RAGWORT PEST

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22579, 18 November 1936, Page 15

RAGWORT PEST

CLEARANCE CAMPAIGN NEW SOHEME NEEDED COUNTY COUNCIL CONTROL The opinion that the scheme for subsidising labour on farms for the eradication of ragwort was proving unsatisfactory, and that the trouble could only bo. dealt with efficiently by a systematic campaign under the various county councils, was expressed by men closely in touch with the situation. Their idea was that labour camps should bo established, wages being subsidised by the Government, and that the camps should be moved about the districts as occasion required. The Otorohanga County Council has already taken a step in the matter in the clearance of 3.' 100 acres of native lands, Crown lands, and abandoned State holdings. For a month now it lias had four gangs operating over the area, the men being taken to the scene of operations each day in motorlorries, and already the effect of a systematic campaign is evident. The financing of the scheme, which is proving so successful, is being clone partly by Government subsidy and partly by the county. Discussing the subsidised labour on farms scheme, one man pointed out that the raising of wages to £i a week, which required farmers to contribute substantially, was calculated to cause a breakdown in the scheme, which from the very beginning; did not operate with prospects of full success. In some districts farmers had employed this specially subsidised labour on general farm work. With a plant, the seeds of which could be carried by the wind for 15 to 20 miles, and which lodged in creeks and rivers and could be further spread by floods, it was obvious that comprehensive organisation was necessary to deal with the pest. To begin with, the big seed beds needed to be cleared.

For example, there were the Mamaku Hills, JRotorua, which provided one of the worst seed beds in the country. From here seeds were distributed over a very wide area. The individual farmer might be concerned in dealing with ragwort on his property, but he had known men who would not bother to destroy a plant over the fence on the roadway. These facts sufficiently indicated the need for a comprehensive scheme instead of the piecemeal one at present pursued. MEN LEAVE FARMS RETURN TO SUSTENANCE EFFECT OF HIGHER WAGES Many men who have been engaged in the Matamata and Otorohanga counties during the past 18 months eradicating ragwort are again seeking sustenance in Auckland as n result of the standard wage legislation. Farmers are said to be unable to meet the difference in wages, which "neither the man, the job, nor the land is tvorth," according to one of the persons thrown back on to the labour market. Before any intimation was given of higher wages all the men were said to be satisfied with the amount they received, which was £1 7s 6d a week, including the Government subsidy of £1 to the county's contribution of 7s 6d. Farmers requiring the men's services provided their keep. The new regulations demand that all men should receive £4 a week. The Government subsidies are £2 5s a week for married men and £1 10s for single men. Afts" being allowed 17s 6d a week for the men's keep, farmers using labour aro required to contribute the balance of £1 12s 6d for single men and los for married men. "The whole thing is absurd," said one of the men affected. "If the Government had merely increased the subsidy, without raising the wages up to standard rates, 1 feel sure the men would have been satisfied, and farmers would have been assisted. It is» only a pottering or old man's job, and worth no more."

The position arises at an awkward time. Within a week or two ragwort will be in full flower, and that is a time when the most severe onslaught is usually waged on the weed. Lands infested by it may suffer extensively, as farmers must now hare their lands certified by inspectors and supply particulars for approval before they can employ men to kill ragwort.