THE KAIPARA AND WAITEMATA ECHO WITCH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE KAIPARA ADVERTISER & WAITEMATA CHRONICLE." HELENSVILLE. Thursday, Feb. 8, 1917 THE BLACKBERRY PEST.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 8 February 1917, Page 2

THE KAIPARA AND WAITEMATA ECHO WITCH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE KAIPARA ADVERTISER & WAITEMATA CHRONICLE." HELENSVILLE. Thursday, Feb. 8, 1917 THE BLACKBERRY PEST.

MR G. W. TIFFEN, of Cambridge, Waikato, sends the following notes on the blackberry question : Some-forty years ago, when settlers little thought that the blackberry had a habit of spreading extensively, I knew a sheepfarmer who, thinking that a few of them would be useful for jammaking,; planted some on his property in Hawke's Bay. Learning several years later that the plants were likely to spread, he decided to destroy them. It was found, however, that, for some unexplained reason, the planis had not spread at all (apart from the original rushes). Knowing the blackberry as I have know it since, I have often wondeiecf why in this instance it did not spread. The soil, in which it was planted was a stiff retentive clay, which may have accounted largely, though pro bably not entirely, for its inability to do so. In casting my , mind back over those intervening years I have the recollection that the bird-life was at that time vastly different to that of the present day. Although the whole place was literally teeming with birds of various sorts, the only imported ones found in the locality at that time were turkeys a few pheasants, and a few Australian brown quail; while about the same period the skylark made its advent to that part of the country, being rapidly followed by the sparrow and other imported birds. At the present time native birds are about as rare there as the imported birds were formerly, • Indeed, some of the native birds that were to be found there then are now altogether extinct. In considering, these things it has often appeared to me that this great change in the bird life is largely accountable for the spreading of the blackberry in the way in which it now occurs. At the time of their destruction the plants in question had grown into very large b.ushes, so solid that they could be walked over. The method of destroying them was by sprinkling them"(using an ordinary water-ca.n) wi'th\ either Merton's or Merton and White's sheep-dip, mixed a little stronger than for sheep-dipping puroposes, and giving the plants a thorough soaking. Both these dips were of Hawke's Bay "make, and, I understand, have arsenic as their bases. When dry the bushes were burnt, and afterwards the places wliere. tfye.y had grown were throughly well saturated with thesolution of' sheep-dip, mixed as above described. iSfone of these blackberries ever again showed above ground. In treating them in this way the im portant point appears to be the thorqugh ''saturation of the ground after the plants have been burnt off. Their destpuc.tion in this manner should, therefore, never be undertaken ir^. the winter, but always in the summer, and wh.en the gpund is" warm' and dry. " :'