FARMERS AND THE THISTLES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 550, 9 July 1881, Page 3

FARMERS AND THE THISTLES.

Upon the utility of Scotch thistles Mr Maclvor, after delivering a lecture at Cambridge, Auckland, gave the follow-

ing opinion in answer to a question put by one of the audience :—“ As a Scotsman I am always glad to rise to defend my national emblem. But I remember that the first time X addressed an Jiudience in Victoria, in the Academy of Music. Ballarat, I said, in the course of my speech that I hoped to be able to prove to them that the thistle was not a curse but a blessing to the country. This observation brought down the house with loud laughter, and there was no laughter louder than that of the Scotsman. I may tell you that there was a Thistle Act in force at that time, and if farmers did not cut th ir thistles they had to nay a penalty of five pounds I was fortunate enough to meet with one or two large land owners who paid regularly, year after year, their L 5 rather than cut their thistles. When the drought set in one of these men, who Jiad paid LSCO or LOGO said that uo thing but thistles saved his sheep. I think I may say I was the first chemist that ever examined the thistle for the purpose of finding its nutritive value f and it may interest some of you to hear that thistles have a higher nutritive value then cabbage, if once you get your stock educated to eat them. I have seen horses walk over fine pasture and prefer thistle, and I have also seen sheep prefer them, and cattle go some miles to get them. It is altogether a matter of education, and in time you will find the thistle take the same place ju the estimation of New Zealand cattle as it does m Victoiia. The thistle has advantages as a food material provided yourfstock gets accustomed to it, and you will find that a la rs° number of the stockowner* of Victoria have come that the thistle is not so bad as it is represented There is a large extent of country in Victoria known as the Smcaton Plains, which are now worked upon for gold. Ihey had been culti vated with wheat for years, l think for nearly a quarter of a century, until ultimately they became exhausted, and the farmers left them, They became barren, and would not grow decent grass but a few thistles settled there, and the whole of the plains were covered vith Hhistle in a very short time. The thistles grow, if they get a chance, to a very groat depth ; they bring up plant food from the very depths of the soil, 20, 11, and 15 feet, and in course of time they djeout, and the surface of the soil is enriched with what they have brought up, the result being that tho Smeaton Plains have regained their fertility, and this is attributable to the thistle roots- 1 may safely say that for every argument you may bring against the thistle, I will bring you ten in favor of it. It is true that it takes tho wool off your sheep if they get too fond of it! but if I were a farmer in this district, I would rather have a thousand acres of thistles than of fern.”