THE HEATHER MENACE

Evening Star, Issue 20428, 8 March 1930, Page 28

THE HEATHER MENACE

People who realised what a botanical crime it was to plant heather in tlie National Park —a unique area that should always be kept thoroughly typical of Maoriland —fear that the alien weed will spread to the detriment of the natural, tussock, but if the evperieuce pf a landowner Pom the Old Country is duplicated in New Zealand it will bo a long while before the heather becomes a curSe, and perhaps it may be quite eradicated (states the Auckland ‘Star’). The visitor who is in New Zealand at the present time, heard about heather haying been planted in the park, and ho made a special journey to have a look at it. On his estate at Home he has some land which was formerly down in heather, but became denuded, and ho has made scores ot experiments to replant the heather the land being only lit for shooting over—but he lias always failed, in spite of the expenditure of much time and money. He savs the heather at National . Park would not spread to any extent in luu years. Of course, he admitted, transplanted to a new climate there was no certainty as to what would happen, but from liis failures in the Old Country be did not think there was much fear of the stuff over-running the National Park. Ho said he found two kinds of heather in the park, the ordipary Scotch heather, and "the kind known as “ hell heather,” which has a larger and distinctly bell-shaped a deeper purple than the other kind.