THE GOVEWRNMEMNT BIOLOGIST ON NOXIOUS WEEDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2362, 1 June 1899, Page 34

TH E GOVEW RNMEMNT BI OLOGIST ON NOXIOUS WEEDS.

(North Otago Times.) About 40 or 50 farmers assembled in the room over Mr TTraser's shop on Saturday afternoon to hear Mr Kirk, the Government biologist, lecture on noxious weeds. Mt T. Y. Duncan, M.H.R., was yoted -to the chair, and on calling upon Mr Kirk, said he was sure that gentleman was an expert, and ; would of his knowledge be able to give them some very useful information in the course of his lecture. Mr Kirk said Mr Duncan had been misinformed. It was not often Mr Duncan was misinformed, but in calling the address a lecture he was off the maTk. Noxious weeds, he said, ■were becoming important, a deal more so than they were willing to admit. Even in Oamaru they were present. A measure with the object of suppressing noxious weeds had been passed by Parliament, but nothing that was at all salutary had yet been achieved. The Government had at present a measure in contemplation to further enforce the suppression of these pests. The most effective method of eradicating them would be co-operation on the part of the farmers and growers, but they could not get that and therefore they must legislate, unpleasant as- it was. He did not know the cause of the want of that cohesion among farmers which was so necessary. Mr Kirk went on to say that he had probably the best collection of noxious weeds that anyone had in the colony ; if anyone cared to see them he would exhibit "them at the close of the proceedings. The weeds had been imported in various ways. Some had come in with ballast, some with imported guano manure, some of the seeds had been introduced by cattle, but by far the biggest means of their importation had been dirty seed. It «ost money to get seed cleaned, but the cleanest seed was always tke cheapest. He had heard of people who had so little refald for their own and their neighbours' land that they had bought the cleanings of seeds to sow their land. Without some means of preventing people from picking their pockets by fouling their land they had no redress against such an iniquitous practice. Some weeds did nothing more than impoverish the soij, but some poisoned the animals that ate them, and some only flavoured milk and b\itter from cows fed ,021 them. The best way to get rid of weeds waß thorough cultivation of the ground. Stock were a most common means- of carrying seed* from one district to another. The lecturer then proceeded to show pictures gof a- Lumber of the most injurious weeds in the colony by means of a magic lantern. The pictures were ia all cases • clear, were well shown, arid were, cf course, good drawings of ths various plants. The first picture was of the ox-eye daisy, a very common pest in parts ol Canterbury, where it is doing much harm to some pasture lands. Tar weed may be identified by the stickiness of the fingers after drawing the hand up the seed stem. Mexican Poppy. — A poisonous weed common in Marlbcroughj but had not come so fur couth a& tliis. It had dons much harm in Queensland. Barley grass, of which there are large patches at Waihao, used to be found only on the. roads, but is now spreading into pasture land. It's spines are very sharp, and pierce the skin of sheep, a. skin shown in Christchurch being found quite rough on the inside with these. Carifornian stiukweed or digger's weed, may be known by its stroug Hmf.il. Hemlock. — A poisonous 'plant, which is a decided lneaace to Btock. Yarr. — Already a great trouble in some parts of the colony. DeviFs trumpet, which is not ealeu by stock, except the quietest mi]kiug cows, and being poisonous, ie an enfciny to the dairy faimev. Each, seed pod bears hunJved& of seeds. Shepherd's Purse. — A. plant which _taints the milk, and is the csueb of rno&t of the "bad flavours in the dairy produce of the colony. Rugweed is plentiful in Southland. In England it is kept down by feeding young stock on it. My Kirk is sure that the disease lately rampant in Southland among horses and cattle was caused by this weed, which had been pronounced poisonous when fully grown. Capeweed. — To be coTejuliy distinguished from cats-ear. The confusion of names, which is so common, in this case is an argument foi •the u'e of Latin na,meß^for plants. j Caster Oil Plant— So-called, is conspicuous in the north of New Zealand, and harmful to I slock. The lecturer opined that there is a lot of money to be kept in this colony by the cultivation in the North Islnd of- the true castor I oil plant. Oat3bead ut Spiny Back. — Introduced from South Africa hi ecme ballast. Bathuret bun, or cat's eggs, was not likely to reach this district. It was decidedly poison cue, and hail reduced tie value of wool infested by 2(1 per lb. Clover burr is common in many parts of New Zealand; it is provided with corkscrew spines, and hard to get out of the wool. The plant was of some use in Australia, add in New Zealand the mice, had found the oil in the seed husks as eaible. It is often used by inscrupulcus people to adulterate importea clover seed. Milk Thistle. — Already widespread in jNew Zealand. lie v ec rnrnie:rdßd farmers who made enwlape to use this weed for the purpose. Wing Thistle. — An instance of a plant of use in cue djstrkt being a decided nuisance in ethers It showecl one of the difficulties they had ip defimpg what a weed is. Giant burr may be known by its giant leaves, covering a large pot of ground, but not to be expected S3 fpr south as this. Other weeds weie shown, and then Mr Kiilt went in tc rpf< r to the Galifon-ian thistle (the corn or giee thistle of England), which i& weeded oiit in the old country, and has been cleared out by cultivation in Civnada. Thife j v as first done in Manitoba, and has also beer, done m the North Island of this colony. The practice there followed by "W. C Buchanan, M.H.11., is to cut it back continually without allowing the leaves to appear. A plant lives by its leaves, and if these are constanaly cut down it zrufct die. Generally it took two ye&r3 to exterminate it by this process. The onl> Vcrson in Oamaru district who, so far as he knew, had taken steps to Teducc this nuisance was Mr Alfred Avery, who kept it continually cut btiuk. Anyone who knew Mr Avery' s land at Vaiareki a few year? ajro would know how thick it wa."> with the weed, but when the lecturer hod lately visited the farm he found only traces of it, and believed that next year Mr Avery wouM have clean ground It had boon dosperately bs<l, but was nearly clean now. Dr Avery deserved the thanks of the district for the 1-roof he had givii of the possibility of eradicating the pc-st. Mr H. EihvariU said he had been cxperi-vswiiinij-'wiih the Oalifornian thistle for years, constantly cutting it down. He had found thßt ■when the first growth was cut if a light dreeing of salt was applied seed plants were killtti outright, ana root plants much weakened. Mr Kirk s&id he was glad to hear thiß, for he had not befrre known that the weed could be killed by cne cutting, but he was glad to hear of its ?nci*ess. A vote of thanks to Mi Kirk and one to t/ie chairman closed tl c ireeting. A number of gentlemen remained and examined Air Kirk'? collection of weeds, and obtained ustful information.

Stone's Otago and Southland ABC Monthly Guide and Diary for June is to hand.