FROM SCRUB TO FLAX.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20419, 22 November 1929, Page 7

FROM SCRUB TO FLAX.

CHANGE; I,NI WASTE LAND. '» . ■ ;: The-transformation ol scrub-covered peat s '' . swamp land areas of flax is proceeding apace »bn a ; 3000-acrc block - • on Piako Road, Gordonton. : . .Operations on the area, May, 1928, and since then 452. acres have been?-/cleared . of,'". scrub, ploughed, disced,., and harrowed, and- - planted' in flax. Twenty-three- men, with four tractors, ploughs and other field im-r. plcments, are: ; employed on the area. To"'; : one who bad not visited the block for. -

a year the vast amount of work accom-" plished in the intervening period was a revelation. _ Flax was to be seen in all stages of development. Seed beds, with tiny pedigree plants just forcing their way through the specially-prepared ground, occupy one - , corner of the block. The whole nursery consists of 52£ acres, and a million seed-" lings are to be seen in various stages of , growth. Those seedlings which have de-i 'r : r veloped sufficiently to warrant transplanting aro removed in a novel manner. A specially-made implement, consisting Of two inverted" blades, is drawn by two horses along a row of seedlings. The : blades cut away tho earth -fin each side of the roots, and the plants are readily - removed, from the loosened ground. Th« .■ seedlings are removed to the permanent fields and planted in straight rows, 10ft. apart, and sft. separating each plant in the rows. : Particular attention has been given to the drains and miles of deep, clean con-., duits intersect the property. The land is quite flat for many square miles, and the uniform rows of flax plants present ' an unusual and interesting appearance. Planting, which is a seasonal operation, is proceeding at the rate of 15 acres » day. The owners are delighted with the progress the flax has made peat coun- X try, and are confident of the ultimate sue- ' cess of the venture. "