Page image

C.—3

APPENDIX. SUMMARIZED REPORTS OF STATE AFFORESTATION. Auckland Region. Nurseries. —Two nursery areas have been established in connection with Tairua Plantation, and generally good growth is reported, although the dry summer weather was responsible for heavy mortality amongst certain species of the lined-out seedlings. The results from the 1930 sowing varied considerably. Cupressus Lawsoniana and Thuya plicata recorded a survival of 98 and 90 per cent, respectively, but Pinus pinaster and P. canadensis failed almost completely. Good percentages of survival were also obtained from Pseudotsuga Douglasii, Sequoia sempervirens, and Pinus radiata. Plantations. —The major afforestation operations in this Region are now confined to the Tairua project, where 1,882 acres were planted last season. The older plantations —Riverhead, Puhipuhi, and Maramarua —are practically on a maintenance basis, with the exception of some minor areas which still remain to be planted and some necessary blanking. Rotorua Region. Nurseries. —Seed-sowing, conditions at Wairapukao (Kaingaroa Plains) were somewhat trying, as heavy winds uncovered 12 acres of sown beds and rendered necessary the resowing of 3£ acres ; but the nursery at Rotorua did not suffer to the same extent, and the results obtained there were very satisfactory. At the two nurseries a total quantity of 6,654 lb. of seed was sown, which produced a combined crop of approximately 30j million trees. The stock available for 1931-32 planting is estimated at 13,700,000 trees, and an estimated crop of 23,000,000 seedlings will be carried over to the 1932-33 planting season. Plantations. —The area of new plantations aggregated 29,212 acres planted on the notch system, with an average of 668 trees per acre —insignis pine (P. radiata), Corsican pine (P. Laricio), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga Douglasii), redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), and. western yellow-pine (P ponderosa), in that order, being the principal species used. Tree and Seed Sales. —Trees sold to Government Departments, local bodies, afforestation companies, farmers, &c, numbered 914,290. The revenue from this source was £3,396, while a total sum of £274 was received from the sale of 252 lb. of seed. Wellington Region. Nurseries. —Seed-sowing was carried out during the months of October and November, 724| lb. of seed being used. A good strike'resulted, and the number of trees raised approximated 4,285,000. In addition to this seedling stock, a further 2,900,000 two- and three-year-old trees are available for future use. The establishment of a nursery at Putorino to supply stock for an afforestation project in Hawke's Bay was taken in hand during September, 1930, and despite adverse climatic conditions good progress was made until March, 1931, when for reasons of economy further work was discontinued. Plantations.—The new area planted at Karioi comprised 2,131 acres, with 1,426,000 trees, the species used being principally Pinus murrayana, with lesser numbers of P. Laricio and P. ponderosa. It was found necessary to blank 2,980 acres of the 1928 and 1929 seasons' planting, and this was done with P. radiata. Nelson Region. Nurseries. —At Golden Downs nurseries seed-sowing was commenced in October and completed two months later. From a total sowing of 1,771 lb. of seed an estimated crop of 13,400,000 seedlings was raised, comprising principally Douglas fir, Corsican pine, and insignis pine. The trees carried forward from the previous year totalled 2,422,000, from which 1,662,000 were transferred to the plantation. Plantations. —A further area of 4,101 acres was planted at Golden Downs,- and a good strike resulted, although the planting-season was unusually dry. The principal species used were Pinus radiata (1,742 acres), Cupressus Lawsoniana (846 acres), Sequoia sempervirens (572 acres), Pinus Laricio (307 acres), and Pseudotsuga Douglasii (297 acres). Westland Region. Westland Plantation.— This project has been dealt with in previous reports as an experimental area, but it has now passed beyond that stage, and will for the future be treated as a plantation. No new area was planted during the year, but the usual maintenance-work, clearing of firebreaks, drainage, and fire-control measures were carried out.

13

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert