FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1976
+EXCEPT FOR THE SAPLINGS, WHICH ARE MOSTLY FOR PLANTING IN COUNTRYSIDE PICNIC AREAS AND FOR SUPPLY TO VILLAGERS. SCHOOLS A'ID THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE FOR AMENITY PLANTING, NEARLY ALL THE YOUNG PLANTS, NURTURED THERE WILL EVENTUALLY BE PLANTED OUT IN THE TEN FORESTRY PLANTATIONS ON THE NEW TERRITORIES MAINLAND,+ MR. IU SAID.
+FORESTRY AREAS ON LANTAU ISLAND IN CHI MA WAN, SHEK PIK AND NAM SHAN NEAR SILVER MINE BAY AND ON HONG KONG ISLAND, BY THE SIDES OF TAI TAM RESERVOIR, RECEIVE THEIR STOCKS OF TREE SEEDLINGS FROM TWO SMALLER NURSERIES, IN WONG NEI CHUNG AND N SHAN+.
.THE CENTRAL NURSERY AT TAI LUNG FARM IS ORGANISED IN FOUR SECTIONS - A SOWING AREA WITH ROWS OF SEED BEDS, A TUBING AREA WHERE INDIVIDUAL SEEDLINGS ARE TRANSPLANTED TO TUBULAR BAGS OF COMPOST AND EARTH, A LARGE SEEDLINGS NURSING AREA WHERE THE TUBED PLANTS ARE TENDED FOR SOME EIGHT TO TEN MONTHS, AND A SAPLING NURSING AREA WHERE THE YOUNG TREES ARE FURHTER TENDED FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS BY WHICH TIME THEY REACH ALMOST TEN FEET IN HEIGHT AND ARE SUITABLE FOR AMENITY WORK.
THE MOST PREFERRED SPECIES FOR AFFORESTATION AT PRESENT ARE THE ACACIA AND TRISTANIA. THE ACACIA IS EVERGREEN, GROWS FAST, FORMS EFFECTIVE WINDBREAKS, CAN SURVIVE ON POOR SOIL AND WILL PRODUCE NEW GROWTH EVEN AFTER DAMAGE BY FIRE. THE TRISTANIA, ORIGINATING FROM AUSTRALIA, HAS THE SAME VIRTUE OF REGROWTH AFTER A FIRE. THE AMERICAN SLASH PINE HAS A STRAIGHT TRUNK AND IS COMPARATIVELY LESS FIRE-TENDER THAN THE LOCAL PINE, AND IS ALSO PLANTED, ALTHOUGH NOT IN AS LARGE NUMBERS AS PREVIOUSLY. THE LOCAL PINE. FORMERLY WIDELY PLANTED ALL OVER HONG KONG, IS NO LONGER PLANTED ON ANY SCALE BECAUSE IT IS HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO FIRE DAMAGE.
+AT ONE TIME, AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, THE LOCAL PINE WAS AN IMPORTANT REVENUE-EARNER, MR, IU SAID, IT IS ON RECORD THAT IN 1903 THERE WERE 5,000 ACRES OF PLANTATION ON HONG KONG ISLAND ITSELF AND IN 1904, TIMBER FROM THE FELLING OF MATURE TREES EARNED SOME $18,000 - A VERY LARGE SUM IN THOSE DAYS+,
+DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, HONG KONG'S TREES WERE RAMPANTLY PILLAGED FOR FUEL, IN ORDER TO REPLANT LARGE AREAS IN A SHORT TIME GREAT QUANTITIES OF PINE SEEDS WERE BROADCAST OVER THE BARE HILLSIDES.
+COMPARED WITH THE PRESENT METHOD OF TRANSPLANTING NURSERY SEEDLINGS THIS METHOD OF AFFORESTATION HAS SEVERE DISADVANTAGES HEAVY MORTALITY DUE TO UNCERTAIN WEATHER CONDITIONS AND INSECT ATTACKS, AND UNEVEN SPACING WHICH WOULD AFFECT GROWTH,+ MR. IU SAID.
+THOUGH TREES ARE NO LONGER PLANTED IN HONG KONG FOR TIMBER OR FUEL, BECAUSE OF HIGH LABOUR COSTS NOWADAYS AND LAND LIMITATIONS, THEY ARE VALUABLE IN QUITE DIFFERENT AND PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANT WAYS. WITH THESE OBJECTIVES IN VIEW, SOME 300,000 TREES WERE PLANTED
IN LAST YEAR AND A SIMILAR PROGRAMME IS EXPECTED TO BE CARRIED OUT THIS YEAR.+
+THEY PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE COVER TO PROTECT THE SOIL FROM EROSION BY THE COMBINED FORCES OF THE WIND, SUN AND RAIN,+ HE EXPLAINED.
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/+IF THE