BUSH FIXES IN TARANAKI.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 8754, 16 April 1890, Page 3

BUSH FIXES IN TARANAKI.

The following letter appeared in a, reecnt issue of the Lyttellon Times :—: — Sir, — A short time ago I was pained to read the graphic accounts of the hush fires in Taranaki, written hy your Ilawera correspondent. Now, sir, as I come from a district adjoining, a fev r words on bush tires in general in Taranaki may not bo out of place, more so as I claim a knowledge of bush farming and bush tires. To read the descriptions of the fires written by your correspondent, one would think that the bush districts of Taranuki must bo a fearfully dangerous place to live in, especially during the summer months. Such, however, is not the case. I wish to pay something about the position of settlers who have been " burnt out." Now, it is a known fact that in Taranaki many thousands of acres were cleared in what were locally known as bad ' burning years. After the tiinlwr has been felled for a few years, it becomes very dry and easily ignited. A dry summer comes, a fire is started, and it spreads all over the clearing, burning off all logs and many of the stumps; leaving ground which was, before the tire, very rough, comparatively clear. Thus the settler has his land clearer, more available surface for grass growing, and unless the grass has been allowed to run to seed there is very little of the grass being permanently destroyed, unless near where the lig logs were lying. After a shower of rain the grass, more especially cocksfoot, soon sprouts. As regards the destruction of fences, the destruction is wholly owing to the laziness of the b;ish farmer in not clearing proper fencing lines. If lines are cleared live or six feet wide on each side of the fence, then there is not the slightest danger of a fence being destroyed. I fancy the great portion of the fences destroyed must have been those known as " dog-leg." As regards the b lrning of houses, here again their destruction can be attributed to the fault of the owner. It is evident to anyone going through the Taranaki bush district that in many instances no ordinary precautions were taken by settlers to guard their houses against a dry summer and a tire. The houses were built near to large trees, and then the people were afraid to burn the trees for fear of burning their houses ! A dry summer follows, and the consequences are obvious. This was the cause of many houses being destroyed at the time of the Stratford fire. It might be stated that many of those who were burnt out at this rire were better off three months after the fire than they were before it. This was owing to the liberal subscriptions of the public. I might state that bush fires in Taranaki do not rise in anything like the fury of Australian fires. In Taranaki it is not the flames which are most troublesome, it is the smoke. The Taranaki bush fires do not rise in a wall, carrying all before it, unless at the original burning off. In conclusion, I might state that if a person does not chop the large trees down, and get a good burn over his clearing the first season, he may confidently expect a fire to run over his land sooner or later, and the sooner af f ir the timber is dry the better. If settlers did more logging up near their buildings, and had the latter roofed with iron, then the buildings are perfectly safe. — lam, &c, Ex-Bush FaiiMER.