CORRESPONDENCE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1314, 13 August 1886, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondent. o .

POISONED GRAIN.

TO Tffß EDITOR.

Sir, —The departure taken this year by the County Council in substituting shelled oats in place of wheat is, I am afraid, not one of unmixed success. Whoever the suggestion came from, it cannot be one that will greatly diminish the pest sought to be destroyed. I have sown a little of the oats in several places where I knew lots of birds existed, and after watching closely the effects I am sorry to say they are a dead failure. I have noticed from time to time that the oats lay untouched perhaps for eight or ten days, then suddenly the whole would disappear, this I took for granted befog the time required to make them palatable, and from atmospheric causes rendering them harmless. I may also say that some of my neighbor formers have experienced the same result.

I come now to a question which has been raised in your columns, namely, that of preparation; and although Mr Neate makes rather light of this matter he cannot gainsay the fact that if the poisoned grain does not do i£s wqrk effectually it cannot be called in any sense a success. I can, as illustration, only refer to the time when sparrow dabs was organised in several parts of Canterbury. Amongst them was one at Waterton Several receipts for prepara ion were received from other clubs, among which one from Papanui, which Mr Taylor still has in his posses sion, was adopted. Seconds of wheat were used, and Mr W. Moses prepared same. The birds took }t readily, and as assuredly became its victims. The number of dead birds picked up was immense, and it is not too much to sayjthat roil Og approaching it has been seen since, Ko much for preparation -—I am, etc,, (t. Giljioos.