THE BLACKBERRY PEST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19550, 1 February 1927, Page 9

THE BLACKBERRY PEST.

METHOD OF ERADICATION* TOP-DRESSING AND STOCKING. SUCCESS OF NEW METHOD. A specific for the eradication of - the blackberry in New Zealand, for which a reward of £IO,OOO has been offered by the Government, has been discovered, it is claimed, by Mr. W. P. Seaton, a Clevedon farmer. Mr. Seaton is thoroughly' convinced of the efficacy of his method of dealing with tho pest. He has disclosed it to the Government and has claimed the reward offered tor a satisfactory blackberry exterminator- As a practical farmer who has tried out his methods successfully on his own holding and who desires to benefit the farming community generally, he has disclosed his method to the general public. Briefly, the system of dealing with the pest by Mr. Seaton is to cut back and fertilise the blackberry plants, giving them a good top-dressing of manure to force a succulent growth. The ordinary farm stock, supplemented with a few goats, if possible, are then turned on to the paddocks in which the blackberry patches exist. In a remarkably short period the plants will be eaten out and killed. The roots will wither and dry up and. the) blackberry will be supplanted by a good growth of pasture. Convincing proof of tha success of this method is aSorded by tho state of Mr. Season's dairy farm. When he took it over three years ago it was badly in-, festod with blackberry and its carrying capacity was very small To-day the property is clean and is carrying a cow to the. acre, with a, surplus of feed in every paddock. This result has been achieved by top-dressing and stocking with cows, a few sheep and one goat. On another property of 400 acres being worked by Mr. Seaton a few miles from Clevedon, equally satisfactory results have been achieved. Tho contour of the block is fairly rough and blackberry existed extensively in places. Similar methods for dealing with tho pest were adopted on this block, although a larger number of goats was used. An inspection of the property during the week end revealed that on the top-dressed areas the blackberry had been killed and had been supplanted by good pasture. The only traces of the pest discovered were a few withered twigs and dried up bulbs that will certainly not strike again.

COST OF CABLES HIGHER. BAN ON USE OF FIGURES. NEW "DEFERRED" RATE RULE. Protests were made in New Zealand when the new rule regarding the use of figures in "deferred" cables was introduced. Similar protests wore made in England, where it ivas at once found that the new regulations greatly inconvenienced firms transcating business overseas. A rule was made at the last meeting of the International Cable Convention that ao cable messages should bo accepted at deferred rates if more than one-third of "the message consisted of figures (or figures expressed in words), combinations of figures in letters, or the usual code abbreviation, and that messages bearing more than this proportion of figures, etc., should only be accepted at the ordinary full rates. The Morning Post states that all the cable companies have received numerous complaints from their clients, and representations have also been made to the Federation of British Industries. The cable companies, however, make it clear that they are not responsible for the change. "The regulation was passed in November, 1925, by the International Cable Convention," isaid the general managed of the Western Union Telegraph Company. "On that body no cablo company has any voting power. In this convention, countries like Luxemburg and Estonia have as prominent a voice as Great Britain. It has been enforced, however, only since last November and has already caused great dissatisfaction. "The Western Union, indeed, intended to withdraw this regulation and to permit these deferred cables to go at the old rates, but the Post Office informed us that we must bow to the new regulations." To show the great increase in cost of these messages under the new regulations, one Lancashire firm submittted the copy of a cable transmitted to New Zealand. As the cable came within the restriction, it cost, at the full rate, £9 4s to send; whereas, if it had gone at the old rate it would have cost only £2 6s.

AUSTRALIAN LOAN ISSUES. RECENT BIG BORROWINGS!. OPERATIONS IN !5 YEARS. When an investor in London has placed before him a comparison of Australian Government (Commonwealth and States) loan issoes in London with the issues of ether countries in the same centre, he would ineyitably ask whether Australia was not making the pace too hot, remarks the Sydney Morning Herald. In the 15 years, commencing u-ith 1912, the Commonwealth had 13 issues, totalling £71,250,000, the States' 65 issues, totalling £247,599,000. Canada had six issues for £27,000,000, South Africa 11 for £53,540,000, and New Zealand ten for £47,500,000, Australia and her States have been by far the rnc-st persistent borrowers, and borrowers of enormous amounts. The Joans in the case of Australia and the States include hsues made for the purpose of paying old loans. The debt owing to London has not increased by the r mount of the issue stated above. In the case of Canada she has not been so virtuous as the statement would seem to imply. For some years she was off the London mvto&i owing to the exchange position. dtr loan requirements were filled from Sew York. The Herald goes on to say; "The fact that the statement has been prepared in London for the information of investors is evidence that the investors there are becoming more critical of Australian loan expenditure. They will hare still more reason to be critical when they learn, what has been known in Australia for years, that there is & section at the people which looks upon the loans obtained from London -solely as a means of providing employment. . The secretary of the Railway Workers' Unk-n ha# made complaint of "men being" discharged from construction works which are financed with loan moneys. In some case* the works, have been completed, in others the loan vote has. been exhausted " During the past 15 years railway construction work has been continuous. It matt come to an end some time, hot in view .or the votes it command* no politician has the courage to propose a cutting down of loan expenditure. They prefer that the vote should fee sorsly cat «Jown by investors abroad refusing farther supplier"-