CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 43, 31 May 1910, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

BLACKBERRY. The member for the district is doing a useful work in bringing; home to farmers the seriousness of the position with which they are faced in regsml to the ■blackberry, and in advising remedial measures. The time for maintaining silence about the menace and discounting its effects upon certain districts is gone. The time lias arrived for recognising the seriousness of the curse and boldly grappling with it. if that is at all possible. We .printed a. letter yesterday on this subject from a well-informed correspondent, who showed that whereas ten years ago blackberries were known only_ in <a few isolated portions of the province, they are now growing on and spreading over big tracts of land. As he says, nwny of the farmers in the affected districts can <lo little more than "cut, cut. and continually cut" the weeds. We know of others having been misled into purchasing properties at high prices in the affected areas who cannot spare the time necessary to deal at all effectively with the weeds. The plight of these men is unfortunate in the extreme. On the one side they have the cursed blackberry; on the other they ha.ve the relentless mortgagee. Between the two, the land has not much show. There are other men w.ho were just getting past the struggling point, or were seeing daylight ahead, when the blackberry, carried by the übiquitous bird, made its appearance on their places, since which time the task of keeping the land clean has been well-nigh hopeless. We know very little about the blight that is supposed to deal out death to the blackberry, but if it is half as efficacious as it is represented to be. and does not produce worse effects—if that were possible—no further time should be lost in introducing it to the affected parts. In the meantime farmers must be prepared to renew their efforts with spade, adze, and plough, and make more use of the Angora, preferably the halfbred animal,

which is sup,posed to have a partiality for and thrives union the weed that is gradually but surely choking some of the good territory of this fadr province. ARMY TRACTION. Xews from Home gives particulars of a traction engine that will probably revolutionise army transport. It is stated that "the caterpillar" will crawl up steep hills' with a heavy load at great speed. In warfare heavy guns cannot always be used with effect, unless they are taken to a high eminence. In the South African campaign hundreds of oxen were frequently unable to take a heavy gun to a spot where it would be effective, and the mortality of draught animals was very great. The ordinary traction engine will not traverse very rough, very soft, or very steep country, and in tlie campaign mentioned were only used for drawing heavy loads on flat, hard country. This new machine lias thirty-two great "feet" and literally "walks." It is notable that a very large proportion of 'cute inventions are by way of improving the deadlines* of w»*£are. The greatest thinkers and inventors use their genius for the production of machines which will make the destruction of lives easier. :one hopes that the development of engines of destruction will progress to such an extent that it will 111 itke war impossible. Great sailors and soldiers affect to believe that the perfection of armaments and their accessories will hasten universal peace because of the tremendous sacrifice of life that is entailed when the death of thousands' is deliberately and scientifically planned and carried out. It may be presumed that a weapon useless on a plain could be taken ijuicitly to a great eminence by this new accessory of destruction. So that '"the caterpillar" might (be the means of ending a war very quickly. The idea of this machine came to the inventor, an Afrikander, when he saw what a failure the ordinary traction engine was in his own country. He is endeavoring to sell his "caterpillar" to the ar Office, and has already walked it all over the worst country at Aldeishot to demonstrate its remarkable adaptability to all country and its freat tractile force.

TREES. Arbor Day in New Zealand will fall on July 20. Arbor days of the past have been very feeble excuses for n holiday. In the matter of trees there is greater disposition in the Dominion to destroy" than to build up. New Zealand's' fertility! has been occasioned by trees and the future of much of its commercial success will depend on trees. Arbor Day is regarded facetiously by most people. It stirs no national pride, appeals to no sense of utility or beauty, and most people are ashamed to be seen planting a sapling on that occasion for fear someone will accuse them of being enthusias- { tic about a trifle. Man can destroy in a few hours what has taken nature'two thousand years to grow, and when he destroys he should think of the people who will be fossicking around for a stick of timber in two thousand years' time. The lack of enthusiasm for enterprises that do not pay dividends within a year or so .is a notable trait in quite a number of people, and most of the tree-planting on denuded areas in the past few years has been performed with coerced labor. Arbor Day in reality should be a national festival", the leader's of the people should show the way by taking a practical hand, by talking about trees, preaching trees and planting trees. There are tens of thousands of acres in New Zealand that will grow nothinn- so valuable as trees, and there are bare ugly places in most towns outside New' Plymouth that might be utilised and beautified with trees. If some great enthusiast set himself the task of winning careless New Zealanders to a great enthusiasm about trees. Arbor Day would not ibe the pitiable farce it has generally been. There is money in trees' both for this generation and the next If you want to decide for vourself what a beautiful thing a tree is, you should take a trip across the Great Australian Desert for a month or two and then come back and examine Pukelcura P#rk Trees are medicine for the tired eye and Uie fatigued mind. Arbor Day is New ZeaI land s chance to plant plenty of medi- • cine for the tired eyes, and the fatigued minds of our great grandchildren.