CODLIN MOTH.

Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 23 June 1915, Page 4

CODLIN MOTH.

ERADICATION DIFFICULTIES.

A WHANGAREI CASE.

Henry Swanson Hill, Whangarei, was charged before Mr E. Page, 8.M., at Whangarei recently with failing to eradicate the codlin moth from his orchard.

Mr W. A. Carruth, for defendant, said the Act was so comprehensive and so complex that he advised his client to plead guilty. The wording of the Act was that the orchardist " must do what is necessary to eradicate^ " but a man never knew when that stage was reached. Defendant had sprayed his trees three times. He did not sell fruit.

Inspector J. W. Collard said that if defendant had sprayed the trees he had done it very ineffectually. He visited defendant's orchard on November 19 last year and since then had seen no signs of spraying having been done. Bandages placed round the trees the previous season were still present, which made matters worse rather than better. They should have been burnt. Defendant was given directions how to spray. His orchard was well in the borough, and adjoining were orchards the owners of which did their best to keep down the moth. Defendant, on oath, said he sprayed the orchard three times. Cross-ex-amined, he admitted that perhaps the intervals between spraying were longer than 14 days. He remarked that if every man were prosecuted who had a little bit of codlin moth in his orchard, prosecutions would be more numerous. He considered that his orchard was in good order.

Mr Carruth said he thought that spraying with arsenate of lead was in its experimental stage, and ho believed it was ineffectual. It was not everybody who could spray properly. The codlin moth question was a vexed one. He thought it would be found that people did their best. It was difficult to hire labour to do the work of spraying. .* J

The Inspector said that arsenateof lead had been used for ten years in the Dominion. Before then hardly an apple was marketable. To-day there were commercial orchards where 09 percent of the apples were free from codlin moth.

The Magistrate said the onus was on the orchardist to reasonably comply with the Act. He did not think that had been done in the present case. Defendant was fined £2 and 7b coits. —"Advocate," Whaagwei.