NOXIOUS WEEDS

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 29, 3 August 1923, Page 2

NOXIOUS WEEDS

ACTION BY FARMERS' UNION

A committee of the New Zealand Farmers' Union submitted a recommendation to the annual conference of that organisation to-d.ay urging "That the time has arrived when the noxious weeds question can be no longer delayed, and that very drastic measures should be taken to keep them in check, especially on Crown and Native-owned land." „£ number of speakers alluded to the diinculties surrounding the whole question of dealing with the various pests— especially the Californian thistle and blackberry. # A proposal to refer the matter to the Counties Conference was negatived. > Df. C. J. Eeakes, Director-General of Agriculture, remarked, that one difficulty was that the Act as it stood at present wa3 not applicable to present-day conditions. The law made no provision "'I. diu y loca,' expression of opinion as to •a nether plants such as ragwort or Californian thistle were noxious weeds or not. Under the Act they were no»ou6 weeds throughout the Dominion.' 'The authorities were now in the invidious pomtion of allowing ragwort and Ca-li-loroian thistle to gro\v at will iv some districts, whereas in other parts of the cf/untry the. farmers were I'rgimr the Government to take oVastic steps against the pest. There was at present before Parliament a small amending Bill which would remove some of the existing anomalies. To be effective, local conditions must to some extent govern the measures to be adopted. That was the reaaon why county councils had been'invited to take a hand in the adniinistriition of the x\ct. ■ :■ ' "

Mr. F. S. Bowen (Gisborne). described the blackberry as the most dangerous noxious weed in the Dominion. Jhii weed very materially lessened the value of our exports. ■

It was agreed to urce the passing of the Noxious Weeds Bill now before Parliament, and invite the support of the approaching Counties Conference, in. takinjr steps to deal with noxious weeds.