Manawatu Daily Times New Zealand’s Tree Planting

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6805, 8 January 1929, Page 6

Manawatu Daily Times New Zealand’s Tree Planting

ijMIE last three years have witnessed a tremendous advance in afforestation in New Zealand as is shown hy the comprehensive survey of the progress of afforestation given in the Government Statistician’s annual report on the operations of commercial enterprises, in combination w'ith the report of the State Forest Service.

For the two years ending March, 1925, commercial interests only put down about 2000 acres in soft wood trees, but from then on there was a really amazing development. The new areas planted in 1926 totalled 15,826 acres; in 1927 49,821 acres were added, and in 1928 39,222 acres were brought under forest cultivation, making the huge aggregate of 106,923 acres.

The State's activity in this sphere extends over thirty years, and hy 1925 there were G 3,000 acres of State plantations. These operations have been rapidly extended: in 1925-26, the area planted was 15,964 acres; in the next year, 19,924 acres; while in 1927-28 the State forests were enlarged by 30,106 acres. Other areas have also been planted in recent years by farmers and local authorities, so that the total extent of man-made forest is considerably in excess of 250,000 acres.

Whereas the activities of commercial companies appear to be diminishing, as are also those of the minor agencies, the operations of the State Forest Service arc still being expanded. The programme for the current year was 57,000 acres, the department having enlarged its operations to relieve unemployment in the winter. When the service was reorganised eight years ago, it undertook to extend the State plantations to 300,000 acres by 1935; it is well in advance of its schedule, and even if the average for the remaining period is no greater than last year’s achievement, the objective will be attained long before 1935.

The private planting companies have by no means completed their programmes, but it remains to be seen whether they will carry on at the same headlong pace of the past few years. As already stated their aggregate area under trees is nearly 107,000 acres, but that is little more than half of the land acquired by them. In the last return this was shown as 213,242 acres. If in the next five years, say, this land is planted and the State Service continues its programme there will then be half a million acres in New Zealand under man-made forests, nearly all in the infant stages of development.

One curious fact is noted. While the State is planting a considerable variety of conifers, the private enterprise has relied almost exclusively on pinus insignis, only small areas having been put down in eucalypts and redwood. The wisdom or otherwise of this policy will only be known when it is too late to change it!

That afforestation is absorbing quite a large proportion of this yoting country’s spare cash is shown by the fact that already nearly £2,000,000 have been mobilised by the private companies for afforestation, and they command at least £2,000,000 more in respect of contracts by their bondholders. The capital cost of the State plantations is given as £963,300, excluding cost of land; that, figure may presumably be fairly compared with the aggregate expenditure of £1,094,000 charged to development account by the companies.

Suffering from severe scalds about A total of 3325 cases of infectious the neck and back, sustained by pjiq other notifiable diseases was reting a saucepan of boiling water, Gwen d - n th(j Canterburv health dis . Yeo, aged about 12 years, was admit- 1 ~ ted to the Waihi Hospital from tnct last year. Of these, scarlet fever Aongatete noar Katikati. She is mak- numbered 2124, an increase of 1076 ing good, progress. compared with 1027.