HAWTHORN AND FIRE BLIGHT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17776, 9 May 1921, Page 8

HAWTHORN AND FIRE BLIGHT.

notice that an Act passed by the recent snort session of Parliament gives power to Local Bodies to declare the bawikoru a noxious weed, and that the same Act makes the propagating in any manner, and the sale o£ seeds, plants, or cuttings of hawthorn an offence, the object of the Act apparently being to assist in combating fire blight. Surely those responsible for this Act were ignorant of the enormous value to the country of the many miles of .hawthorn hedges, particularly in dairying .districts. Every -dairy farmer knows the great value of shelter, and it seems to ma that if the whole of our hawthorn hedges are to be cut down, the loss in dairy products in the Waikato alone would exceed the total value of the fruit production for the whole of the North Island. 1 notice that in a great many places now the hedges are being cut down to a height of about 4ft. from the ground. The effect of this, to my mind, is to destroy the shelter, without deriving any benefit, as in a month or two the hedges will be covered with young shoots, which will be just as good a harbour for fire blight as a larger hedge. Surely the orchardists can control fire blight in their own orchards by spraying in the same manner as they control many other blights that fruit trees are subject to. If the authorities are not in a position to recommend a spray which would bo effective I would suggest that the ruthless slaughter of hawthorn be postponed until the spraying remedv is more thoroughly investigated. It would be interesting to know if the authorities have made inquiries elsewhere with a view to ascertaining whether or not the hawthorn has become in other countries such a menace as to render its destruction necessary. M. G. McAbthtth.