Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1908. THE FRUIT FLY AGAIN.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 43376, 22 September 1908, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1908. THE FRUIT FLY AGAIN.

This above all—to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day Thou canst not then be false to any man Shakespeare.

Natural as it is for importers of island fruit in Auckland to feel the pressure of departmental regulations and restrictions with regard to the

landing and distribution of citrous fruits anl bananas, we cannot fail to see that the only way to regard the nutter is in the light of its bearing upon the fruit-growing industry of the whole Dominion. . It is extremely unfortunate for im-. porter and consumer alike that tha. danger of spreading infection to our own orchards by means of the landing of diseased fruit should have cropped up at all. But then dis, ease in any shape or form entails 1 iss and inconvenience, but here as in other matters the first loss is the lightest. As we have previously pointed out the fruit-fly is notoriously cosmopolitan in his tastes, and does not confine his attention to oranges and lemons but has a fancy ior other fruits, such as tomatoes and peaches. Considering the gravity of the menace which exists to _ our orchardists throughout the Dominion in the case of any inadequacy in the regulations affecting the landing of infected fruit, it is no wonder that fruitgrowers have asked that the regulations should be made even more sweeping than they are. We have already enough acclimatized pests of one sort or another to do battle with, without taking the risk of adding to their number. Both growers and consumers have asked that the regulations should be made even more sweeping than they are.

We have already enough acclimatized pests of one sort or another to do battle with, without taking the risk of adding to their number. Both growers and consumers have suffered enough from the regulations which have of necessity been imposed upon us with regard to these pests. And it is indisputably one of the very first functions of the department to keep aloof every invader who threatens us with the introduction of further infection, resulting in added harrasraent to the orchardist, and privation to the consumer. The present is obviously a case where prevention is the better cure.

With regard to the adoption of Mr Ivirk, the Government Biologist’s suggestion, that bananas be admitted - from both Australia and the Pacific Islands on.the conditton of its being certified by the consignors that they have been packed in an absolutely green condition, we can but say that there would require to be the most rigid enforcement of this regulation. Mr Kirk’s proposal that the inspector be allowed to reject any shipment concerning which he had “ good reason to be convinced that it was not green when shipped, “ is entirely reasonable. Absolute unripeness is the one guarantee of immunity from the presence of a pest which does not attack unripe fruit. And, as the Hon. R. McNab pointed out in his interview with Messrs Poole and Kidd, the risk is a great one, hence the inspector should | be allowed the light to decide' whether the shippers had been “justified in making the declaration” as the greenness of the fruit when shipped. In addition to this we would add that the vesting of such discretionary power in the inspector would tend to insure greater care on the part of the shippers. From the manner in which the Hon. gentleman has discussed the question of the Departmental regulations with Messrs Poole and Kidd, basing his contentions for the necessity of stringency upon Mr Kirk’s recommendations, we hope that shippers and consumers will sec that , the Department is but doing its duty in observing all necessary precautions with regard to the importation of bananas and citrous fruits.