AFFORESTATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14899, 30 July 1910, Page 4

AFFORESTATION.

NORTH ISLAND PROGRESS. (From Our Own Cormspcndext.) AUCKLAND, July 27.

In conveasation witli a reporter, Mr 11. A. Goudie, Superintending Nursery-, man for the North Island, thus discussed tree-planting at Rotorua: "You may safely put down that there have "been 24 million trees planted out permanently in the Rotorua district, half of, them, roughly speaking, at Whakarewarewa, anh half at Waiotapu, covering a total area of 6000 or 7000 acres. We have a large plantation at Whakarewarewa comprised of 12-year-old trees. A very largo number of these trees are 30ft, high, and probably the average growth is about 25ft. The average diameter of the trunks is approximately 4in, but somp of the trunks are about 6in or Bin. This plantation will probably have to be thinned out very shortly, as soon as the struggle for existence becomes more apparent. Already even in a 12-year-old plantation we have dominant' trees arid dominated trees. 'Soon the dominated trees will have to be removed. They will be useful for fencing or mine timber, but not for saw logs just yet. I get frequent communications from people anxious to know, what trees to plant and. how and where trees ought to be planted. Generally speaking, larch will, not thrive at a less altitude above sea level than 500 ft. Plantations of larch in Great ■ Britain have suffered very badly from' l&rch disease, a kind of fungus, which attacks the trees principally in low altitudes. For this reason the Japanese larch is finding favour there for the reason that it is said to bo less susceptible to the disease. We have tried it in small quantities at Botorua, and it does very well there. It is claimed that the work done by each prison labourer in a. tree-planting camp is worth about £80 per annum to the 'people of New Zealand."