NATURE-AND MAN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 223, 21 September 1936, Page 8

NATURE-AND MAN

ASKING FOR RUINATION I I AND GETTING IT (Edited by Leo Faning.) New' Zealanders have been told frequently that the destruction of protective iorests on steep watersneds brings ruination to farming country far away from the piaces where the blunders were made. In some cases, particularly in the high country of the South Island, the way to erosion is opened by sheep tracks on steep slopes and the burnings of protective tussock to promote succulent growth from the charred butts. This rough treatment kills the roots in time, and then heavy rain gouges away the soil. A playground is also made for heavy winds which lift up sharp-edged paiticles of rock and use them to grind away the surface further on. That is one of the reasons why the Government has been urged to make an investigation and ascertain whether the basic principles of national welfare require the safeguarding of a broad bell of tussock country to assure the productiveness of better farming lands of the lower levels. “Soil Erosion in a Mountain County” is the subject of an arresting article by Bernard Frank and I Robert L. Reid in American Forests. I “That the ups and downs of the busi- ! ness cycle have an influence upon soil j erosion may seem an extravagant ■claim." they remark. “Nevertheless, the relationship is clearly observable [throughout the Appalchian Mountain region. Here soil washing and stream billing are being accentuated as a direct result of economic instabi'ity brought about or intensified by the present deoression. “As students of land utilisation in mountain regions 'veil realise, the clearing and clean cultivation of steen mountainsides is not carried on blindly or willinglv bv the O'vner. but is forced on him by th° fact that his small holding and his inadeouate income from both the farm and outside sources leave him no choice in the matter of cron practices. Thus, in full knowledge of the ultimate consequences of this uneconomic and burdensome farm practices on steen slones and poor soils, the hill farme”, with no recourse but to satisfv his immediate needs, has to continue these practice’. “Likewise, many other areas nf similar character might be given public attention. Such lands constitute an economic and social hazard, the effects of which reach far bevond the confines of their particular Incal-[ ity. The continued misuse of these non-agricultural mountainsides only i serves to aggravate trie uncontrolled i run-off of wate*' and the silting up of stream channels and more fertile agricultural lands below. The land itself cannot sustain even subs ! stence agriculture, throwing the burden o f supnort. of the imnoverished peoole unon more productive communities. We might well set our sights far eimuTh ahe«d to welsh the implication'; nf such conditions and act ac- ■ cordingly.” | Those comments apnty truly tn cer- i tain parts of New' Zealand. Co-ownership of Wiki Life Arthur Newton Pack, editor of the conservation section of Nature Magazine, makes a statement which will appeal to many thousands of New Zealanders, “we have repeatedly set forth our insistent claim that the principle of devoting to wildlife conservation only such funds as may be paid in from a tax upon hunters in exchange for the right to kill is fundamentally unsound, ’ he declares. "This principle denies Lhe co-owner-ship of wildlife by the non-killers and deprives them from having any voice in the management of an economicasset that is vital also to their enjoyment and welfare. "We maintain that the administra-* tion of wildlife (including those forms ■ which are classified as game) should | he provided for by the State, just as i it provides for roads, police protection I or the administration of any other - laws for the public good. There i should, of course, be a tax on hunters I just as there is a tax on automobiles ! or automobile drivers, but the re-[ venue from such a tax should not | limit the expenditure by the State for 1 wildlife protection.” The principle of Mr. Pack's argument has been advocated by the NewZealand Forest and Bird Protection Society since its foundation. “Green Feathers’’ Again In the spring of last year I mentioned a Mr. Sparrow who plucked some green plumes from one of my kow'hai trees. He evidently thought that they would be a suitable substitute for fowls' feathers, which are not easily obtainable in my locality. This spring another laid has occurred on my patch. This time the fossicker is Mrs. Blackbird, who has whicked away a good few green “feathers" from a tree fern. It is very amusing to watch her tuggling strenuously at the tough stems. Now and then her strenuous work makes her lose her balance on the frond, but she is quickly up again and doing, and batles away until she wrenches off a piece and flutters away proudly to her nest in the thick creeper on my boundary fence. Mr. Blackbird seems to be merely a clerk of works. I often see him about, but I have not seen him toiling. Perhaps he believes he does enough by encouraging his wife with his merry songs. A Surprise for a Cyclist A friend of mine was happily cycling along a pine-bordered road beyond Pahautanui, Wellington. It was a sunny Sunday morning. Spring had come with scent and colour —and the young man’s mind was full of pleasing thoughts. He was on his way to a wooing in rosy hope. Suddenly his bright play of fancy was checked. His bare head was rudely smitten, and a sharp smarting of the scalp filled him with fright. Instinctively he put more force into his pedalling and looked up to see what had happened. A magpie was wheeling over him, ready for another swoop, which he escaped by a swift sprint. He knew then it was the nesting-time oi the black-and-white aliens, whose rule for their rookeries is: “Trespassers will be prosecuted." Small birds, including “natives," are not allowed to nest in peace near the breeding- : places of savage magpies.

Absolution I came into the quiet fields With anger in my heart, And the fields sighed and said to me—- “ With us thou hast no part. “Nor sweet communion canst thou know, Nor peace nor beauty find. While thou dost bear within thy breast Evil against thy kind." Suddenly there sang a little bird, His notes, like silver rain, Washed all my bitter wrath away. And I was clean again. —Mrs. Teresa Hooley.