bulbs, 9,462, valued at £27 Os 3d ; shrubs in Eastern Necropolis nureeiry, 925, valued at £3O. Total, 30,173, valued at £444 18s 6d. Bedding plants raised and put out, 38,050, valued at £306 16s ICd. Plants, seeds, and bulbs (received): (1) By exchange—plants 1.011, seeds 411 packets, bulbs 3,740, cuttings 104; total. 5,266. (2) Repurchase—plants 152, seeds 334 packets"; total, 486. Plants, seeds, bulbs (outwards) : (1) By exchange—plants 6,580, seeds 178 packets; total, 6.758. (2) To gardens and reserves: Trees and skrubs 2,347, herbaceous and aJpines 7,100, bedding plants 38.050, bulbs 8,462. So far the recreation grounds belonging to the City a-re entirely devoted to cricket and football, but there are other games quite as worthy of the consideration of the City Council as the two mentioned—i.e., hockey, croquet, tennis, and bowling. There is a level area of about five acres outside the Gardens, but belonging to the domain, near Pine Hill, where I should like to see a bowling green, caoqwet greens, and tennis co-arts formed. Here citizens and visitors could have a game whenever they liked by paying a small sum, sufficient to. defray cost of upkeep, interest on capital, and yield a small profit. These greens and courts would be laid down and maintained by the Corporation. The cost | of formation need not be vea-y great, npkeep would be economical, and I feel sure I that the benefit to the public and the trams | would be sufficient to warrant this scheme receiving the serious consideration of the ! City Council. ./

The tree planting on the water reserves was considerably extended, 45,825 trees being put out during the past year. All these were grown in our own nurseries, and-the advantage of having well-grown plants, with good roots, put straight from the_ nursery to the plantations without packing, carting, and delay was very evident, and no doubt accounted for the good growth made and the small number of deaths in the newly-planted areas. The alder plantations have done well; they are now above the grass and increasing in vigor from year to year. We propose to extend operations until at least fifty acres are planted every year, and as it is estimated that an acre of cultivated trees yields in from forty to sixty years' time 600,000 ft of milling timber, the advantages to a city like Dunedin to have fifty acres of timber suitable for all kinds of manufacturing and building purposes maturing every year so close at hand will be very great. Thinning starts in teu years' time, and from then onwards there will bo annual crops of thinnings suitable for turning into wood pulp or other purposes. After the present reserves are used up it might be an advantage to secure and plant some of the comparatively worthless land near the city, and to plant the vast water-collecting areas at Waipori and Silverstream. It is the duty of municipalities to cover their water and other reserves, where not suitable for recreation purposes, with timber trees—(l) to conserve moisture; (2) to keep down noxious weeds; (3) to provide a supply of timber for the future, for there is no doubt the supply of native timber (which can be conveniently got at) is within measurable distance of extinction.

Afforestation will pay, and it is considered one of the best remedies for unemployment, for most of the work is done during the winter, and it can be done by unskilled labor. The Royal Commission appointed to formulate a scheme of national afforestation in Great Britain recommended that 9,000,000 acres be planted at the rate of 150,000 acres each year, the cost the first year to be £2,090,000, and to rise to £5,131,000 in the fortieth year, after which the forests would become selfsupporting. In eighty years the value of the forests would be £562,000,000, or £106.000,000 over the entire cost of their creation.