NOXIOUS WEEDS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 18 March 1925, Page 4

NOXIOUS WEEDS.

RAGWORT AND BLACKBERRY

FINES AT ELR-riAM COURT

At- the Magi«c.aate’s Court, Eitham, yesu.-eiaayj au . A: AL. Mowiem, te.iVl,, couivioceu. s-e-veiia l ! district farmers lor lit,mine to eiear noxious weeds, , and lined earn wit A cwte. A •tine several ueieuuants, with/ the wteeu, whu-m bad got the better 61 their land, weire: jjuvid L. A. Astbury, Manga,toki (ragwort), J. A. Jioreh-art, iNgaere ■ (ragwort and blackberry), Patrick Hogan, Duthie' lload, Lowgarth (ragwort), Leonard \Vebby, Manga,toki (ragwort on a farm at Toko —defendant pleaded not guilty), Fred. D. Hall, Upper Hunter Goad (ragwort), Hector Mellow, Mahoe. (ragwort and blackberry on a farm worked by a share-milker). The Magistrate said he had listened very, attentively to what the defendants had 'staid! and he realised that in their statements there was a. considerable amount of" weight t-ays. the Argns). One had only to live in a farming community for a short time to know that at certain, seasons work had to be done or a. loss to the community would result. In January and February the farmers had to arrange for winter feed for their stock; and it was necessary for them to do essential work when the wretched weeds which infested much of the country were seeding and doing ' destruction. It was. perfectly plain that farming operations mur t proceed ; but it was equally plain, surely, to the intelligent farmer, that unless he cut down the weeds he would have no farm but a weed fun. That was the reason why the Noxious 1 Weeds A.ct was passed. If the weeds were cut after seeding there was no benefit and the Act was nullified. The menace of seeding wa® plain, for the seeds were carried on the four* wind's of heaven and distributed over the country. He was very much inclined to think that absentee farmers did not do the work of cutting and that the sharemilker did not feel inclined to cut the weeds and also milk the cows. If a man owned a property his sense should tel- him that his weeds should be cut. The dee ulianit Mellow had thought the. sharemilker had cut the- weeds, but apparently he had not done so. . “’The question , really is,” said Mr. Mowlem. “How is the farming community to be protected from the farmer who won’t do the work? I don t know whether farmers do know, but .1 know that- under the limitations of our methods fines are the only way in which the authorities can home the fact of the farmers’ duties. In one case a man—l don t know " had been previously fined. Tn that care a fine dees not seem to have had a-nv effect. He has. paid his fine and <e.t the weeds grow. It would have been infinitely better if the money had o-nne towards labour to cut the weeds. How Am T to differentiate in these easps? The great -liffieultv is that it is a, menace to, ether people one farmp,.- is strwrgli eg hard to keep down these wretched weeds and the other former next to him is letting his weeds crow, and ohlv a, wire fence between thorn end a. wind, blowing. Tn t-hefi'e iifc niiiF-t be Oiiily «i* noTniTiiiil p<?n* plf-v—-pot as n punishme"t to. the individual offenders, but a, lesson, t" n.tho’* fa.-me’s to keep the law. . don’t know how fanners are +0 get- ill their hav and 1 crops and cut the weeds at the same time.”