SHELTER TREES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume VLI, Issue 3322, 24 April 1935, Page 6

SHELTER TREES.

WAIHI GROWER’S EXPERIENCES. MISTAKES IN PLANTING. (By Kristen Bjerring, in the Waihi Telegraph). • Coming to the different kinds of trees I may say) that my favourite for a few around the house or in the garden is E. Fastigata. It grows quickly and .gracefully with a straight trunk and large, nice leaves, which are not attacked by a grub from some beetle or another as is E. Viminalis and E. Macarthuri. The last two seem to do well in spite of those attacks; but E. Fastigata is not easy to establish and the wood is not particularly good. As to Euc. Macarthuri and Euc. Viminalis I can see very little difference between them. Macarthuri keeps the bottom branches a couple of years longer and is not quite as straight as is Viminalis. • When they have grown up a bit a shortsighted man can see no difference between them. If there is any difference I should say that Macarthuri is the better if conditions are hard, while Viminalis is probably to be preferred under favourable conditions — more especially if running water is close at hand. A Hard Lesson. One lesson I got good and hard: I planted E. Macarthuri and Euc. Viminalis on a stony hill leaning towards the west and south and not ploughed.. Practically none of them did a thing for four years. I kept fern away; I even manured with .super. No, thank you! Then I sprinkled the whole hillside with Pinus Radiata three years after the gums started. And now I am cutting a good many pines in order to keep the main stand in gums,- which now are doing fairly well.

Under hard conditions I can recommend the use of, say, 10 per cent, or more of pines—they will ■ grow— we are likely going more away from them than we ought to. Pines will do even as one-year-old seedlings, whereas the cupressus family really are good only as two-year transplants.

That hill also told me that manure is essential for success, but we do not need to topdress every year. How much will a man plant? The Government says 10 per cent, of the farm. And I suppose that our many new inspectors will soon force us to do it. I could not suggest a certain percentage; I should say that the area will depend on a whole lot .of things, but most of all it will depend on the

man. If he will not look after his trees he should plant very few, and mostly pines. Growing or Buying. Some one recommended last year that every man should grow his own trees. Well, one of my neighbours tried it. He bought seed for several shillings and it was a dead failure; he bought his trees next time. Another went as far as to take in a piece of land for a nursery; he went no further. lam afraid that it is like the tale about cabbages. One gardener, said to another that it would be bad when-people started to grow their own 1 cabbages. “Oh, no,” was the answer, “first we -sell them the seed. The birds get the young sprouts. Then we sell them the plants. The fowls and the cows between them get them. And then we sell them the cabbages. Oh, no, it could be a lot worse.” I might be too hard, but it is sure enough right when the State Forest Service says that in order to grow' trees we have to keep the small seedlings “scrupulously” clean. And the cleaning comes through haymaking. When all is said and done I think people will find it cheaper and better to buy trees than to grow them. But, mind you, please, I came to selling trees by growing my own; blit then I was always madly inclined that way —or so my father said. Anyway, one way or another, it does not matter much as long as something—and not too little of it—. is planted. ' '