TROPICAL PLANTING IN NORTHLAND.

Northland Age, Volume 18, Issue 15, 13 January 1921, Page 3

TROPICAL PLANTING IN NORTHLAND.

(To the Editor). SIR,—As lam greatly interested in the development and progress of Northland the following suggestions may be of interest:—Two plants of great economic importance should be cultivated, and are well adapted to the climate, viz., the giant Abyssinian banana {Musa ensete) and the Mauritius hemp {Fourcroya gigantea). The former is a most valuable fibre and pulpproducing plant and for this reason, apart from its noble foliage, ought to be extensively cultivated.. Every portion of the huge trunk which may reach nine feet in circumference can be used for paper making, while from the fibre ot the immense leaf-steips lace can be manu- . factured. This giant banana is to the natives of Tanganyika and other Central African districts what the cocoanut palm is to the South Sea Islander. Clothing can be woven from its texture, it has its • place in roofing huts, cake-bread can be made from the fruit besides many other uses, but to the practical European the chief use is in the manufacture of coarse paper. In all gullies of Northland, bordering the coast especially, this splendid plant will thrive; and, strange though it may appear, it seems to have found a soil and climate in the gum lands of the North even more congenial than in Abyssinia itself just as the blackberry and gorse thrive even better here than in the Old Land. Beautifui specimens of this mam- * moth banana can be seen in my tropical gardens at Waiata, Birkenhead, where leaves have been measured exceeding 18 w feet in length and three feet in breadth, ‘jf while'One by my study has, at the present time, a flower stalk exceeding nine feet long, truly an object lesson for the -* who speak of the alleged barren nature of the North Auckland ground. The Mauritius hemp is also especially adapted to Northland as a commercial proposition, and may likewise be seen flourishing in my gardens. Its chief value ► is also in the fibre which has a good strength and length which may exceed . f our feet. The commercial value is for ' the best result about £3l per ton, with a good average of £22 10s. The figures are from a report of the Imperial Institute, London. The secret of success is deep ♦ cultivation with adequate drainage. Let • ithose interested see the specimens at •Waiata (where, when trenching, I have considerable gum) and then hold

their peace about the supposed waste lands of the Northland Peninsula. In my opinion tea should flourish especially in such localities as are to be found on the eastern slopes of the hills near Kaihu; and the “fei” or hill's banana of Tahiti should also thrive in like placesNorthland might be made the garden of the Dominion if its people would only wake up from lethargy and bestir themselves. lam aware the problem of labour would have to be solved, but where there’s a will there is always a way and thought is a potent dynamic force. I am, &c., CLEMENT L. WRAGGE. W aiata Gardens, Birkenhead.