BLACKBERRY PEST

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 June 1926, Page 6

BLACKBERRY PEST

A HAMILTON REMEDY A claim has been made by a Hamilton resident that a method has been discovered for eradicating blackberries, and that, if the conditions imposed by the Agricultural Department ivere a little less stringent, he could qualify for the lifting of the £lO,OOO bonus offered by the Department in November, 1924. The remedy consists of crystals dissolved in water. The solution is applied twice in the form of a spray to ihe blackberries, and it is claimed that it has immediate effect in checking growth and that the whole plant, including roots, is killed within three years. As evidence of the efficacy of the treatment, the inventor produced a reference from a wellknown Waikato stock inspector who stated that the specific was the best and most effective he had ever seen. was non-poisonous and slow acting, but very sure, gradually worning down the sap of the plant right into the roots. He said he was satisfied that two sprayings properly carried out would kill blackberry. The discoverer of the remedy claims that the method fully harmonises with the Government’s requirements, which he considers are quite reasonable. What he does not think reasonable is that applicants for the bonus should be required to treat a full acre of heavily infested land before making his application, and that he should afterwards be required to prove to the satisfaction of a committee, to be appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, the efficacy of the remedy by actual trials commencing at times and continuing over periods specified by the committee.