BEAUTY ON ROADS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 August 1939, Page 3

BEAUTY ON ROADS

PLANTING OF ORNAMENTAL TREES NEW ZEALAND CONDITIONS. POSSIBILITIES EMPHASISED. A valuable and welcome short treatise on roadside beautification under New Zealand conditions, written by Mr M. R. Skipworth, a bachelor of science in forestry, and holder of the diploma in horticulture, has just been issued in the form of an illustrated bulletin by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, with encouragement and financial help from the Department of Internal Affairs. In New Zealand, Mr Skipworth remarks, past attempts at the beautifying of roadsides have been ‘’spasmodic, unorganised and frequently unsuccessful.” “For success,” he states in his introduction, “skilled direction is a necessity, but it is extremely difficult to obtain, owing to the scarcity of people qualified to give expert advice and Ihe absence of any literature on the subject as it affects this country. GAIN TO SIGHT-SEERS. “To assist in some measure to supply this advice, and to outline a scheme for the national development of roadsides, this study has been written with the hope that it will prove useful to the many enthusiasts who desire to see their country made more beautiful. By wise preservation and carefully-plan-ned planting, we may hand down to posterity a land of tree-garlanded beauty, instead of a country of treeless landscapes, bush-denuded slopes and rotting stumps.” While recognising that the primary purpose of every road is to accommodate traffic, which increases in speed and density every year, the author points out that the number of motorists who use the roads simply for touring and sight-seeing grows rapidly at the same time. Roads, he feels, should be belts of natural beauty wherever possible, and, as their vicinity makes up the foreground of every wayfarer’s view, they can add much to. or detract much from, the charm of the countryside. PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS. Would-be beautifiers are sometimes regarded as unpractical people, but no such accusation can be levelled at Mr Skipworth. He discusses in great detail not only the preservation of native growth along roads and the possibility of planting native and exotic trees and shrubs, but also the real difficulties created by the needs of fast traffic, engineering requirements, future road vzidening, interests of property-owners, stock, droving, and power and telegraph pole lines. He even considers such points as the risk of skidding on damp, fallen leaves, excessive shade, and possible blocking of water-tables and culverts. The author’s conclusion is that, when all handicaps are allowed for, there are many points along almost every road at which planting can be carried out with great aesthetic gain and without the least detriment to traffic or other interests. He even suggests that in some places road safety can be promoted by creating windbreaks and afforesting slopes below road level to check the fall of vehicles which may “go over the bank.” STATE SERVICE PROPOSED. Included in the bulletin are lists of the principal native and exotic trees and shrubs suitable for roadside planting in various regions of New Zealand, with notes on their habits. Special attention is given to flowering varieties and those which provide food for native birds. Mr Skipworth ends with a scheme for the .administration of roadside planting and maintenance. He considers that the only effective method will be to place the whole work under a single Government authority, financed from the Main Highways Fund. It is estimated that to undertake planting initially within a radius of 60 or 70 miles from each of the four main centres would call for an initial outlay of about £3700 and an annual expenditure of £3500, mainly on labour. The author believes that this comparatively small yearly payment would not be grudged in the least by tax-paying motorists. The bulletin is illustrated with a number of well-chosen photographs, particularly of planting done by the Waiototara County Council, in co-op-eration with the Wanganui Beauteifying Society, on highways in the county.