ANOTHER WEED PEST.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 779, 31 March 1910, Page 8

ANOTHER WEED PEST.

'. '■• , . ; PURAFOEA. ' ■ ■:■!■ am. afraid (writes bnr-trarcllins correspondent) that- unless fomething is (lono to check..iti. there will .have :to ba-added to the list of • noxious , needs anothor-pest, in the 'sbape of "pnrapiira," a native plant of the, solanum tribe. It has a leaf 'iiot-iinlikc; the- potato in some re.spects, and. the flower is,a immature.edition of the -potato, having white, petals with a■' yellow centre. It is rather lqwprowing, and yields an enormous amount of scckl. Even. in:srnall plants, oiily sis inches high,- the.little green round, secdpods contain a great deal of Med. Tho plant is spreading at an .alarming.rate in some districts, and is threatening'to become a perfect nuisance. Birds are very fond of. the seed-pods,-and as .the seeds them?slvcs.pass through .the birds jn, most cas?s unharmed it follows that the-spread of this wee<l, must go ,on at an enormousrate.. Fortunately, it is. easily got rid of by pulling bsforp the. scecls ripeii. but.on .my.': own place we. ivago a.,constant, war against it., and. still.it keeps, on comiii; • up. I pulled over 100-plants.of it a shore time ..since in a very small piece of groiind. Like many another pest, mnny farmers either, do not know ithat it is, or i take uo uains to get rid of it.