DEPARTMENT AND FARMER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 843, 15 June 1910, Page 8

DEPARTMENT AND FARMER.

-''•.:.- ABOUT SOME THISTLES. ■/ j Interviewed in connection with the rtatemeait of Mr. H. H. Venables, of .' '. Utiku, quoted in The Dominion of Thursday last, that he . had sent speci- ; mens. ;of a blight-infected Californian . thistle to the Government biologist, and that apparently' the matter was not of ! , : sufficient interest to. warrant acknow- ■;'.'■ the Hon. T. Mackenzie stated .;, : yesterday:—"My officers instructions are to acknowledge promptly communications .' .received. On my reading the statement '..' • in the newspaper last Saturday, I at ; : . , once telegraphed to Mr. vYenables stating I,■ ■ that neither letter nor telegram had been . receivod, and adding,that if he would ; •' be good enough to forward further specimens, the matter would 'be : fully and carefully gone into. A thorough search was made by the Secretary of Agriculi': '' ture, in ' the absence from Wellington of , the biologist, and he was unable ot trace :■'-,■ any samples as haying been received. Mr. r Cockayne, the biologist, returned this morning, and he has informed me that ;.'. no samples wore received by him. I need hardly add that we will welcome any information-, from any one that will help to eradicate this most noxious of weeds. I might say that whilst in the north I found a blight effectively destroying the 6weet briar, and I instructed the Department to investigate it, and, if safe to do : . 60, to transmit it to other parts."