Hemlock Controlled

Northern Advocate, 27 September 1949, Page 9

Hemlock Controlled

~ “The deadly hemlock weed which was the subject of a cenccrted drive in Whangarei two years ago is well under control, and while odd plants are growing in and around the town, the weed is not the menace it is in other centres.” This opinion was given by Mr E. H. Arnold of the Department of Agriculture in Whangarei when the question of hemlock was referred to him today. Hemlock which is fern-like in appearance, has small attractive white flowers which are in bloom at present. Extracts of the plant are used medicinally as a substitute for opium, but if taken in the raw state it is a deadly poison, causing convulsions, paralysis, and finally death. That the plant may be eradicated or reduced to the status of a rarity is shown by the small number remaining in Whangarei following a concerted drive against il. identification Two common weeds may be mistaken for hemlock. They ore the parsley drop wort and the wild carrot. Parsley dropwort may be identified by the aovoid swellings‘on the root mass. . . Distinct from the tap-root, parsley has a mass of roots which may only be lifted by careful digging. Mr Arnold said today that any perperson who discovered a plant which might bo hemlock was quite welcome to bring it in to the department for identification. Reports of a considerable infestation of hemlock have been received from Dargaville, with several bad patches of the weed in the town itself.