THE CODLIN MOTH BILL: MEETING AT NORTHCOTE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9065, 28 May 1888, Page 6

THE CODLIN MOTH BILL: MEETING AT NORTHCOTE.

A lakge and influential m eeting to consider the Codlin Moth Bill was held on Saturday evening in the Zion Hill schoolroom, Birkenhend. under the auspice? of the Birkenhead and Northeote Fruitgrowers' Association.

Mr. F. Porter, sen., occupied the chair. In his opening remarks, the Chairman said the codliu moth was no new thing, as many supposed. He remembered his father's orchard fifty years ago, where annually many bushels of wormy apples were made into' cider. The Secretary here read the following paper, which was written for the meeting by Mr. H. J. Hawkins :— The Cottage Gardener of May 10th, 1549, contains a full description of the codlin moth, and it is evident, judging from the wording of the article, that that pest must have been known in England many years prior to that date. The article commences thus :—" Every grower of the apple knows how liable hi? fruit is to be worm-eaten. He finds basketsful of windfalls even in the calmest weather, and that the cause of the loss is a small erub which has fed upon the pulp of the fruit. The grub iu question is the larva of the codlin moth." The moth, it will be seen, has been known in that country for, say half a century, and what is the result? Why, that in ISB6 the apple crop was so heavy " that the trees had to be supported by stakes to prevent their snapping or breaking." And this, it must be remembered, without any interference on the part of the British Government. An American orchardist, residing in the State of New York, writing on the same subject a few years since, says—" Who has not seen the ground covered with premature and decaying fruit in July, August, and September, each specimen perforated by the Codlin moth ?" and then states that, in spite of all such enemies, '' fruit is becoming more plentiful every year." This perfectly coincides with the following accounts lately received from that State—" The applo crop in New York this season (1887) is so enormous that in some localities thousands of barrels of fruit have been left on the ground to rot"; and it wa3 calculated that' no less than one million barrels of sound apples would be exported from that State to the mother country and the continent of Europe during that season ; and yet the codlin moth is known to have existed in that and other Northern States for upwards of forty year? ! And there, as in England, the Government has not deemed it necessary to legislate upon the subject. It may now be asked, What has been the effect of the codlin moth in this part of the colony ? Has its presence been the means of diminishing the supply of fruit? Quite the contrary, the Auckland market having been more abundantly supplied with apples during the present season than on any former occasion. Some of the auction marcs were literally crammed with fruit, and sales were with.difficulty effected, even at ruinous prices—that is, ruinous to the growers. Fruifc that, previous to the introduction of the moth, would sell for 3d a pound wholesale, could readily be bought at one-third, and even one-sixth that amount during the last three months. Consignments of good sound fruib from distant parts did not in many cases realise a sufficient sum to pay the cost of packing and carriage: and yet it is proposed to impose a heavy tax on the unfortunate growers ! It was never thought cidviaable to legislate upon the codlin moth, either in England or the Northern States of America. Then, why here? Why are the fruitgrowers of this colony to be burdened with a tax, that, once levied, will be an annual recurring one as long as the apple is grown in the colonv, and the obnoxious Act continued in force ; for I agree with other writers on the subject, that no Act of the Legislature, nor the most strenuous exertions of the fruit growers will ever totally exterminate the pest in New Zealand. The butterfly and moth tribes, it is well known, cannot endure rain and windy weather ; therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that a wet and blustering November and December will do more to check the ravages of the moth than any expedient that can be devised by man. " Kepos," the horticultural contributor to the Herald, states that the Icerya Purchaeii, which a few years ago seemed to threaten the whole citrus family, aswell as many other trees, with destruction, has suddenly disappeared ; and, like many other pests, died out almost as suddenly as it made its appearance. The grashoppers, that were so numerous for years in my orchard, have this year disappeared ; and go with other insect pests, they abound some seasons and are rarely seen in others. So would it be with the codlin moth without legislative interference. I hope fruitgrowers, both North and South of Auckland, will strenuously oppose so obnoxious and unjust an Act by inundating the Upper House with petitions against it.

Mr. W. Thompson thought that wo were working in the dark until we had studied the Act.

Mr. A. Wilson, senior, expressed his opinion that the pest would still continue its ravages, even were heavy taxes levelled and inspectors appointed to examine the orchards. One gentleman present even went so far as to say that the Government might just as well try to exterminate common iliea as to rid our orchards of the codlin moth.

It was moved and seconded that the Fruitgrowers' Association instruct Mr. Button to telegraph to our representative at Wellington, on their behalf, seeking to get the Bill delayed.

The meeting expressed itself desirous of having the co-operation of other growers of the Auckland districts.

Before the meeting closed, it was decided to meet again on the 2nd June, to further consider the matter.