COMBATING RAGWORT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21806, 22 May 1934, Page 10

COMBATING RAGWORT

DEPARTMENT CRITICISED FARMERS' UNION COMPLAINT Dissatisfaction with the attitude of the Department of Agriculture toward an effort, made by the War Memorial Museum authorities to spread a knowledge of the appearance of ragwort was expressed at a meeting of the Auckland provincial executive of the New Zealand Farmers' Union last night.

■ The president, Mr. H. 0. Mellsop. said it had been proposed to issue a ileaflet illustrating the appearance of the jweed and the leaflet would be distributed in localities where the appearance of the -weed was not well known. 'When the matter had been mentioned to an official of the department with a request for assistance, a reply had been received that if the ragwort got on to the dairy farms, the dairy farmers would be driven to sheep, which would b-3 all to the good. A letter had then !been sent to the department in Wellington, and a reply had been received that no assistance could be given, but that the Education Department might help, as the leaflet would be very useful for nature study. It was decided that the matter ' should" be taken up with the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. C. E. Macmillan, and that the executive should express its dissatisfaction with the department's attithde.