WAR ON BLACKBERRIES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19203, 17 December 1925, Page 16

WAR ON BLACKBERRIES.

VALUE OF ANGORA GOATS. EXPERIMENTS IN NELSON. ECONOMICAL ANIMALS. Goats have been farmed in Waimea County, Nelson, for uso in the control of blackberry since 1906. The results obtained by their owners have clearly demonstrated that at present theso animals are the most economical agents known for combating the pest. The farm of Mr. L. Higgins, Belgrovo, provides an excellent example of their efficiency, Prior to 1906 the late Mr. P. Higgins, who then owned this farm, employed every year two men for about six weeks to cut blackberry on a 500-acre block. He then purchased a hundred goats, and this flock has been maintained ever since on the area. Since 1906 the blackberry has never been cut, and, in fact, is no longer a menace. The same excellent results have been obtained by other owners throughout the country. The goats used in Waimea County are as near puro-bred Angora as can be obtained. The advantages of this breed may be stated as follows: (1) The average Angora will clip about sib. of wool, which brings approximately the same price as crossbred sheep wool. (2) It is, if anything, a more herbaceous-feeding animal than the cross-bred. Disadvantages of the Angora are: (1) The hoggets, owing to their loijg wool and light frame, are liable to get entangled, resulting in a higher death rate. (2) The nannies are more sensitive, and if distuibed immediately after kidding will leave tho kid and seldom return. The latter observation applies more or less to all nannies, and owners should bo careful not to disturb them until the kids are at least a week old. Angoras begin to shed their wool early in spring, and therefore must be shorn then to save loss. On this account they cannot be shorn in cold countries. One of the first essentials is to have the property well fenced. The best results from tho use of goats are undoubtedly obtained on farms sufficiently subdividedto enabl goats to bo rotated and held on any desired area. Good work may bo done, however, by allowing the animals greater freedom in cases where the blackberry is in isolated patches. An excellent erample of this is to bo seen on the farm of Mr. B. Griffiths, Wai-iti, where, on one block of 180 acres, thirty goats are completely controlling isolated patches. It is not necessary that special fences be provided for goats. A wellconstructd seven-wire sheep-proof fence is sufficient if care b taken to see that there ar no hollows undr the bottom wire. The fence line should be cleared, so that no stumps or logs ar left as jumping-off places for the animals. It is impossible to prevent kids from straying, but they will always return if their mothers are confined. It would appear that goats prefer tho secondary shoots and growing tips of old runners, rather than the young juicy shoots such as make their appearance after old blackberry is burnt. It has been noticed that when the whole area has been burnt the young growth, especially in spring, will get away from the goats. As the season advances, and the shoots harden up, the goats will return to the attack and get the plant under control again. Having observed this characteristic of the animal, some farmers rod Vain entirely from burning, relying wholly on goats to crush the blackberry even on newly-acquired country overrun with the pest. The best method is to burn, thus reducing the feed available to goats. Even though the young growth is not so palatable, it will be found that blackberry can be kept under control by a comparatively small flock under these conditions. At the same time the block being treated should be stocked fairly heavily with sheep in order to keep down the grass, in this way preventing tho goats from feeding on that which might otherwise be the more easily procured foddre. It is idle to suggest that goats never eat grass, but they undoubtedly prefer fibrous matter, and by controlling the growth of grass with sheep the goats have not the same opportunity of cultivating a taste for grass, and are therefore compelled to eat blackberry and other rubbish with greater avidity. Although never definitely tested, it is the firm conviction of goat owners that the sheep-carrying capacity of their land is increased by the judicious use of these animals.—New Zealand Journal of Agriculture.