THE FRUIT FLY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVI, Issue 14331, 27 March 1907, Page 7

THE FRUIT FLY.

FURTHER OUTBREAK AT NAPIER. The Minister of Lands Has received a telegram stating that a further outbreak of the fruit fly has been discovered in an orchard at Napier. Hi© officers of the Agricultural Department are proceeding to take the necessary steps to deal with the pest. Speaking to a representative of the “ Lyttelton Times” the Hon R. M’Nah, Minister of Lands and Agriculture, said that he believed all was being done that could be don© to deal with the menace to the orchards of the colony. Auckland was the source of the whole trouble. The original and only effective system had been to destroy all consignments of fruit found to be affected, and this system had never been changed as far as the southern ports were concerned. Auckland dealers, however, had succeeded in securing permission, to pick over infected fruit and to distribute the apparently sound portion. As was to have been expected the fruit fly magot developed later in some cases and the infection .had spread into New Zealand orchards. Boon after assuming control of the Department he had given instructions that Auckland should revert to the old system, and that a inspection should he made iu districts to which suspicious consignments had boon sent. The result had keen the discovery of the fly in almost every case. •‘Do- you think the Department can stamp out the fly?” asked the reporter. “ Well, the officers are doing their best,” said the Minister. THE PEST IN MARLBOROUGH. WHOLESALE DESTRUCTION OF TOMATOES. [FkOM OcK CoiUIESrOXDENT.] BLENHEIM, March 26. As a result cl the fruit fly scare the tomato crop of Blenheim district, covering an area, of many miles, is being extirpated root and branch. The two representatives of the Agricultural | Department, who have been scouring the district for some days past, found the grub of the unwelcome visitor in several tomato plots, and, acting under instructions from headquarters at Wellington, they are paying house to house visits, compelling growers to root up all tomato plants and completely destroy them by lire. Growers may keep their tomatoes for table nso, j but only if they immediately boil them, j Naturally, much consternation has I been created among cultivator's, and , in one or two instances they have : “turned nasty,” but, generally speaking, they fully recognise the serious- ‘ ness of the situation, and obey orders with cheerfulness. One grower has ]

publicly challenged the experts’ pronouncement that the larva; they have found in tomatoes nro those of the fruit fly, but the experts nro confident that headquarters will confirm their judgment after examination of tiro specimens they have sent to ’Wellington. So far tho pest has been detected in only two fruit gardens. It seems to have given preference to tho tomatoes.