NASSELLA AT RAKAIA

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25932, 12 October 1949, Page 6

NASSELLA AT RAKAIA

“ OWNERS NOT AWARE OF ITS PRESENCE”! STATEMENT BY MR C. HILGENDORF “Nassella would not be picked byß •anyone not definitely looking for it., and the owners concerned certainly■ ! had no idea of its presence on theirß ’ property." said the president of theß ! provincial executive of Mid-Canter-B | bury Federated Farmers (Mr C. Hil-B gendorf). in a statement to "Theß Press’’ at Ashburton yesterday. Heß was commenting on a report that anl area of about 100 acres of nassella!' tussock had been discovered near Ra-B kaia by Messrs J. W. Earl, chairman,! and A. E. Hunt, deputy-chairman, of! the North Canterbury Nassella Tus-! sock Board. “In company with local farmers. I ■ had a look at it to-day. and there is ■ quite a considerable area of nassella."! Mr Hilgendorf said. "Mr Earl did a B useful service when he identified this ■ tussock on the Rakaia. Unfortun- I ately. however, when he inspected the ■ area he not only neglected to the | property owners for permission to go $ on their land, but hr did not even in-! form them of the results of his in- j spec! ion. “He went quite outside his own ! sphere, and was certainly incorrect I when he said that ‘information that nassella was there was deliberately withheld.' The fact that the area is! much frequented by fishermen and > picnickers, and the fact that there is B some tussock on the golf course S”O*’ B that no effort has been made to hide B “Nassella and ordinary tussock are | very similar, and ordinary tussock has J always grown there.” Mr Hilgenaor! B added.