Wealth from Waste.

The seaward side of the estate offers a national lesson in winning wealth from waste. Close to the coast is a thriving forest of between 500 and 600 acres of pines and macrocarpa, a sturdy rampart against the onsets of westerlies, which rolled up the sand into many dunes long ago. Those winds are ever eager to shift the sand further inland, but this impulse is checked on a mile-and-a-half front by that stalwart garrison of trees, which have gained 35ft. of height in ten years. This sheltering belt will be gradually extended until the whole of this stretch of land will be guarded by the dark-green woods.

This protection from the salty sandscattering gusts will facilitate the conversion of poor surfaces into productive country. Experiments have proved well that a top-dressing of lime makes the soil suitable for Marlborough lucerne. Thus a dreary wilderness is being changed into pastures—a valuable object lesson which could be profitably applied to similar desolate places along the west coast of Wellington Province.