NOXIOUS WEEDS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 49, 27 February 1913, Page 6

NOXIOUS WEEDS.

DISCUSSED' BY THE WHANG A • 1 (COUNCIL. The spread of noxious weeds in the district hame in for a good deal of discussion at the Whangamomona County Council meeting yesterday. Cr. McCutchan stated that the spread of noxious weeds all over the district was now practically getting beyond control. Ragwort, bldckberry, foxglove, daisies and pennyroyal could not be seen twelve or fourteen years ago; in fact some not twelve months ago, but to-day they .were on nearly every section. Pennyroyal, he stated, was the worst Of the lot. He considered the Noxious Weeds Inspector useless unless the settlers gave him all the assistance they possibly could. If there was any way to get rid of the pennyroyal they should do it. “I have burnt it,” he said, “grubbed it out, and still it comes up worse than ever; once it gets in you cannot get it out. The seed will travel for miles, and unless the settlers take the matter in hand, and use •their best endeavours to get rid of it, the district will got in a very bad state.” Cr. Bacon endorsed Cr. McCutchan’s remarks, and said he also considered that pennyroyal was the worst, “All efforts to rid the district of the weed should be done, he said, for if we neglect it, we are only cutting our own throats. Whenever I see any of it T will report it to the ranger at once. An inspector is useless unless he has a knowledge of the district, and we must educate the people up to it, and give every assistance possible.” Cr Meredith also pointed out that the weeds were getting a strong ’hold all over'the district. Strathmore, he said, was full of it. “The first bed of ragwort ,was at Te Wera, and when I saw it, I thought it was a flower, it was neglected with the result that it is now throughout the district.” He would not; ho said, do the work of clearing an acre of it for £5. If *it was cleared it would come up again as bad as ever. He suggested that representation should be made to the Government to see if some chemical preparation could not be obtained to destroy it. Cr. Cleland endorsed the remark: of other speakers, and said that unless they impressed on the settlers to give the inspector assistance in the matter, bis services was useless, because be would not sco half of them. It was only a fluke that one dropped on to a patch in some of the back portions of the farms. The discussion then dropped. Our representative states that one cannot help noticing the nice little clusters of ragwort in full bloom on several of the sections along the dine between Toko and Stratford, and that it would be a kind act to some of the settlers who try and keep down the weed if the inspector would pay a visit to these parts, and compel the others to have the patches removed at once.