DO THISTLES PAY?

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3598, 23 January 1883, Page 4

DO THISTLES PAY?

To a new arrival A-isiting the fertile districts of Waikato, Piako, or Matrmata, the great eyesore in the grass lands is the immense groAVth of thistles found in many of the paddocks, in which they luxuriate Avithout any attempt being made to destroy them. "Where the soil is extra rich, and tho grass only soavu say a couple of years, there are large areas Avholly monopolised by the pests, grass and clover growing amongst them, all going to waste, as neither cattle," horses, nor sheep will venture to graze where these thistles, like dense forests, grow so tall and strong. The new chum naturally asks, '' Do thistles pay r'' To the question a sort of equivocal ansAvcr is generally given, "Oh, they'll all die out in a feAV years. If avc cut them, they'll outgrow again. TheplannoAvisjusttoleave them alone/ And of course the ucav_ arrival ruminating over the matter, gets his ideas •somcAA-hat mixed, and comes to the conclusion that the system of farming in Ncav Zealand is a little different from A\-hat it is elseAA'here. It is generally believed that those noxious aud Avrctchcd Avccds enrich the soil, and in some instances this is the consolation, though a very poor one, of the proprietor of the land, that the miniature forests of these prickly pests, dying out in course of time, Avill greatly enrich the soil upon Avhich they have fattened, by imparting valuable constituents that -will help to nourish other plants. Here is an extract on the important inquiry, "Do thistles enrich the soil?": that may be perused Avith advantage:—" It is stated that a. good groAvth of thistles leaves the soil richer than before. This is doubtless the truth, and the same may be said of auy crop, provided it is not rcmoA-ed from the ground. This is merely Hie general Avay that soid is made rich iv the organic elements that are so essential to the groAvth of profitable corps. But there is more than ordinary ability possessed by the thistle plant to enrich the soil. The roots penetrate to great depth, and bring up largo quantities of potash and other valuable constituents, and deposit them upon or near the surface, as their stems and leaves decay. Again the mechanical action of a vigorous groAvth of thistles is to loosen, pulverise, and render the soil more accessible to the roots of other plants. Granting that the action of the thistle plant upon the soil is good, must look at the other side of the question. What is the cost of this method of improvement ? While the thistle hold possession, no paying crop can be obtained. When useful plants arc soavu, they must lie carefully tended, or the thistles Avill croAvd them out. Lastly, the bringing up of valuable substances from subsoil, can be as Avell done by plants that arc themselves useful for food ,as cloAer, kc, aud no miserable weed aftei-Avards left to infest the ground. The best that can be said of the thistle is, that it is a miserable prickly pest, Avhich, when alloAvcd to lun-c its Avay, loosens and enriches the upper soil." It must be stated that all farmers in the aboA-c-named districts do not let the thistle groAv, and probably ihosc Avho eradicate them can slioav as good pastures as others who let them groAv, besides IniA-ing, in addition, the use of the grass for stock.—N.Z. Herald.