BALMORAL FOREST

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23257, 19 July 1945, Page 6

BALMORAL FOREST

All Millable Timber Flattened

(N.Z.P.A.) CHRISTCHUttCH July 18 Practically the whole of the 1200 acres Of millable timber in the Balmoral State Forest was flattened by the 90-."ile-an-hour gale on Friday and the subsequent snowstorm. This is the estimate of the devastated area by an official of the State Forestry Department after inspection yesterday. It. was the largest and most useful trees that suffered most. Thousands ana thousands of trees planted between 1918 ar.U 1926 were either uprooted or smashed down by other trees. The timber stands affected consisted of fast-growing insignis pine, which because of their shallow rooting in shingly ground, were easy prey for the violent north-west wind that preceded the record snowstorm. There seemed to be general agreement among the forestry officials that the shingly nature of the ground at Balmoral was unsuitable for fast-grow-ing trees and that the present catastrophe was a legacy from the policy of using the poorest of lands fo’l Stat? 1 orest projects. A pronounced feature of the 25.001) acres of plantations at Balmoral was that the slower-growing trees, such as Ponderesa and Corsican nine, were no* affected. The plantations will. now provide a salvage job for the next few years after which it is expected that there will be regeneration. Lar n e quantities of millable timber will be saved while Christchurch is assured of supplies o' firewood for vears to come During the gale r ;n working m tin Forest, including military defaulters miraculous’*- ■■■.eenc i ile-Kti