to small metal tubes packed with earth and about 8" high, which are fastened by a clip. They remain in these tubes for six to eight months by which time they are ready for planting on the hillsides. During this period the seedlings have grown to about two to three feet in height and have effectively bound the earth with which the tubes are filled. On planting, the tube is unclipped and the seedling allowed to drop into a small hole made by a pick. The advantages of the system lie not only in the rapidity with which tubing can be done (one man can tube about 300 seedlings per day) but also in the ease with which the seedlings can be transported for planting with the minimum disturbance of the roots. Approximately 100,000 young trees were raised and planted by this method during 1948, and as was expected the mortality has been reduced to about 10% by this method.
In accordance with the policy of giving priority to the re- afforestation of catchment areas, extensive planting was carried out around Kowloon and Shing Mun reservoirs. In 1947 a nursery at Shing Mun was established producing 10,000 seedlings annually of the paperbark tree (Melaleuca leucadendron) for planting in the resumed padi fields around the reservoir. This tree is extremely tolerant and grows best on waterlogged soils. There is further the advantage that no part of it is wasted; cajeput oil, used for liniments, is obtained from its leaves, its bark is used for caulking and its stem for poles. A similar nursery was made at Fanling to provide tree seedlings for the denuded hills in that area. In addition to the afforestation by broadleaved species, approximately 4,000 lbs of seeds of Pinus Massoniana are broadcast each year on grass covered hillsides deliberately burnt over for this purpose. Attention is paid at an early stage to the tending of all areas afforested as a means of reducing failures to a minimum.
The Tung Oil (Aleurites Montana) plantation established near Sha Tin in 1947 was extended with the addition of 10,000 trees
year raised in the nursery on the site. Trees planted both this and last year have made excellent progress and in some instances two
old trees flowered and bore fruit a year prematurely. year
During 1947, for the first time, roadside trees were planted along many of the thoroughfares of Kowloon, but the absence of tree guards and the wilful damage caused by passers-by in breaking off the leaves and uprooting the stakes caused many of the trees to fail. In 1948, larger trees were planted and protected by tree guards which were constructed from angle-iron pickets obtained from the Military Authorities. As a result the failures have been reduced to about 20%.
During 1947 hill fires occurred very frequently, especially on the hills behind Kowloon, during the latter part of the year as a
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