CORRESPONDENCE

Southland Times, Issue 19102, 21 November 1923, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE

Letters must be irritten !n Ink and on on« side of the paper. Unless a signature, not necesaarlly for publication, accompanies a letter- as a guarantee of good faith It will not be considered. An asterisk attached to the signature to a published letter denotes that some portion, has been deleted by the Editor, a right which is exercised in questions of public policy, libel, good taste fair play. SANDY POINT DOMAIN. To the Editor. Sir, —Having visited the Sandy Point Domain many times in the last 30 years I was keenly interested in your leader and Mr Quinn’s letter. I trust many will follow Mr Quinn’s advice to go and see for themselves the problem facing the council and the work Mr C. M. Smith, State Forest Service, has done. Having closely followed the attempts to improve the dune areas made by others I think it can honestly be said that more has been done in the last three months than has previously been done in years. The previous experimenters hqye lacked, perhaps through no fault of their own, what Mr Smith possesses—a first-chae university education and actual working knowledge of the fixation of dune areas ba older countries, coupled with a good knowledge of systematic botany. The work of the earlier men has not been altogether fruitless; two valuable things have been proved. There is now on the ground an abundance of marram grass, and just behind the foredune, about 400 yards in from the beach, there are thousands of trees now growing well and perfectly healthy. The trees I saw, with the solitary exception of a healthy pinus radiata, were all pinus muricata. It is about sixteen years since I visited the Domain last and I don’t think they were there then. Naturally they were more or less of a prostrate habit, nothing else could be expected, but otherwise fine healthy trees. This is already a good sheltered picnicking spot. The tussocks growing in the lee of the treez were luxuriant and under. the trees themselves there is quite a depth of humui making for a vast improvement in soil conditions. There does not seem any reason why afforestation with the maritime pine (pinui pinasta) should not be entirely successful There were a few eucalyptus—l think coocifera—which are not widely planted in Southland. They were small but healthy. On the estuary .side of the Domain at the old Rask homestead were to be seen pines, some walnuts, yew and other well known English shrubs and bluegums. These later had regenerated and the young trees were perhaps thirty feet high. Round about this spot the yellow Californian lupin has flourished vigorously making great splashes of colour on the dunes. The air was sweet with its odour. In pasing through the native bush which is being slowly engulfed by a wandering dune, it was noticed that several red pine trees had been barked at some time, and died. Totara trees had been barked, presumably to provide mutton bird baskets. The commercial value of the timber destroyed would amount to quite a few pounds. Vandalism of this type should be dealt with strongly. Some steps have been taken by Mr Smith to arrest the dune and this bush is and will be a valuable scenio asset. I will not trespass further on your valuable space except to fcay that the moving dunes have advanced materially since I saw them last and that their fixation is now a matter of urgency which should no longer be handled in a half-hearted manner. I should advise those going to the Domain to put in at least half a day. It took the party I was with about eight hours to walk round the Domain, though we certainly spent part of the time on the ground examining the minute flora which is of great ii terest. To those with eyes there are mar beautiful things to be seen on what son people think is a sandy waste. I am, etc., G. JACQUIRY. A QUESTION OF TASTE. To the Editor. Sir, —I am sure that no Southland sportsman possessing any instinct of (airplay and decency could read your lurid report on the meeting of the Cricket Association without annoyance. With the aid of large type, the distortion of debate, the publication of much slang, and even curses, you are bringing your paper below the reputation held by the New Zealand Press. It is unlikely that there would not be slang at any men’s meeting of that nature. Therefore the speakers generally place their faith in the discretion and good taste of the reporter. But in this department the Southland Times seems to be singularly weak. The sensationalism attempted in that report, over unimportant copy, borders on journalistic pusillanimity and American yellowness. Having failed, no doubt to your chargin, to draw the Rugby Union into what promised to be an unseemly argument, you seek advertisement for your paper by holding up for ridicule another sporting body. In this case, unlike the Rugby Union, they are a struggling concern, worthy of all support. Your report is nothing if not destructive. It shows little concern for the ethics of journalism and your sense of the public duty of a newspaper is a misguided one. It certainly is not the increase of circulation by self-advertisement, at the expense of private sporting citizens. Persecution of gentlemen who give their labour and money to the advance of sport has been the policy of your paper I am, etc., GOOD TASTE. [ln questions of taste knowledge is to be desired, otherwise well-intentioned but hasty people may move in places calculated to inspire fear among the Angels.—Ed. B.T.]