TIMBER FOR THE FUTURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16283, 17 July 1916, Page 6

TIMBER FOR THE FUTURE.

PLANTING WASTE LANDS.

THE ROTORUA RESERVES.

WAIPA AND KAINGAROA. [BT OUR SPECIAL BiPORTER.] No. 11. While a visit to the Rotorua Stat* Kfl*. sery gives an excellent idea of the ostein under which the Government is planting out the wa.-te lands of the distri-1. v -ti a. view to supplementing the Dominions timber supply in later year?, a trip to one or other of the plantations where tree-planting is actually goinc forward is necessary to a realisation of the immense amount of work that has Wn accomplished. Since 1901 prison ramps have been established in the different reserves selected for tree planting, first at Waiotapu. now at Waipa and Kaingaroa, and the excellent results of prison labour are to be seen to-day in mile upon mile- ->f timbered ranges and valleys and plain? formerly a deflate waste of bracken and scrub.

The reserves which have already l,een planted out contain over 48.C00.0X) trees, covering an area of about 18,000 acres, which extends from >• hakarewarewa and the adjacent hills to the Waipa Reserve, on the shores of the Green Lake. Rotokakahi. and out to the Kaingaroa Plains, 55 miles distant. Of th« Whakarewarewa and Waipa Reserves. 7600 acres hav e now been planted., and at Waiotapu a'rv-.ut 7000 acres. When work at Wsiotapu was completed the Government reserved some 53.005 acres of Kaingaroa Plains, of which 5000 acres hav e already been utilised for treeplanting. Plantations on the Ranges. A trip to the Kainjaroa camp. 15 miles beyond Waiotapu. affords a splendid opportunity of viewing the result of 13 years' work in tree-planting. Following the Taupo Road, a run prist Whakarewarewa and through Te Hemo Gorge, brings one presently iu view of splendid scenery, rugged mountain slopes and deep valleys, thickly covered with handsome Corsican —pinus laricio— grown and sturdy. The road winds in and out at the foot of steep cliffs, and sometimes far below a lakelet, crystal clear, holds the reflection of timbered ranges beyond. For mile upon mile the dark zreen of the pine in all stages of growth dominates the landscape, then suddenly the scene changes completely, ajid the ranges are covered with a cloak of dull gold, as plantations of larch take the. place of pine. Nothing-more beautiful than these miles of larch trees could be imasrined. They rise in serried rows from the valleys clear to the crest of the ranges, their outline an etching of pure gold against the brilliant blue of the" sky. Far away, through a break in the hills, the snow-clad crest of Ruapehu stands clear-cut on the horizon, with Xgauruhoe rising sharply in I the foreground. Here and there the golden mantle of the larch is cut with a wide, dark line that stretches from hilltop to valley, one of the fire-breaks by which the ever-present menace of fire is kept in check. Another twist in the road, and the larch disappears. Blackened hillsides sweep into view, all bare and bleak; they have just been burned off, in readiness for planting. A little farther on. long, straight lines of young trees appear, giving the rugged hills the prim, set appearance of a vast Chinese vegetable garden. These are young pines in their fourth or fifth year, and they chequer the barren landscape with bright green for miles in every direction. Maoris at Work. A detour from the main road leads through to Waiotapu camp. Prison labour is no longer employed here, but a portion of the original buildings have been I left, as Waiotapu remains a centre for a certain amount of the work of replanting. A number of natives are employed here, replanting young trees in place of those which have died. (Jose at hand is a email Maori settlement in a cleariug reached by a splendid avenue ot silver birch and Lomj bardi poplars. Pickaninnies and puppies I frolic in happy groups in the middle of I the clearing, while Maori women peer curiI ously from the shelter of their whares. | Their men are busy out on the hillside, i with canvas bags containing young trees I slung on their backs and sharp spades gleaming as they cut into the moist soiL They dig and plant with care and skill and are lound good and capable workers. On the Plains. A few miles farther on hills and valleys disappear, and the white road stretches in a straight line to the far horizon through a level expanse of many miles of coarse grass and tussock. Far ahead lies"a dark block of pines, the only break in miles of desolation. This is the site of lie Kaingaroa prison camp, where between 40 and 60 men are engaged in planting out the plains, reclaiming this arid, bleak area in the same way as the distant hillsides have been utilised and beautified. Besides benefiting greatly from the healthy life, the men quickly become proficient workers, capable of planting from 1000 to 1200 trees a day. Experiments have proved that the Corsican pine thrives better in this district than any other species, and it is accordingly being planted largely on new areas. The plantations are being laid out in 300acre blocks, intersected with fire-breaks ,from one to four chains in width. Up to the present time these breaks have been kept clear by constant ploughing, but » new system will be introduced shortly by which they will be planted in grass and used for sheep grazing, this method having proved most successful in reserves in the South Island. Cutting Out the Timber. The only reserve in which cutting-out has as yet taken place is the Whakarewarewa plantation of larch. Many of the trees have been removed during the test two seasons, a judicious thinning out being necessary to produce large and well-grown timber trees later on. These " thinnings have been utilised as mine-props and firm? and thus have a marketable value apart from the main object for which the reserves were planted. As the young trees are planted at w intervals in rows only 4ft apart, thev become cramped as they approach maturity, and the weaker and less wellgrown ones are accordingly removed. * n the final cutting, vear.- hence, probably only 100 or 150 trees to the acre will M retained, but these will be splendid specimens. . Some idea of the way in which the wore of afforestation is going forward may be gained from the fact that during the present season, April to September, over 3,000,000 young trees will be planted on the Waipa* and Kaingaroa reserves. Wo l * at the former place is going ahead rapidly, and already the hills round about tfi» Green Lake* are lined out with young trees, which later on will greatly increase tie beauty of this famous spot. Thus, in a few vears' time, the appearance of the entire" district, from Rotorna to the boundaries of the TJrewera Country. will have been entirely transformed— barren plains and hillsides changed to picturesque beantv, while the timber its« cannot fail ultimately to be of enormoos value to the State.