WAR ON THE BLACKBERRY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19991, 7 January 1927, Page 12

WAR ON THE BLACKBERRY.

PESTS IN THE DOMINIONS. (Fbou Oub Own Cobrespondent.) LONDON, November 50. One of the references to New Zealand most frequently seen during the past few weeks has for its text the “200-mile-black-berry bush.” The official announcement of the Empire Marketing Board’s offer of £2OOO annually for five years for research by the C'awthron Institute, on certain conditions, has been widely circulated, and has undoubtedly been seized upon as an item of special moment. Another paragraph inspired by the same matter runs The plague of blackberries in New Zealand is only one example of the invading pests which our colonists have to face from time to time. Not many years ago 50,000,000 acres of Australian pasture land was overrun by prickly pears, brought from Italy, which were spreading at the rate of 1.000,000 acres a year Enormous numbers of cochineal bugs had to be imported to devour the usurping plant that the despoiled land might be reclaimed. The story of the Scotsman who, upon bragging to an Australian of the number of his fellow-Scots who bad settled in the continent, was solemnly told. “Yes, no doubt; but our greatest pest is the rabbit,” summed up the situation rather drastically. In addition, the northern island of New Zealand was at one time to thicklv populated with wild pigs that their depreciations made farming practically impossible, while 50 pigs a clay was considered. a moderate bag for a skilled hunter. Dr R. J. Tillyard recently spent some days at the Rothamsted Experimental Research Station. At this institution he has selected Mr M. Maldyn Dav;es, M.Sc., of Aberystwyth, to continue research concerning tfie blackberry insects, testing, and so on.