TREE PLANTING.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVII, Issue 11288, 7 June 1897, Page 2

TREE PLANTING.

[By Mb T. W, Adams, Geeendale.] (A Paper read at the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association’s Winter Show, May 26, 1897.) I accept with considerable pleasure the call that has been made to me by your Association to read a paper on the planting of trees for shelter in New Zealand. Brought up as I was ir the little but wellwooded county of Huntingdon, my earliest and most pleasant recollections are of rambles under the large old oak trees, where I used to find the blue bells, or in the woods and spinneys in search of nuts, birds' nests, curious sticks and other things of that nature so interesting to a healthy schoolboy. Another glorious time we used to have was at the annual sale of wood, which was held in one of the winter months, when we boys -were handed , a slice .of bacon and a hunch of bread; and there around a blazing fire we roasted the bacon, holding it to the fire with a long pointed stick, and then placed it under our thumbs and ate it up with delight such as an overfed epicure might envy. But though those youthful days have, alas, passed away, their memory is with us still, and so subtle are the influences that educate our minds md mould our characters that no doubt the

memory of the grand old trees and woods, with all their pleasant associations,’ were strong factors in causing me at an early stage in my colonial career to try and reproduce in this new land some of the advantages and beauties of the old, and to become an enthusiastic planter of trees. Although one life is too short to witness the growth of a giant oak, one may plant the acorn which may become a mighty tree, under whose shade future generations may sit with great delight; and surely he who plants the acorn shall not lose his reward. Having said so much, I ask your attention while I very shortly give to you my opinion on the many ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING forest trees in New Zealand, at least, over those large portions that are now treeless, and on the duty of every holder of land, whether public body or private person, to assist in this very desirable work. Some public bodies, notably the Selwyn County Council, have realised their responsibilities in this matter, and have planted considerable portions of their reserves with forest trees, and given to the dreary plains a more pleasant and attractive appearance. Many of our large landholders, too, have done a good share of planting, but not to anything like the extent the circumstances require, nor to the extent many of them desire, but the expense of fencing and planting this class of land is considerable, and as no immediate return can be expected the planting has been deferred to a more convenient season. There are but few persons who do not admit the value of plantation, and I think it would be superfluous to take much time iu showing the advantages to be gained by planting shelter belts. We only require for once to see the sheep during a snowstorm snugly protected by a good belt of pines to appreciate what they are worth to the poor animals. And now that the gorse hedges are dying in all directions those who have plantations find them extremely convenient, not only for repairing the dying fences but also for stakes for dividing turnips and as fuel for the house; and if every farm in the less valuable portions of Canterbury had been judiciously planted or sown with forest trees to the extent of onetenth of the area before the land had been cropped at all, I venture to say that it would keep as many sheep on the ninetenths with the plantations to shelter the sheep from the cold as it would on the whole without the plantations. Every stock-owner knows what a large amount of food is required to keep animals in condition when they are exposed to the winter cold; and then I think however practical one may be, none of us are quite insensible to the beauty or otherwise of our surroundings, and it should be the aim of every land-holder not only to make money out of the farm for his necessary wants, but lie should try and make the home attractive by judicious planting of fruit and forest trees for the comfort and enjoyment of his family. And children brought up on a farm with plenty of trees to shelter them and an orchard of good fruits for them to enjoy will have much to make them content with a country life, and in the cultivation of these things they are likely to find much to interest them, and when in time they leave their homes it will be with happy memories of the past. And so I strongly recommend the planting of trees, useful,'fruitful and ornamental. The Scotch Laird is said to have advised Iris son “to be aye sticking in a tree,” as it would be growing while ho was sleeping. INFLUENCE OF PLANTATIONS. That plantations are useful to supply fuel, valuable for shelter and pleasant to look upon, few will dispute. But I cannot so confidently assert that they improve the climate of a dry country by causing an increased rainfall. Whether rain is the mother of the forest, or the forest the parent of tho rain, is still a debateable subject, and a person may hold either theory and still have good authority for his view of the matter. My own idea is that the rain causes the forest, aud that trees to only a very small extent influence the amount of rainfall in any locality. But I think that trees are very valuable by their shade in preventing the too rapid evaporation of the rain from the earth. We all know how

much longer the grass remains damp in a plantation, and this is caused partly by the shade and'partly by the stillness of the air. A wet room will bo much sooner dried if we open the windows and let the air pass through ; and so, if we cub down the trees, the wind passing over the ground will jnore quickly dry it. Also, the decaying leaves and sticks, with the moss and other spongy substances found at the base of the trees, will hold the water from rushing unchecked off the soil, thus causing streams to be more permanent in a wooded than in an unwooded district. Therefore, although trees may not increase the amount of rain but to a small amount in a given locality, they undoubtedly are very beneficial in conserving it and making more of it available for the use of man and beast. But it is possible that trees do make a considerable difference in the amount of rainfall in a country ; certain it is that persons living in what were formerly bush districts generally hold that there is less rain than there used to be when the bush was standing. OBJECTIONS AND HINDRANCES. ; Objection is sometimes made to the planting of trees, on the ground that the trees harbour sparrows and other destructive birds, and it cannot bo denied but that near the homesteads the birds do use the trees for nesting; but in plantations removed from the home but very few nests will be found, and we venture to say that more sparrows’ and linnets’ nests may be found in one mile of gorse hedge than in twenty acres of trees. There are some who would like to have planted more trees, but have been discouraged from further planting through having bought unsuitable trees at the start. There are trees that look all that is beautiful when growing on the rich and well-cultivated soil of the nursery that would be utterly useless for either' shelter or ornament if planted on the poorer land usually given to trees. Some think that planting is too expensive, and say that it is not too profitable; others have heard the old saw which says, “ The planter of trees benefits not himself, but his posterity,” which is not true, at all events in New Zealand, as we who commenced to plant early havo now trees fit for almost any purpose. And if it were true, it is certainly well that we leave the world better than we found it, and no one oan more surely do this in a material sense than by having portions of those plains of ours covered with valuable timbers. HOW TO PLANT. I will now try and show how this may be done. Supposing the land is tussock, no one need be afraid of the expense, as a crop of useful trees may he raised from seed as easily as a crop of turnips. And the seed need not cost more, as the seeds of cupreosus maerocarpa, C. torulosa, several species of hardy eucalyptus and acacias, and many other species of trees may be had for the gathering, and will thrive excellently if sown by an ordinary drill, and all the better if a little fertiliser is sown with them, as with the turnips. The seed of all the different species may be mixed together, or one part of the drill may be charged with wattles, another with gums, another with cypresses. It would not he easy to raise a fine plantation in this way, as the birds would pick all the young pines off as they came up. But a variety of shrub seeds such as matipo, laburnum, barberry, holly and juniper might be added with advantage, as I have found in one of my plantations. The matipo (Pittosporum tenuifolium) is now very freely sowing itself, but unfortunately the wood of the matipo, though hard, is of very little use for stakes, as it decays very .quickly. The belts sown should be at least two chains wide, as not only would the trees grow better and the timber be of better quality, but the cost of fencing would be much less per acre. And here let me say it is of the utmost importance that the land set apart for trees should he well fenced. Not a few of the failures in planting have been caused by a flock of sheep getting into tho plantation during the early years of its growth, and unless one is prepared to put up a good fence ho had better not attempt the raising of trees. On ground that has been in cultivation,, and where sorrel and other weeds are in possession, it is more difficult to get a plantation of trees started. And if cocksfoot grass is plentiful, it will be necessary “ to' destroy it before any success can be expected. On this class of land I cannot recommend sowing the seeds until the weeds are killed by a summer’s fallow, or a better way would he to raise the plants in a nursery ground, or get small plants from a nurseryman and plant them in a specially prepared bed there to remain until they are large enough to bo planted in their permanent situations. The advantages of this plan are great, and even -where plants are received from the nursery of sufficient size for planting it will be found more economical to plant them in a bed and keep them weeded for a season. They can then be planted out under the most favourable circumstances as to weather and season of the year, and will not fail to grow when so treated. It is important in planting or sowing trees, if a number of species are being planted or sown, to plant such fast growers as Pinus insignis on the northern side of the plantation, thus allowing the slower growing trees to get the benefit of the rain which usually comes from the south-west. The fast growers planted in this manner also protect the trees of slower growth from the north-west winds. In no case should Pinus insignis he mixed with other trees, or it very soon overtops and destroys them. But it may be used witli advantage to shelter others in the way I have indicated. In planting, if shelter he the first consideration, P. insignis, P. tuberculata, P. patula, P. muricata and P. Bolanderi, will be found the fastest growers and in the order named, and the wood of all is useful for firewood. But in planting 1 think we should LOOK A LITTLE FURTHER AHEAD and plant trees that will, when matured, he valuable for railway sleepers and other such purposes. When we remember that over two thousand sleepers are required for every mile of railway, and that they require renewing every few years, we shall he wise, in the interests of our country and of our families, if we, when planting, plant the most valuable trees with which we are acquainted and which are found to grow well in Canterbury. And I know of no tree so likely to fulfil this requirement as the Larch pine (Pinus Laricio), known also as the Corsican pine, and found growing in Greece and other parts of southern Europe. One English writer says of it: “All things considered,it is one of the most valuable and generally useful species of the genus Pinus which has yet been planted in the British Isles, being thoroughly hardy, sound in constitution, of tolerably large dimensions, and of very rapid and regular growth, and will not only grow, but will produce both quantity and quality of timber equal to any and superior to most of its congeners when grown under the same conditions.” And this is exactly our experience of it here, and we can with confidence / recommend it to planters. It is not often that trees recommended in English works are successful here, but this is an exception. Other trees that give promise of success are;—P. ponderoso, P. Austriaca, P. Coulteri, P. Sahiniana, P. pnugens, P. rigidi, P. pineastor, P. Benthamiana, Cedrus Atlantica, Libocedrus decurrens, C. torulosa, C. Knighti. C. Bei’thamiaua Picea Piusapo, C. Nordmaniana, P. nobilis and Araucaria imbricata. All these, I think, will grow fairly well on tho ordinary thin soils of the plains. Along the water-races, or even on the south side of the plantations, other trees will grow, as tho various spruces, oaks, elms, walnut, chestnut, ash and larch, but they only grow within reach of water, except on the best land in Canterbury. And persons owning the better land will not be disposed to plant much of it with trees ; nor is it desirable that it should be planted, except in limited areas around the buildings, and then only with choice trees, instead of the willow poplar and Pinus insignis everywhere to be seen. The tress planted should have plenty of room to develop themselves, and the spaces between the trees should he filled with shrubs, such as the laurel, holly, laurestinus. Guelder rose, Azara raicrophylla, juniper, Choisya, ter-

nata, matipo, arbutus, magnolia, rhododendron and Euonymus fimbricata. These are twelve hardy shrubs, distinct and beautiful. The twelve trees that I. shall recommend are—Araucaria, imbricata (or monkey puzzle), Abies Douglasii, Cedrus deodava, horse chestnut, Cupressus Lawsoniana, C. semporvirens, C. torulosa, Picea nobilis, P. Nordmanniana and P. Pinsapo, Eotinospora leptoclada and Thuja gigantea. These twenty-four plants can, with the exception, perhaps, of Picea nobilis, all he obtained from any of our leading nurserymen, and are the cream of trees and shrubs suitable for a farmer’s homestead. Before closing this paper, I would like to correct A COMMON MISTAKE about our native trees to the effect that they are difficult to transplant. Such is not the case, and several may he successfully grown (as the kowai and matipo) from seed;. the black birch and white pine from plants collected in the bush ; and the totara may' be raised quite readily from cuttings. Others, as the akeake, broadleaf and lancewood, may all be grown, but they caunot endure long droughts in the central plains, but would do well near the sea, as at New Brighton, and the sandhills all along our New Zealand coasts appear to he crying out for trees. With the experience gained in Prance, no time should be lost before a determined effort is made to stop the drifting inland of the sand on our coasts. It is only a little over one hundred years, or in 1789, when the first national attempt was made on the shores of the Bay of Biscay to stop the further inroads of the sand by means of plantations of broom, pinus pinaster, and the cork oak, and now these very protective works have become the source of great wealth, thousands finding employment in charcoal burning, cork cutting, and in collecting turpentine, resin and pi toil. Tho broom, Pinus pinaster, and the cork oak all grow well here, and nothing is needed but the same public spirit and forethought to begin the work which induced Minister Neckar in the time of great financial straits to commence the work in France. ’ .

The subject of planting of trees is to me a very congenial one, and one I know lam liable to be prolix upon. I will not detain you, therefore, with any remarks on the time to plant or prune or to cut down, hut if I have already weanedyou, I ask your forgiveness and thank ydu for your kind attention.