INSECT PESTS

Hokitika Guardian, 23 November 1927, Page 4

INSECT PESTS

Lit I ILLYAPD'S APPOINTAi ENT

Al t KI.iA.XI), Xov. 21

I “Austi alia’.i pen. problems arc mi- ' ir.c.tsely greater than these that Xew : Zealand has to deal with, and they have not been the subject of eo-urdni- ! ated effort on the part of the Commonwealth ill) to the present. Roughly speaking, the total loss to Australia a j year through insect and weed pests is | somewhere between £lo,ooo,(>i.U and ' £”:t.(.Oil, so yo.l will realise that if they gel one perfect solution out of ten it will save far more than the total oust of research work.”

! Tims said l)r K. •>. Tillyard, Dircetor of the Cawthron Institute 1 , "ho reI turned to New Zealand by tho Niagara this morning alter a seven weeks’ lour of Australia made at the invitation of ' the f ederal Government. |)r Tillyard. who proceeded to the I Commonwealth in tho first instance for | the purpose ol advising the Govein- ’ ment on what action it should take to combat its pest prohlemis, has arI ((Cited the position of Chief Coinmou- ; wealth Ifntomoloeist and will take uj> 1 his new duties on Alarch Ist. next. *'f went over to Australia deliberately intending not to take llu l post which was previously offered to me. ’ said the doctor to an interviewer. ‘‘l met various State committees and i Government officials and finally saw | that the position was more seriou s I than I at first realised, as there v.as | no co-ordination in efforts to combat , noxious weeds and pests problems. I • suggested that the Commonwealth ! should go in for comprehensive Federal ' organ isa I ion in Iho matter, and two days before I left Sydney my new appointment was offered me. T hope, however, that 1 won’t tie lost to New

Zealand T shall continue in i barge of the Empire Marketing Board’s research work in connection with blade-

berry, for which a grant of £4OOO a year for live years was made by the Board, so long as New Zealand agrees to the- proposal, and will visit Now Zealand once a year.”

Continuing, Dr Tillyard said that Australia intended to concentrate on research work under the new sctieme, and development, would be along linos of attempting to solve the insect and noxious weeds problems. Enumerating the various pests which were prevalent in the. Commonwealth, he considered that blowflios, which caused a loss of £4,000.000 to sheep, was the mast ser-