RECLAIMING SAND AREAS

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16467, 20 June 1919, Page 3

RECLAIMING SAND AREAS

BELL BLOCK HARBOUR RESERVE

A report of an inspection of the New Plymouth Harbour Board reserve on the sea front near Bell Block, which was made by Mr. Cockayne, Government biologist, and Mr. J. W. Deem, fields instructor under the Department of Agriculture, came before the Harbour Board at its meeting to-day. The report said that the area consisted of between two and three hundred acres of entirely sand dune land which, where not covered with lupin or gorse, was in a more or less moving condition. Apparently the main wind experienced did not blow straight from the beach, but more or less parallel with it, and this had caused the sand to bkny away from the direction of New Plymouth and the main actually moving dune had apparently moved gradually from one end to the other of the area. Its further f regress was at present impeded by a small river, but if it should cross this it was likely to ruin considerable areas of fairly good volcanic eruption soil along the coast, but it was not likely to extend much further inland than it had done. Planting with lupin, pinus insignis, marram grass and other grasses was recommended to be carried out, the procedure being outlined. Portion of tire area could eventually be stocked and turned into useful grass lands. The grasses and clovers suggested for sowing along bracks to be out through the lupin's were: Prairie grass, paspalum, cocksfoot, bromus palulus, poj* pratensis, danthqnia, lotus augustissimus, English trefoil and white clover. On a small area they would like to see paspalum planted, much in the way that marram grass is planted. “The reclamation of sand areas is a very important work and of national interest and, although a fair amount has been done by the department in this direction, there are still certain types of sand land' and many points that require further investigation,” the letter stated. “Should your board be prepared to fence in an area and provide the necessary cattle when required, I would be prepared to recommend that my department co-operate with the board in carrying out the necessary sowing and planting.” Mr. R. Day, inspector under the New Plymouth Borough Council, also wrote regarding the area in question, offering to lease the reserve at a low rental with certain conditions as to reclaiming and planting. The board decided to have the boundaries of the reserve properly defined, ,to thank Messrs. Cockayne and Deem for their report and suggestion of cooperation, and to inform Mr. Day that the whole matter would he dealt with shortly.