ECONOMICAL AFFORESTATION IN NELSON.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XV, Issue 3, 20 September 1917, Page 145

ECONOMICAL AFFORESTATION IN NELSON.

THE FRUIT-CASE TIMBER SUPPLY.

H. G. KINGSLAND,

Appleby.

How to utilize waste lands is a subject which interests • many farmers. As far as we Nelson farmers are concerned—especially those on the newly broken-in country the question is of pressing - importance. High land-values are the rule, and on almost every farm there is more or less waste land which is too poor to . grow grass and too steep or otherwise broken to be used for orchards. On small farms it is of the utmost importance that this land should do its bit towards keeping the family pot boiling. The remedy suggested by the writer is afforestation. The purpose of this article is to show how. cheaply and easily this can be accomplished, how certain are the results, and great the ultimate profits.

An average fruitgrower uses as much timber to market his crop annually as would build him a fair-sized house. There is, roughly, equal to 4 ft. of timber in an imperial standard case. A grower with 15 to 20 acres of orchard would have perhaps four thousand to five thousand cases of fruit. . Thus his annual consumption of timber for cases alone would amount to 16,000 ft. to 20,000 ft., or sufficient to build an eight- or ten-roomed house. It does not require a very vivid imagination to gain some idea as to the quantity of case material we shall require in the immediate future. I think it would be quite safe, to say that the amount of land employed in growing apples would require to be exceeded by that growing apple-cases.

PINUS INSIGNIS THE TREE.

. Bearing these facts in mind I set out to experiment several years ago. I have had all sorts of timber cut into cases, including willow' Lombardy poplar, birch, and Pinus insignis (radiata). They all do at a pinch, but have certain drawbacks. Willow is too inclined to warp, and there is also trouble, in getting timber of requisite size and straightness. ' Poplar is fair, but there is a big waste in cutting the timber owing to the deep flanges on the trees, also the timber is rather soft, which makes it difficult to get the nails to hold. Birch is too heavy and apt to split. Now that white-pine is practically exhausted, undoubtedly Pinus insignis is the 'timber for cases. The

wood is tough, odourless, not very liable to crack, and, provided the cases are kept under cover and made up within a reasonable time after cutting, it retains a fair degree of whiteness. For these reasons lam devoting myself to Pinus insignis. This pine seems to thrive and grow quicker, locally, on the poorest barren knobs and steep faces from which all the soil has been washed.

HOW THE TREES ARE ESTABLISHED

The problem, then, of how to economically establish trees on these steep faces and ridges presented itself. Undoubtedly if the land can be broken up and kept cultivated the trees come away much quicker.

But usually that course is impracticable, and even if it were possible the cost to an impecunious orchardist would be excessive. At the commencement we used two-year-old trees, but the cost, both of the trees and of planting them on rough country, was too great, especially when large areas had to be planted.

Three years ago I decided to strike out on my Pigeon Valley property with yearlings planted .in the scrub, ■ and the results have exceeded expectations. In the first ■ place, the percentage of misses was no greater than with two-year-olds, and the trees have ■ grown very satisfactorily. After the first year or . two it is doubtful whether there is much difference in the rate of growth between these and those planted on cultivated ground. I certainly think that at the end of five years no appreciable difference could be noted between

trees started with cultivation and those without. Another point we have noticed is that trees planted in short scrub seem to come away quicker than those planted in the open ; the scrub seemingly protects and draws them up. This is not -so among gorse, however, which has rather a retarding effect. In future we will burn off, before planting, all areas showing any growth of gorse.

The way pine-trees thrive and grow on our poor Moutere hillcountry is nothing short of remarkable. In the last few years pines of all descriptions have been coming up from seed among the scrub. I have noticed a Pinus insignis which had come up through a dense

bush of manuka. The- pine in its effort to. get to the. light had run up 7 ft. or 8 ft., and was no thicker than a man’s forefinger. . At first the planting was carried out with a spade, but latterly we have used a miner’s- pick with a short handle, and the. results have been equally good, combined with greater convenience. With this style of planting on the roughest of countryin places, in fact, that, men often have trouble to climb—a man can plant a thousand trees per day. The men carry a supply of yearling plants say, three or four hundred—in a bag slung over the back, and work from bases, just taking sufficient plants to see them out and back, so that there is no waste time walking about. In this climate we have found that the best results are achieved by planting fairly early in July or

August certainly not later, the percentage of misses in September planting being much greater.

FIRE-BREAKS. —FENCING.

In regard to the fire danger, we have guarded against it up to the present by burning fire-breaks. This is done just at the commencement of the dry season —say, in December —when the fires can be controlled.

Fencing caused me no little concern at the commencement, the cost in small areas n being often greater than the total cost of trees and planting. Lately I have dispensed with fencing also. Cattle are very destructive, but sheep do not seem to bother the trees much, nor do hares. The latter are severe on fruit-trees, but do not seem to touch the Pinus insignis. Of course, these remarks on fencing will depend largely on local conditions. - For instance, the Rabbit Island Domain Board, which has been planting small areas after this style for several- years, finds it absolutely necessary to fence and net everything securely, as rabbits happen to be very numerous ’in that particular locality. On the other hand, so far as the bulk of our Nelson fruit country is concerned— Moutere lands in. particular

my experience has shown that it is safe to plant without fencing, and the larger the area planted the less risk is there relatively of damage from sheep, hares, deer, &c.

THE FIREWOOD FACTOR.

In . writing this short article I have always had in mind that the remarks were particularly applicable to settlers in our new apple country in the Nelson district. On this class of country settlers are usually destroying every stick and scrap of firewood — forest there is practically none —and coal has to be brought in over bad roads. The man with timber plantations of any description will have a very valuable asset for firewood purposes in about ten years. For this purpose it is not a question of waiting for twenty years.. The thinnings can be used for firewood and will yield a very handsome return quite as soon as an apple-orchard. Every farm should have a plantation of trees ; : it is as necessary in household

economy as the family cow and the kitchen-garden. When one considers the pressing need and the present inadequacy of our national efforts at afforestation it is sufficient to cause every thinking man alarm. Thousands of acres in the Nelson District at present lying idle would grow pines admirably. »

Note. The matter of protection of young trees from live-stock' must be treated with every caution. The methods described by Mr. Kingsland in his very, useful article have doubtless proved satisfactory in the locality referred to, where sheep are not numerous. The common experience, however, is that sheep are very destructive to Pinus insignis and similar young trees. In ordinary circumstances sheep should not be admitted to pine plantations before the trees are at least 6 ft. high. The nipping of the young trees by sheep tends to produce more than one leader, which spoils the growth for timber purposes.—