THE RAGWORT THREAT.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12537, 2 January 1934, Page 2

THE RAGWORT THREAT.

More than once attention has been called in the Herald to the certainty of the ragwort pest becoming a serious matter in the Wellington district, as in many parts of New Zealand, unless the comparatively few plants that are scattered about are destroyed at once. The first few plants appeared three or four years ago up and down the Hnft Valley, on the hillsides, along the railway reserve, and on the river bed, but they were so few that nobody bothered. Each summer the few increased in number, and some people did begin to bother, but on the waste areas a few yellow flower heads were nobody’s concern and from them seeds were carried far and wide. This year the bright yellow heads are busy again producing seeds for autumn scattering. Apart from impoverishing the soil as all weeds do. the ragwort is a dangerous pest in that stock suffer badly from ragwort poisoning, apparently contracted through picking up small seedlings in grass pastures. Neglect to destroy flown ing plants before the seeds mature will mean much trouble in the future