The Ashbutron Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY,FEBRUARY 4,1888. THE CALIFORNIAN THISTLE,

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1758, 4 February 1888, Page 2

The Ashbutron Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY,FEBRUARY 4,1888. THE CALIFORNIAN THISTLE,

Although it is only recently that our agriculturists have begun to take the ala m at the prospect of having to tako vigorous measures to prevent the Cnlifornian thistle from getting a firm hold iv this country, there is reason to believe to at it has years ngo fpuntj its wajr into JNew Zealand and thoroughly established itself m various localities. For example, we observe that at the recent meeting of the Waitaki County Council it was stated that this thiatlo had been growing m the Kakanui dißtrictior 1C years, and that there was a patch of 20 acres thickly imfested with it on Mr Teschemaker's property. It was also stated, as showing to* what a depth its rootß penetrate, that m sinking a well it had been found that these reached to a depth of 10 feet from tliei surface. All this only goes to show how necessary it k that strenuous efforts should be put forth to prevent the spreading of this pest, which lias wrought so much mischief elsewhere, particularly m Tasmania. Pome useful information «6 to how best to deal with it is supplied m & report laid before the recent Stock Conference at Sydney by Mr Tabart, Chief Inspector of fttook for that colony, whose business it is to administer the Tasmanian £alifornian 'i hisfcle Act, from •which report the following are extracts : -»»" There were now ia Tasmania 1&00 acre* #f 1*0,4 covered .with Calif^nian thistles. It wso sunilar tQ the tcoteh thistle, but the centre root weut down to a depth of B or 10 feet, and laterals wtwtforowft vfo Xfcen » ploygbJD^

if a email particle of this thistle was moved by the plough another pjaot sprang up. They considered it do« predated the value of land 75 per cent. It could, how ver, be got rid of, and the plan for this was constant cultivation. Thus, if anyone had an acre of Galifornian thistle, he should, upon its first appearance m the- spring, start hoeing at one corner on a Monday morning and finish at the other on -aturday night, as by preventing the leaf (which is the lung of the plant), from appearing above the ground it will soon be destroyed. The thistle was introduced m seed oats from America, and there were how 300 acres of Californian thistle on the property where those oats were sown. There had been passed a law m Tasmania, compelling all owners or occupiers of land to prevent the thistle i'rora blossoming. Failing that, owners were liable to be prosecuted, there being a peoalty attached to to the extent of £20. There was no other way of eradicating the thistle except by constant cutting «... I It only requires a repetition of the energf and perseverance displayed by Mr Joseph Bar wick, of the Tea Tree, who has eradicated upwards of nine acres, and Mr Charles Matthews, who has de troyed thirty-four patches of thistles m five years. Mr Earl has also exterminated about five acres of Cali* fornian thistles. He informs me that he purchased the ground he now occupies, containing about seven acres, four years since. At that time it was literally one mass of thistles, and he has now the satisfaction of knowing he has exterminated this weed by constantly keeping the ground moving. He made the work reproductive, for during the operation the land produced vegetables and straw berries m abundance during the season. The ground is now planted out as an orchard. Tin's work has been accomplished m three years. Mr fiarle tells me the work of extermination cost him £7 per acre, but now with his increased experience, he thinks that he could undertake to destroy thistles from any land for half that sum. Mr T. Morrisby entered into an arrangement with Mr Earl to destroy sixty- two rods of thistles, with the pleasing result that after two seasons, work the few thistles that remained were small, but with one more season's work these few stragglers totally disappeared, Last season the ground was cropped ; not one thistle made its appearance. After this practical and satisfactory test, Mr Morrisby laid himself out to eradicate a large area he had m a paddock of six acres, and by constant attention, and working the land thoroughly and systematically, he had the satisfaction .of seeing the land cleared m two seasons. One psddock of Mr Morrisby's that has been laid down m grass for thirteen years still has these thistles growing but they are spindly, showing that grassing the land weakens the thistle, but will not eradicate it. A few other practical gentlemen have eradicated large areas. > These gentlemen assert, without fear of contradiction, that what they have done others oan do by persistently hoeing the laud once a week, thus destroying the lungs of the plant. This method will, m most cases, destroy the weed m one, and certainly m two, seasons." No doubt the pro spcct of so much persistent hand labor is fiujtklwfe but m- pkaeing one, Jjgt those farmers who have the thistle upon their lands will do well to remember that this is eminently a case m which the lesson taught by tho ancient proverb about a stitch m time should bo applied, for while on their first appearance a few isolated plants can by per* sistent attention be got rid of without and appreciable outlay of money, if they are suffered to spread they will soon monopolise large areas of ground and their eradication will become an exceedingly troublesome and costly matter.