RAISED FROM SEA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22620, 7 January 1937, Page 8

RAISED FROM SEA

LAND NEAR NAPIER SEQUEL TO EARTHQUAKE PREPARING FOR CULTIVATION I BY TELEGRAPH —OWN CORRESPONDENT j X A PIER, Wednesday The cultivation of a 7500-acre block of land on the outskirts of Napier which was raised from the sea at the time of the 1931 earthquake is expected to be undertaken on a large scale next year. Parts have already been ploughed and planted, but these are mostly experimental patches. Ihcs major area still requires much drain age. but this will be expedited by the recent installation of two new electric pumps on either side of the main unwatering channel. The work, which has been going on for some years, is being undertaken b\ the Public Works, Department, which from time to time seeks the advice of the Department of Agriculture as to whether certain parts are sufficiently clear for cultivation. It will be remembered that prior to the great earthquake the whole area was under sea water and the reclaimed land is rich in salt. Occasionally the Public Works Department sends samples of the soil to the Department of Agriculture for analysis. The removal of the salt from the soil presents no mean problem. Itjias been found that the salt rises and sinks in the soil with changes in the weather. During a spell of hot sunshine the salt works its way to the surface, but a heavy downpour of rain will force it underground again. This process is continually going on. The Public Works Department has divided the block into hundreds of j squares, separated by drains. During | heavy rain the salt is washed into the j drains and so the area is gradually being purified. The process is a slow j one. When the drainage work has been j completed the area will be handed over j to the Department of Lands for close j settlement.