Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Monday, March 12, 1906. AN IMPORTANT HORTICULTURAL EXPERIMENT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIX, Issue 60, 12 March 1906, Page 2

Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Monday, March 12, 1906. AN IMPORTANT HORTICULTURAL EXPERIMENT.

A highly interesting experiment being assisted by the New Zealand Agricultural Department, with a view to the extirpation of codlin moth, will be watched closely, and with approval, by everyone who desires to see the colony's fruit industry advance. This is the export of tens of thousands of the larvae of that destructive pest to California as food for a parasite which is expected to finally eat out the codlin moth, root and branch. The arrangement is the result of overtures made by Mr Boucher, the Government pomologist for the North Island, to the Californian State Board of Horticulture, which is breeding theparasites largely from. larvae imported from Spain*. New ■ Zealand - provided the first specimens of vidatia cardinates (ladybird), which has so greatly benefited the citrus fruits of California; land the present shipment'of larvae is in further pursuance of the principle of interchanging pests, together with their natural enemies, between countries with different seasons. In this instance, however, there is a prospect of much greater advantages accruing to New Zealand than in the case of the citrus fruit. The other day a letter was received from the Horticultural Commissioner of California asking that codlin m'otli larvae should be'sent over in large quantities immediately, as hot winds had caused a serious shortage in California,'and the invaluable parasites were threatened with starvation. ■We read in an Auckland paper that in response to this request large quantities of grubs have been collected from the orchards in that district, carefully packed in boxes with stout muslin, and forwarded on the last 'Frisco mail boat. The great difficulty was to prevent them hatching out during the voyage across the equator, but arrangements were made to keep them at a temperature of 40deg., and it is confidently expected that they will reach their destination in a proper condition.^ The importance of the experimental operations that New Zealand is now assisting may be estimated from the. words of Mr Cooper, who, in his position as the president of the Californian State Boai^of Horticulture, may be recognised as the leading authority in the world, on-this subject. Speaking of the work already done by the parasite, he said in his address to the CaKornian Fruitgrowers' Convention: "It is our belief that in a year or two more the codlin moth will not be regarded as a troublesome pest. The one great difficulty was that we could not get grubs in which to breed the parasite. We hope tp secure an abundant supply. Then we can breed the parasite through the whole year, and supply all the orchards of apples and pears throughout the State." If thisi pleasing anticipation is realised, New Zealand may look forward to the early establishment of the parasite in this country, and to a practically clean sweep of the codlin moth. It is hardly .n«c,e ( s.Hary to point out the importance of ,meh a clearance. Our fruit trade would be worth t.ons of .thous•"Kls more annually than it is at' tho present-tim... and orchardists .would bo saved n.uol, expense and waste. JJniit ««Itim> would receive great encour^onHMU.; ,„<! t , K , ] esi , s]atioil which compels SI aiUl)l t() suppress Ms pests or cut down his trees will not luiYi; a #the of its present terrors.