VISIT TO THE TAPANUI NURSERY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2560, 8 April 1903, Page 28

VISIT TO THE TAPANUI NURSERY.

TAPAXri, Ann' 2. The Hon. W Hail .Tor.-*, acoowpauicd 'y Mv X M'Xnb. iI.H.R., kvA Air K. J^ Uiahcr. d»=c:i.cL ca^moer. left Kclso oarlr

yesterday morning to allow time to call at the State mursery at Tapanui prior to returning to Dunedin. On arrival at the nursery they were met by Mr Robinson, who courteously showed the visitors over the ground, and enabled them to form Eoxne idea of the splendid work being done in planting State forests to replace the rapidly disappearing New Zealand bush. The season, Mr Robinson explained, has not been i a particularly good one for treea ; but in | spite of this the seedlings in the nursery I hare done remarkably well, while the proI gress mad© by the plantation on Dusky Hill 1 has exoeeded expectations. Mr Robinson I was good enough to give a few details of j ih? work noT in hand which will doubtleos j prove of interest. The' nursery, which Was ! established four or five years ago, h?.s [ planted out about 850 acres with trees at liusky Hill, some miles from Tapaoui. The trees, which have been selected for their ultimate- commercial value, arc principally oak. ash, larch, and several of the conifer family, and they ai-e planted 4ft apart. Up i to the present time -over 2,000,000 trees have betn planted, end ne?;t year another 1.000,000 will have been added. They have thriven wonderfully well, and some of them are nearly 6ft high. Hardy, quick-growing trees such as Pinus insignia arad Pinus I austriaeus have been planted on the outer I «ides of the plantations to shelter the less j hardy trees from the heavy winds that ! c weep over the bare hills in the locality. Planting is also being carried on at Conical Hills, and arrangements have just been completed to plant the large hill juat above the j nursery itself. It is estimated that ia 25 i years the trees will have obtained sufficient I proportions to render them of considerable ] commercial value, and it dcci not acquire ' an export at figures to show what a splendid j national asset may eventually prove to have been created by transforming some of these bare ridges in Central Otago into dense forests of trees. After enjoying morning tea in Mr Robinson's cosy bachelor quarters, the visitora took leave of him and drove to Tapanui station to catch the train to Dunedin. Mr M'Nnb went south on reaching Waipahi, •and the Minister reached town by the south express. THE LAWRENCE-ROXBURGH RAILWAY. PERSISTENCE OF TUAPEKA SETTLERS. ! A deputation of settlers from the Tuapefca district came to town yesterday for the purpose of interviewing the Premier in respect cf the propceed extension of ihe Lawrence railway to the Te\iot district. It will be remembered that the Minister of Public Works was interviewed in Roxburgh early in January last with regard to this railway, and further, that several Otago members recently visited the district to ascorrain for themselves the- clpims of Roxburgh to a railway. The eettlers determined , to continue the agitation, took the oppor- . tunity of waiting on the Hon. Mr HaJlJcnes acain last evening, pending the arrival cf the Premier. The deputation consisted of Mes^ri* J. Bennetts (Roxburgh), R. Woods (Beaumont). R. Cottcci (W-aipori), and H. Cameron (Tuapcka West). ■ Mr James Benaet, M.H.R. k introduced the j deputation to the Hon. Mr Hall-Jonee at the Grand Hol^l shortly after the Minister's '< arrival from the south. Mr Bennet then proceeded to enlarge on the urgrmt need of pulling on this railway, giving renioas which were very fully published by us about three weeks ago Mr Bennetts also dealt on the resources of the district at lpngth, and after dealing with , its suitability for fruit-growing, the value cf thp coai "Nimg .scarcely more than tapped, and it- agricultural and pastoral capabilities, rnfermd to the abundance of water power available if it were considered desirable to construct an electric railway. Without a railway the progress of the- district must be greatly retarded, siud the industries would languish and continue to languish. ! Messrs Woods, Cotton, pikl Cameron reitpraled the reasons given for the speedy ton«tiucti(m of the line. The Hon tl.p Minister, in reply, enumerated the proposed railways which bad been brought under his notice during the past few ', days, and «aid that everyone of them would have lo be constructed sooner or later. It [ v.as only a question of time, and thi>t re- : solved itself into a question of money. There were a number of public works in , hand, and he was glad to say that most of - them wer? making excellent progress. He hoped within the next few yean; that some t of the railways now in hand would reach a point beyond which it would not be mecaisary to earn' them for some time to come. The release from the- expenditure on tlu'Ke works would allow some ot the lines he had referred to being carried on without inerenskiv; the public expenditure. As to the particular hue under discussion, 'the information which had been laid before him when looking iuto its claims some fcimo ago was that the Heriot-Roxburgh line \va& shorter and less expensive. It would bo a question for consideration whether there were compensating advantages for the construction of the j line tc Lawrence instead of Heriot. A light [ railway had been suggested, and while at one time he was somewhat impressed with the advantages of this type of line, he had , found on inquiry that there were serious j drawbacks to its bein^ adopted. A special ' class of rolling stock would have to be constructed for the reduced gauge, which would i be useif>s« for any othpr part of the colony. Oa the Lawrence-Roxburgh line a tunnel , recurred, and were they to make that tunnel for the narrow gauge or the ordinary gaaga? There were several heavy embank- i inents, and were thpy to be made for a ' narrow gauge or for the ordinary gauge? It j would b<s unwise to make them for the former, and then if the most expensive portions of the line were to be made the . ordinary gauge, they might just as well ' treat the remainder in the ramo way. A better course would be to construct the i work on the standard gauge, ueing perhaps lighter rai.s. etc. He was carrying out a work of thi? nature cm the line beyond Stratford, and the cost came to aomething | over £'000 per mile. As the lighter material became worn out, and the ponuiation increased and the requirements of the | di.-trict grew, the heavier metals could be substituted. The Minister then referred to the possibility of electric power beinp mihsed for a railway to Roxburgh, and said , he was in communication with an electrical nngmeer who carr.ed out a very large electee power scheme in California, where the power was transmitted 208 miles, and he hoped to have this gentleman in the colouy within tli" next two or three months to report en the c;tip=tion of ucing water power mi- the geneuttion of electricity in certain

parts of the colony. Mr Hall-Jones, in conclusion, said he v.-ould carefully eoneider tho representations made, and would inform the deputation of any decision the Cabinet mighs eventually come to in regard to the line.