NOXIOUS WEEDS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1893, 30 October 1913, Page 10

NOXIOUS WEEDS.

A CLASSIFICATION PROPOSAL. There were some intorostiiiji references to noxious weeds in tlio House of Representatives yesterday, a number of questions being addressed to tlio Prime Minister regarding tlio administration of the Act which provides fur tlio extermination of noxious weeds. To a.question by Mr. Witty, thePrimo Minister replied: Tho enforcement of tlio clearing of noxious weeds in the caso of individual occupiers is as far as possible left to the discretion of each inspector, the supervision of tlio higher oliicers being mainly confined to tlio general condition of each district; and there is 110 doubt that much unwarranted hardship to settlers would bo entailed if a cast-iron centralised, or locally centralised, control of single properties wero substituted for the present system. Tlio inspectors, in exercising the discretion indicated, have never favoured tlio largo landowners at the expense of tho small, or vice versa. _ Mr. Witty contended that discrimination had been shown in some cases in favour of the owners of largo areas of land. Mr. E. Newman said that it was absolutely impossible to clear noxious weeds from somo of tho lands in the interior of tho North Island. He considered that there should be a classification of land in connection with tho aduiinisti'atiou of tlio Noxious Weeds Act. Where possiblo land should be cleared l of weeds, but where it could not bo cleared settlers should not bo asked to do what they could not do. From an extended experience in bush country, ho was quite prepared to say that tho Califernian thistle died out in time. Mr. R. 1 Scott (Otago Contral) said that he was quite' convinced that tho timo had gono by for cutting Californian thistle save in exceptional circumstances. Ho did not object to Californian thistle in rough country. It was good sheep feed. Blackberry and sweet-briar should bo kept in check.