GRASSING RECLAIMED LAND

Northern Advocate, 11 July 1925, Page 6

GRASSING RECLAIMED LAND

SUCCESS OF EXPERIMENTS. Splendid results are being obtained by the combined committee of the Whangarei Hockey and Cricket Associations with the experiments being conducted in grassing a plot of three acres of the reclaimed land leased from the Whangarei Harbour Board. The plot is situated opp.osite the Grotto Gardens on the Whangarei to Onerahi road and is part of a section which it is intended if the experiment proves satisfactory to lay down as cricket and hockev fields.

Last year the reclaimed land was ploughed and harrowed. It lay fallow for a time, the idea being to let the salt wash out of the tilth, and three months ago, after two tile drains had been laid to ascertain what their effect would be, it was sown down with a mixture of grasses.

The growth made has been surprisingly good. Already the rye-grass has grown fully eight inches, while examination shows that it has become very well rooted. Indian doobj grass, which is a good rooter and first rate for lawns, has also done especially well. Although not desired for the purpose for which the area under test is being used, the splendid growth of clovers on other parts of the reclamation show that it will not be very long before the area will be valuable for grazing purposes. Unfortunately there are some weeds also making rapid growth, the most serious being gorse, which is especially noticeable on the stop-banks, the spoil for which was pumped from the bed of the channel. Good progress :s being made by the Whangarei Harbour Board's employees with the ejection. of a fence 40 chains in length along the road frontage. When that is completed the reclamation as a, whole will be enclosed by fence and river. Generally speaking, the prophecies of those who contended that it would not be a lengthy or very difficult task to put the reclaimed mangrove swamps into good grasses appear to be proving correct.