DETERIORATED LANDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3782, 7 September 1926, Page 27

DETERIORATED LANDS.

SERIOUS PROBLEM IN OTAGO. DISCUSSION BY EXPANSION LEAGUE. At the annual meeting of the Otago Expansion League on Tuesday night reference to the deteriorated lands of Otago waa made by Mr W. B. Steel. Mr Steel said that the clamant need of the day was an increase of production, especially in our great export lines of wool, dairy produce, and meat, all of which were the outcome of husbandry, the cultivation of the land. As a Dominion we prided ourselves on our progress, our adaptability, our readiness to adopt scientific methods of cultivation, and pointed with pride to the increasing value of our agricultural and pastoral land. But there was another side to the picture, and it was rearing its ugly head quite close to the city of Dunedin —viz., the outworked and abandoned farms. Along the range of hills which skirt the southern coast line from Saddle Hill to Taieri Mouth was a heartbreaking spectacle of what could be done by wrong methods, and a serious problem as to how best to remedy the mistakes of the early settlers and their successors. Originally, like most of Otago country, these were bush-clad, and the axe and the fire sticks were called upon to clear them as our pioneers had the notion that because land grew good trees it would grow good crops. At first it did respond to the efforts of the settlers, having a native fertility created by the decomposition of the forest, but the removal of the trees and the frequent cropping gradually reduced that virgin » quality, until now there were actually abandoned farms within 30 miles of the sity, given over to fern and manuka scrub. ‘‘You cannot increase your production with land going out of cultivation," Mr

Steel said, “and this process is going on with cumulative evil effects. Recently the president of the league and I made a hurried reconnaisance of the lands at this end of the range; not the deserted land, but the still occupied but receding lands, , where the settlers were struggling with adverse circumstances. Their hope is that with the utilisation of the lime deposits in the hills they night be able to bring back some of the departed fertility. Lime for the improvement of land is carried free on the railway, and there are abundant supplies at Milburn, but the difficulty of these struggling landholders is that the roads leading from the Taieri Plain over their hills are so bad that it is impossible to convey the lime from Otokia Station, and if railed to Green Island the cost of cartage is more than the land could bear for such treatment. So they are forced back upon the native deposit, samples of which the league has had analysed, and one at least from its lime content, softness and handiness, would be most serviceable. There is an old adage, however, which says that “lime and lime without manure makes both farm and farmer poor,” and the question rises whether after the administration of liberal doses of lime some extraneous fertilising would not be also necessary to bring the land into a state of payable growth. And that, as far os we are concerned, is the rub; and it is here where we are enlisting the services of Mr R. B. Tennent, the Instructor of Agriculture for Otago. In the near future Mr Tennent will go over the ground and give an expert opinion as to the best methods of restoration, and then will come the vital question: Is the land worth the price, or can it produce sufficient crops to repay the holder for the time and money he will be called upon to expend ?” Mr Steel went on to say that the fact that this was forest land originally gave the impression that it would not be a mistake if they were to take a leaf out of Nature’s book and ascertain If it would not be better to reclothe these hilltops with forest trees, and so assist in rejuvenating the pastures of the lower slopes. It

was a well-known fact that trees upon the hilltops conserved the moisture, allowed it to percolate slowly down the slopes, and thereby greatly increased the growth of grass and other fodder plants. The experience of the City Council had shown that in this climate of well-spread humidity these hills were ideal forest reserves, and that a perennial crop of timber could be secured which would greatly exceed the returns from ordinary farming. So the theory was advanced that this land alonjf the hilltops should be secured for sylvi-culture, and more than that, they should be utilised for the growth of a new tree which would lay the foundation for a new industry and export The cork oak of Spain and Portugal had been known to commerce for hundreds of years, and this waste land would make a magnificent site for its commercial propagation. Experience had proved that it grew freely and easily from the acorn, and that after it was established a crop of bark could be taken off every seven years, and the older the tree the thicker the bark. That was, if it had been steadily cropped. Another point in its favour was that the cork oak thrived best in poor soil, so it was eminently fitted for the task of turning these desolate ridges into revenue-earning country. Here was the opportunity to make a start with a fresh development along a line which promised an ever-increasing return. It meant a sacrifice for the present and an exhibition of faith for the future, but it would be a heritage for the city and district which would redound to the credit of those who originated and carried out the idea. The President said the district specially referred to was the area on the hills behind Brighton. It was a very fine area at one time, and there were thousands of acres there, most of them belonging to the Government. He was sure it was never the intention that the industry of man should be taxed, but the position at present was that the farmers were frightened to do anything because they were frightened of further taxation. He wold like an expression of opinion on the matter, and stated that if necessary a conference would be called to thresh the matter out fully in the interests of

national production. There was at present one farm of 600 acres, which formerly was cut up into four farms, with homesteads, but which to-day was without homestead or anything else, and which was over-run with gorse and broom. It was simply breaking the hearts of people to take up leasehold land under the conditions obtaining at present. It was a very serious problem for Otago. Mr R. T. Stewart stressed the value of the drainage of swamp land. At present, he said, the Public Works Department was carrying out a scheme on the Taieri Plain to restrain the water of the river from flowing over in times of flood. But where they did not propose to drain was on the east side of the Waipori River, where there were large tracts of land under water. He added that he had a scheme under way at Kaitangata whereby 2500 acres would be lifted two feet above water level and would become as valuable as any land on the Taieri. The sooner these swamps were drained the better it would be for Otago. Although farmers had conceived the idea of draining their swamp land, they were handicapped through lack of money, and he thought that the time would come when pressure would be brought to bear on the Government to assist the farmer in making two blades of grass grow where one grew before. “I think the time will fcome,” he said, “when the Government will advance money to farmers at a suitable interest to enable land to be drained and to increase the production of Otago.” The President (Mr 8. B. Macdonald) said that Mr Stewart and his associates were deserving of the thanks of the community for the work they were undertaking at the Kaitangata Lake, which was going to be in the course of a year or two a number of smiling farms. There was also a similar scheme under way at Berwick. •