NOXIOUS WEEDS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2356, 12 January 1915, Page 8

NOXIOUS WEEDS

A THORNY PROBLEM DISCUSSED VIEWS OF LOCAL BODIES The •cirdular with reference to tho *ra(licationof noxious weeds issued by , the Board of Agriculture has now been considered, by a large number of local bodies.- Th 6 circular stated, inter alia. ''The question, of noxious weeds has been referred to the .Board of Agriculi ture.:,lt,is. an extremely difficult ques■i tion with/and the Board seeks .; your advice to assist it in its inquiry. ! Since .'the 'Act has been in force exeri- ; ence has shown that it is an imossiihility to enforce its provisions in all eases.r.Tho Board finds that the general opinion is that,' on bush country mid grazing, land, it is a waste, not only of'time, but also of money to cut down .weeds, more especially the Californian thistle; it has evidence, how- , ever, to show that there is a necessity 'for enforcing the, Act in. some districts, especially tbe agricultural districts.. It will thus be seen that there is one of farmers saying that the Act is pi no use, and that it should not only' be not'enforced, but repealed, and anchor :lwdyV.'sayuig-that, it should be stringently enforced. Tho evidence be- . fgre the Board, too, shows that both ' classes 'of farmers may. exist in', a district cpntroUed by one local authority, pd the difficulty of the Board is to iiiow what js best to be done in such circumstances. It would therefore like to have your opinion on the following point:—What is the general feeling •among the farmers in. the district un- • der your control as to whether it is adI VlsaWe to'have the Act fully enforced— ; (a) in the whole district, or (b) in any portion of the district? ' You would (greatly assist the Board in coming to e conclusion as to what it should advise the matter if you would give the fullest information on this subject in .connection with the district under your j control, stating whether in your opini Son your district should be divided into f two classes; if so, will you please give i some idea of the.division you think meicessary?. The weed-which is specially ; mentioned in the evidence before the I'Board: so 'far is tho Calif omian thistle, ! but there may be other weeds in your ■district in connection with which' the . iAct should bt stringently enforced (or . /otherwise, as'the' case may be). I-may I «ay, for your .'information, that the •Board has been informed that the Gallicomian thistle-can be best dealt with by a very simple process in agricultural districts—namely, by shooting the cavings at threshing time, so as to cover ,the whole of the thistle. In grass country, if fresh grass is cut and thrown upon it to a considerable extent it is said, that this will completely lcill ; the thistle. Morely putting straw upon'it seems to have no effect, but the cavings and the grass'exclude; the air, > and therefore the .thistle cannot live. Californian thistle: is ■ so general now that it may be worth the while of any farmer in your district to give this treatment a tria1."—...... : / Masterton Discussion, Speaking at'the meeting', of the .Masterton A. and. P. Association, Mr. W. Terry stated that on the occasion of his ' recent visit to Southland he had seen more Californian thistle than he had •dreamt of; the land was well cultivated, • but the thistle was to be found in alv most every district.' The thistle .was in reality the English corn thistle. It was to be found almost everywhere in England. The.task of eradicating it was almost an impossible one. The most • they could do would be to induce farmIv? to cut.off the heads of the thistles.' I Blackberry was the worst enemy. He | felt that the county councils, who were j representative of the farming interests,, j (Should be. able to give valuable advice ■ j in the matter. Mr. D. M'Gregor said the Hon. T. | Mackenzie,'when Minister of Agricul- ;,' tnre, had told the Agricultural Confer- \ ence that it would cost £1,000,000 to-te-radicate Californian-thistle from the I Crown lands in the Dominion. He was \ of opinion that the Dominion should be cut up into defined areas. It would not ie impossible to clear the weeds from 'districts in which they had a complete 'control. '- - i The Masterton A. and P. Association referred the matter to the Agricultural Committee; / Blackberry In Egmont County. I The chairman of the-Egmont County Council, when the matter came up there, said the matter did not need a 'great deal of discussion. The Act Bhould bo strenuously enforced. / Councillor M'Reynolds said ''■' the ' greatest offender was tho Public Trus- \ tee, who never- took any precautions to . see that the provisions of the Noxious '.need Act were enforced 1 on lands under ins control. Councillor Wright said the council Should- take steps to have blackberry and gorso removed off the roadside. The council, ho understood had more power j*han...tlie noxious weeds inspector in Mtlns respect. He moved that the foreman be asked]to'seiid in'tne names of those ratepayers who had uoxious weeds on their properties. All- farms should 'toe kept clean.. These names should be | forwarded with a strongly-worded reso- •' 'lution to the Department. ' ! Councillor Harvey said that'the pro-' cess was very slow. The blackberry was ripening very fast. The engineer should ■ serve notices at. once. If the weeds '.were not removed tho 'council should clear them at the ratepayers' expense. . Tho Chairman pointed out that black- , iberry, ragwort, and ox-eye. daisy were 'making great progress in the district and should be cleared. Councillor M'Neill seconded' the motion, which wa£ : carried. Councillor Campbell movei that the /Board of Agriculture bo.asked to have : the Act enforced-in: the whole district. j Councillor Wright had asked that a list of noxious weeds which had. been • 1 proclaimed within the county should be I; presented to the meeting, but the acti ipig clerk (Mr. Opie) said he had : not had time to prepare the schedule, their Gazettes having been burnt. Other Taranaki Views. —--i.- The Chairman of the Hawera County ((.Council said the circular had particular '! reference to the eradication of Californian thistle. Californian thistle'had ; been declared a noxious weed throughout the county. He-moved that-tho' ' board ho informed that the council consider that Californian thistle should ■still bo proclaimed a noxious weed in .the county. Councillor Dunlop seconded tho motion, and it-was carried. At the meeting of the Clifton County Council, which controls tho big area north and 1 east of Waitara, councillors expressed the opinion that the Noxious ! Weeds Act should be enforced over tho ! sntiro county. The members of the Eltham County Council expressed the opinion that the problem was a very difficult one to Bolve. Aftor some discussion, Councillor M'AVilliam proposed that the council declare in favour of enforcing the Act everywhere. Councillor Campbell seconded this, and the motion was carried. ' _ At Patea the county council decided > that tho boardi ; be.aalffid-t«j enforce the.

Act in 'respect to Californian thistle, blackberry, and ragwort. The Worst, Weed. At the monthly meeting of the Havelock North Town Board, the • Chairman (Mr. T. Mason Chambers) said he did not think the Californian thiatle would do any great deal of harm on pastoral land, but he thought the blackberry should'be put down at.any cost. It was the worst noxious weed in the country, and was becoming a menace to the whole of New Zealand. He said it was a difficult pest to deal with. Mr.- Jull in giving his experiences, said he had seen, in Invercargill the Californian thistle ooming through asphalt . footpaths. In discussing the subject, members generally were of opinion that there was not the' danger from the thistle as there was from the' blackberry and gorße. Bush Country' Problem, Tho Dannevirke A. aud P. Association gave the question some consider'a.h,°n- °»- Friday night. The president (Mr. D. M'Xenzie) eaid great difficulty was experienced in keeping the bush country clear of the Caliiornian thistle, and it was impossible for bush farmers to eradicate this pest entirely from their lands. ' .. Mr. A: Averill said bush farmers wanted to be freed from the. provisions of the Act, while agriculturists wanted the thistle kept down. A motion by.Mr.fi. S. Chadwick was passed, to the effect that the meeting considered it useless to deal with tho--Californian thistle.'ou bush lands, Mr. H.. Cotter, the seconder, contending that if the thistle were left to itself it would quickly work itself out of existence. The Waipukurau Central A. and P. Association on Friday night formally received the letter-without discussion. j The Daisy the. Worst Weed. When the letter was read at Feilding A. and P. Association mooting on Friday night the president said every effort should be made to keep down Californian thistle in the district. He thought a small sub-committee should be set up to consider and report as to where the Act should be enforced. , Mr. Atkinson thought- the County Councils should bo askod to fcay where the Act should bo enforced. Mr. Bur-i-ell said the Oioua Council had never felt inclined to deal with the matter. He thought the daisy'the worst weedof the lot, yet it wa6 never mentioned in any schedule, it would cost more than' the value of the land to have to eradicate' the weeds in-6ome places. Mr: Corpe believed the Act should be more stringently enforced. He always cut the weeds on his property, and was able to keep the paddocks clean. ' A general discussion followed. ■ It wa6 decided to set up a committee, comprising the president and Messrs. Brewster, Corpe, Twigg, M'lSJroy, and Short to consider arid report.'.. . .Mr. Guthrie explained that the circular was the, outcome of the report of the commission, which had taken evidence :throughout the country on the question. The, commission had found it"impossible- to make a,'recommendation owing to the, contradictory evidence received. A Blessing In Disguise. AttheHawke's Bay A. and P. Assooiatiph%ineetmg. on -Friday : . night the president xhought it peculiar that tho board which were appointed to advise -the Minister, should come to the society for advice. Several members were of the opinion that the Calif&rnian thistle was a blessing in disguise, as in some places during the season! it had been the only feed obtainable, :and the 6heep ate it readily. The blackberry, however, was (considered to, be the most dangerous noxious weed, and it was thought that some steps should' be taken to enforce.the cutting of it. Mr. Coleman said: "Tell them from me that if no steps-are taken -to exterminate blackberries, and I live long enough, I shall see the whole country covered with them.'" It.was decided to suggest to the Board of Agriculture that the provisions of the Act with regard to the cutting of blackberries be strictly enforced. ■