POPPIES FROM THE SOMME.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 January 1920, Page 8

POPPIES FROM THE SOMME.

IMPORTATION TO DOMINION.

AGRICULTURISTS' OBJECTION.

The introduction into New Zealand of poppy seeds from the Somme Valby has given rise to considerable comment in agricultural circles. The curator of the Christchurch Botanical Gardens , last week received a quantity of the 3ecds from Miss Ettie A. Rout, lion, secretary of the New Zealand Volunteer Sisters, with a request that they be planted and the seeds of the harvest distributed to relatives of New Zealand soldiers who fell on the battlefields of the Somme.' The opinion expressed by many is that, while the sentimental value is slight, the danger of the weed spreading is a real one and ought to be combated. A returned Auckland officer, who has many years' experience of the land, states that when he was in the Somme Valley last summer it was a wilderness of poppies from one end to the other, so quickly did they spread. It is anticipated by officials of tho Department of Agriculture that the seed will prov,e a greater nuisance in New Zealand than it has been in the Old Country. By way of illustration they point to (he'blackberry, the sweet briar, and the gorse, all of which, when introduced, increased and multiplied beyond all expectations, soon becoming pest* of the worst sort, i The chances of wild poppies spreading are considerable, as uncultivated weeds grow more easily thnn cultivated plants. New Zealand already has a. small'quantity of poppies in several districts, particularly where there is com. The appearance of the weed naturally means the displacement and loss of grain. Like the buttereup and the daisy the poppy will lie for a long time in the ground waiting a suitable time for its growth.