Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price 1d. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1886.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XIX, Issue 1795, 15 February 1886, Page 2

Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price Id. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1886.

The Codlin Moth Scare.

More than a your ago we pointed out the danger to orchards which existed in the shape of “ the codlin moth,” a pest which originally cime to this colony from San Francisco, through the importation of fruit from that country. At that time the mischief had been done because the codlin moth bad already attacked the orchards in several parts of the colony—more especially in Nelson and Auckland. In 1881, an Act was passed in this colony providing the machinery for the destruction of the codlin moth in New

Zealand. Under it any local body mny, on

the petition of five occupiers of orchards, proclaim a stated area to he an Sniveled distiict, and a rate can be levied for

ilie purpose of stamping out the pest, to -rente which inspectors with ample authority may be appointed. The local bodies can make the necessary regulations, and can prohibit tlio removal of any infected finit or anything that has contained infected fruit Section 18 is the most important for ns just now. It is, “ The Governor, from time to time, by proclamation, may prohibit the importation into the colony of any fruit whatever, or fruit trees, when he may deem the importation thereof likely to cause the spread of any infection in the orchards of the colony ; and if but fruit or fruit trees so prohibited are imported, they shall be forfeited ,to Her Majesty, together with the boxes, oases, barrels, or other receptacles in which they are contained, and be disposed of as the Commissioner of Tiade and Customs may direct.” Under this Act the Government prohibited the importation of apples, pears, <Stc., from CaliP'niii. where the codlin moth pest has tone berm very bad. Within the last week or thu Government have gone a step further by "-anting the Customs Officers to ex-:mi c a i..t i f fruit imported to Wellington from f . s, niiinin, and condemning whatever they thought was infected by the codlin moth. Now it h.s been perfectly well know for a long linn- pa-t Unit the codlin moth c: . ad in tiie oivl.anla of Tasmania, hut it is ;ouly luteiv li nt the Government became alive to the -i i i of hapolling fruit fiom there The m i iio struck the keynote of alarm was Mr Mm; >iiv, Secretary of the Canterbury Agiini.tuial and Pastoral Association. That gent - man lately paid a visit to Tasmania and examined the orchards there. On las return to this colony he was •• interviewed ” bv a special reporter of the Canterbury Times, and to him ha thus expressed bis views : “ The most important subject I have to mention," remarked Mr Murphy, "is the codlin moth. There is every probability that we in New Zealand shall have a tremendous howl and outcry about it very soon. Our Government won't let a Californian apple into the country, but every steamer from ‘ --t lands cargoes of them at the Bluff Horn.. ■ -*•*• #l) ,j Tasmanian orchards aie oace a fortnig..., - 1 -* utait. To speak simply swarming with ** i«Mt pyowithin reason, I should eny that a-. r thirds of the apple crop in tbo onlmrus j. examined in Tasmania are destroyed by it. The seed is sown here broadcast. Kverynue in the island complains, but no private efforts are made to eradicate the plague. Government may have passed an Act perhaps, but its practical effect is not seen anywhere. To convince people of the reality of the pest, | I have brought over these little specimens in spirits of wine, ami Mr Murphy displays a number of small pink worms about an inch long, looking particularly flourishing. I caught the biggest just ns he was coming out of aa apple, aud beginning to take his way no to the chrysalis stage. That is a nice state of things for a country where many people make a comfortable living on small areas from fruit growing, sending shipments to Sydney, Melbourne, and New Zealand, i n't it? “

I', seems that Mt Murphy lost no lime in laying before the Government at Wellington the information be had personally obtained about the great prevalence of the codiin moth in Tasmania, and the necessity of prohibiting the importation of infected fruit from that colony. These representations were strongly backed up by a number of Canterbury fruit glowers, who declared that their orchards were free from the codlin moth, and that they w.ehed to be protected from the pest by the Government prohibiting the importation of fruit from Tasmania. The Government therevppn directed the Ouetoms Officers at

Wellington and otlier ports to examine all imperted fruit ami condemn whatever was infected. . A very large quantity of fruit was seized and condemned at Wellington, much to the chagrin of the importers. These fruit importers held a meeting at Wellington the other day and strongly complained of the action of the Government. One speaker remarked “ that it might be desirable to interview the Government on the subject, particularly as they were all aware that fruit was permitted to be landed from Nelson, where the disease was worse than it was in Hobart or Sydney. The whole of the apples and pears from Nelson were very greatly infected. The Chairman of the meeting said that it would not be wise to say too much about the importation of apples and pears from other parts of New Zealand, or they would perhaps be left without fruit of these descriptions altogether, AMr Boss complained that a lot of his cases of fruit bad been condemned without examination, because there happened to be a moth in one case which bad been opened. It was eventually resolved on the motion of Mr Haybitlle, seconded by Mr Wigbting. •• That this meeting will hold Mr W. Eoss harmless for expenses in testing a case against the Customs for the mode of condemnation of fruit ex Manapouri, lh« examination not having been sufficient.” The motion was carried unanimously, it being understood that the proceedings should not go beyond the Eesident Magistrate’s Court.” We do not think that much will be made of this appeal to the Eesident Magistrate's Court, further than that the Customs Officers may be diiected to examine every case of fruit imported, and to condemn only those which they find to be infected. It is perlectly cer tain that the Tasmanian orchards are badly infected with the oodlin moth, and that the unrestricted importation of fruit from that colony will cause the infection to take firm hj dd all over the orchards of New Zealand. Even as matters stand the codlin moth is already prevalent in Nelson and Auckland, and exists more or less in other parts of the colony. To a certain extent, therefore, the mischief has already been done. Still, it is not desirable that the evil should be made any worse than it already is, and in that way the Government are justified in seizing and condemning imported fruit which is infected. In this colony the settlers should be able to grow all the fruit they want, and not require to depend upon imported fruit. The soil and climate of this colony are admirably adapted for fruit growing, and it is only through lack of enterprise that the fruit-growing industry is not more extensively pursued.