CALIFORNIAN THISTLE.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8482, 13 May 1893, Page 4

CALIFORNIAN THISTLE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE PRESS. S IB) Referring to the discussion which took place yesterday at the meeting of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association on the subject of the Californian thistle, I see Mi Staveley thinks the Association is paying too much attention to " Northern Farmer because that writer has not signed his name. I am inclined to think that too much stress is placed upon the value of a man' 9 name to the foot of a letter. If " Northern Farmer" had signed his name, and happens to have neighbours all round him who are producing clover seed off thistle infected soil a nice life he and his family Would have of it after publishing that letter, although there can be no doubt that the farming community is much indebted to him. As a rule I should not venture to write on agricultural matters, but my own experience has brought very vividly before mc the dangers of this clover seed business. Last August I had to purchase 18001bs of red clover seed. I went round and got samples and prices from three or four firms, and finally selected what I considered the best sample. Upon examining it closely I found two small seeds, which I did not recognise, so I showed them to two men in the seed trade, who pronounced them to be Californian thistle. Had I sent out this lot of seed my client would have sown 57,600 Californian thistle seeds on an area of 900 acres, that is supposing the sample to have weighed half an ounce, and to have fairly represented the bulk. In my opinion it is only a question of a very few years for the Californian thistle to become general all over Canterbury unless some stringent legislation is forthwith enacted. The bulk of the clover seed in Canterbury appears to be grown on infected soil, and there must always be some farmers whose necessities will compel them to buy cheap clover seed, besides which I think very many people do not know the seed when they see it.—Yours, &c, Joseph Gould.