HOW TO GET RID OF GORSE

Hokitika Guardian, 28 September 1929, Page 6

HOW TO GET RID OF GORSE

A New Lynn correspondent writes to an Auckland paper: “Having read of a good many cases where owners of sections have been fined for allowing gorse to thrive on their property, 1 thought it not inopportune to give all and sundry my mode of getting rid of the pest in an inexpensive way. When cutting the gorse, bring the most of it to where the growth was thickest, and pile up enough to make a great heat, first having cut the space upon which the fire will be made. In this manner the whole section will be cleared of gorse in a few seasons at no more expense, because the stuff lias to be cut in any case. Where these bonfires have stood, it will he found afterwards that the native clover will spring up, and the fire has been fierce enough to kill all the gorse on the patch. Next season move the heaps off gorse on to other areas, and repeat the process. To sow down these patches with grass seed gives better results still, especially as soon as possible after the surface is cold. Jf this is done while the ash is fluffy and not beaten down by rain, the grass seed will have a better chance, getting down under the ash and escape the ravages of small birds. ’