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PRIMARY PRODUCTION
Government afforestation areas are mostly co-extensive with the water catchment areas, the main ones of Tai Po Kau, Jubilee Reservoir, Tai Lam Chung and Fu Shui extending contiguously across the mountains from Tai Po in the east to Castle Peak in the west. Other afforestation areas are the catchments of the Shek Li Pui and Kowloon reservoirs, the Shek Pik reservoir catchments on Lantau Island and almost the whole of the Shap Long peninsula. These areas, covering 25,000 acres, are divided for purposes of management into compartments of 200-300 acres, intersected by paths and fire barriers cleared of vegetation. So far over 11,000 acres have been planted. The main species used is pine (Pinus massoniana), followed by Brisbane box (Tristania conferta). Experimental plots have been laid out with a variety of other species, some of which are now being planted more widely. Eucalyptus and American Pinus species are among the most promising.
In order to provide seedlings for afforestation the Agriculture and Forestry Department maintains nurseries in the New Terri- tories. Most seedlings are now raised in polythene tubes, instead of in open nursery beds, and constant efforts are being made to improve handling techniques. The early stages of seedling pro- duction are concentrated in the main nursery at Tai Lung, Fanling, and later tubed stock is moved out to temporary.-nurseries adjacent to the planting areas. In this way between 14 and two million seedlings can be handled annually.
Planting usually starts in the cool, wet spring and continues until June or July. Although planting may be successful in the late summer, trees planted after July usually have too short a period to become well established before the onset of the drier weather in October. Because of very dry conditions in February and March, planting in 1962 did not start until April. Unusual drought during July and August caused many seedlings to die, but damage turned out to be less than had been feared. Just over 250 acres of new planting was completed, in addition to the replacement of failures from previous years in the catchments of the Jubilee, Tai Lam Chung and Shek Pik reservoirs.
During the dry season from October to March there is a constant threat of fire in the plantations and careful precautions have to be taken. Fire lookouts are placed strategically on hills