ERGOT COLLECTION

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 174, 20 April 1942, Page 8

ERGOT COLLECTION

Result Of Campaign In New Zealand READY RESPONSE The appeal lor Ihe collection of ergot, urgently required by Britain for medical purposes, has met with a ready response throughout the Dominion, (recording to an ollicer of the Department of Agriculture, which sponsored the campaign. .Much of the collected material is still io the hands of merchants and further amounts are being received every day, so that it is yet too early to give an accurate estimate of the lota, amount obtained, but it is expected that it will be the best part of a ton. Ordinarily a ton of ergot is worth approximately but the price varies according to the possibility of Spam being involved in the war. Apart from New Zealand, Spain is now the only country open to the democracies in which ergot is found mituraily. Attempts to produce it by artilieial inoculation are being made in Australia, but so far yields have been very low. Requirements are indicated by the tact that Britain could thke ”’•* tons from New Zealand if it were available. .Most of the ergot collected here last season will be sent to Britain, but it is possible that some may be retained for local use. . Thousands of.school children, girl guides, boy scouts, women and men took part hi the collection. Unfortunately the season was a poor one for the development of the fungus. As an illustration of this, experiments in the artificial production of ergot on rye corn gave a very small return compared with that of the previous year. In areas not easily accessible much ergot in thick stands was wasted, partly because of lack of petrol caused by .Japan’s entry into the war. The Fuel Controller, however, did. on request, supply petrol for organized parties of ergot pickers. Harvesting methods varied from band-picking of single ergots in thin stands to cutting rhe heads or stripping by hand. The latter method appears the best where ergots are plentiful. Much labour was involved In cleaning the harvested material. All (bar was essentially required was a sample containing 5(1 per cent, of ergot: but collectors were not satisfied witli this, and most of the material submitted is of tiie highest grade—loo per cent, clean, dry, whole ergot.

.Many [reople undertook the collection as a patriotic effort ami made gifts Of large amounts of ergot, Iu one office of the department alone gifts amounted to 2Slb.. valued at. £lO. .Many small gifts of less than one ounce were also welcome. One person left a very small offering with a note: "If you know how much work was involved you won t If. ugh.” "We expect an increased yield next season as a result of the experience we have gained,” said a departmetnal officer. "We will he able to give people better advice on collecting and liarvesting methods.”