"BLIGHT CONTROL."

Colonist, Volume LXII, Issue 15306, 20 February 1920, Page 5

"BLIGHT CONTROL."

LECTORS BY Bll; TILLYARD

Dr. J. 11. Tilly arci, of Sydney oniver-

sity, lectured at tiio School of jVlusic la&i; evening on. "iSiigut Control.' 7 'me hall.was tilled, 'I'he .bishop ot Nelson j (chairman of the Cawthron Trustees, under wiiose auspices tne lecture was given) presided. Dr. Tiilyard held ins audience throughout, anu ins. su roje!ct was dealt with in a most interesting manner. In introducing the speaker, the chairman referred to Dr. 'xriiyard las one of the mcst distinguished scienj tists -.vha. had ever visited New Zealand. Dr. Tillyard prefaced the main portion of his lecture by enumerating the names .of insects, some of winch were injurious ' and some beneficial. One of enormous importance, he stated^ was the mosquito. In dealing with the .various blights, Dr. Tillyard was emphatic in urging that if science was to justify its existence research work must be done and special staffs employed to find remedies to' control these pests. The methods of controlling blights the lecturer divided into three sections, viz., (1) mechanical control, which was one of the most important, such.as pruning, etc.; (2) chemical control—the applieaj tion of sprays to plants—which was one !o? the most successful methods to-day. ;In this connection, it was urged that | the Nelson district, should not be satisfied to know what was done in other parts, but research work should be carried, out, and Nelson should not rest content until it had found what was best suited to her particular needs. (3) i Biological method of control—this is, the control of insect pests by other forms of living organisms. In this j connection, the lecturer gave several instances of success achieved in this direction, mentioning how phylloxera, one of the most dreaded diseases in the world thirty or forty years ago, had been combated. Mentioning the value of control of pests by 'bird life, it was j emphasised that the value of birds in j relation to pests should be made a careful study of, and when the true value of each bird was found we should inj sist on regulations being made to either ! protect them_ or otherwise, and see that (such regulations were rigidly enforced. ,If this were done, he was of - opinion I that an increase of from 30 to 40 per I cent, in our crops would ensue. He j would advocate the introduction of moro | bats into New Zealand j they ate injurious insects, and every tanner should recognise th.it the bat was his best

friend, aud should do his utmost to protect it. He also put in a strong word for frogs and lizards; and incidentally t mentioned that more than haJf a million •■insects had been described, and there 'wore also many others. It should be recognised that certain groups of them were beneficial. In this connection re- • ference was made to the manner in J which ladybirds had reduced a citrus I scab pest in California to a minimum. LAn interesting description of how ! disease was combated in America was ; given, a method which ~New Zealand i should be prepared to follow. It was j not a one-man job to find the means of ; controlling insects. In giving interestjing details of various insects, Dr. Tilljyard, referring to the benefical ones, stated that if it could be calculated in

! pounds sterling what they saved us It would probably run into thousands of pounds, but because we did not fully realise their value we took little notice o£ them. In concluding the first portion of his lecture some remarkable instances of the good effect of certain in- | sects in controlling blights were given. i The second part of the lecture was devoted to a splendid collection of slides being thrown on the screen, with explanatory notes thereon by Dr. Tillyard.

At ohe conclusion of the lecture there was loud and prolonged applause from the large audience. | The Bishop of Nelson, before asking I the mover of the vote of thanks to I speak, stated that the Trustees of the I Institute had been very busy, and as a result the work of the Institute was }nst beginning to be seen. The Supreme Court decision of" Mr Justice .Chapman, he pointed out, made it clear ; that the Institute «mld Have been erecxjed anywhere in New Zealand; and the 1 Bishop emphasised that it was of importance that *the institute did not exists merely for Nelson, Irat for the j whole of the Dominion. The trustees | were anxious to get the institute pro- ! perly established as soon as possible, i and in this connection reference was j made to the purchase of the late Mr ', '.John Sharp's residence, which would be . fitted up as laboratories and the grounds used for experimental purposes. llx would not- be-possible for some time |to come to build at A'nnesbrook, and i ho. henod soma of those citizens able to 'do so would add to the income of the institutr, and so help it to extend its use- . fulness. Amid great applause, the • Bishop announced that Dr. Tillyard had !be»n appointed to take charge of the ■biological department of the Institute. On the motion of Mr A. Gilbert, scc- | ended hy Mr Ber.zies, a hearty vote of ; thanks was accorded Dr. Tillyard for 1 his lecture.