N.Z. FARMERS’ UNION

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXVIII, Issue 63, 7 March 1933, Page 6

N.Z. FARMERS’ UNION

NEWS AND NOTES According to Dr. Miller, Chief of the Entomological Department, at Cawthron Institute the outcome of the researches there is that the control of blackberry by means of insects must be definitely abandoned. The reason for this is two-fold; that the most virulent type of insect has not been found capable of holding blackberry in check, the plant recovering from the most severe attacks; arid that the insects most likely to be of use in the control of blackberry have been found to have a weakness for important related plants such as apple trees. At Ottawa. New Zealand agreed to two tariff principles. The first, was that protection by tariffs should be extended only to industries that wore reasonably assured of success. The other principal was that such protection should be restrained within the bounds of moderation —that is flint the protection imposed would give United Kingdom producers “full opportunity of reasonable competition on the basis of relative costs of uneconomical and efficient production.” The Farmers’ Union is opposed to protective tariffs altogether; but if we must have them .and until wo can get rid of them, it approves of the spirit of these principles, which lay down a policy of moderate protection for infant industries suitable to the natural resources of the Dominion. In reply a remit asking the Government to enquire into the high cost of poisons that are used to combat the rabbit -and ragwort pests, the Minister of Agriculture wrote stating that his department was keeping in close touch with the question of available supplies of sodium chlorate, and with the prices charged for the material, and there was no reason to believe that an ex eessivc price had been charged by importers or by distributors generally. So far as phosphorised pollard was concerned, the department recently found it necessary to increase the price in the North Island, as previously it had been retailed at a loss, due largely to the reduced output for the last few years. The increased price was imposed in an endeavour to somewhat reduce the loss, and not in anticipation of any profit over the cost of production. At the present time the department was doing all that was possible to let farmers have phosphorised pollard and other agents for the destruction of rabbits at the lowest possible price. The National Expenditure Commission recommended that the administration of the Noxious Weeds Act should be handed over to the local authorities throughout the Dominion. The commission considered that such a transfer should not throw any great financial burden on them, as the present tariffs should be able to copc with the work in a large measure, thus obviating the appointment of special inspectors. If this was found to be impracticable, the commission recommended that the Noxious Weeds Act be repealed. The commission was of the opinion that, do spite the most strenuous efforts and the expenditure of considerable sums of public money, the position in regard to noxious weeds had not improved.

Tn the ease of research into the control of the seeding of gorse a definite advance has been made, in that the weevil which is used for the purpose could be capable, under suitable conditions, of checking- gorse seeding. One of the main difficulties, however, is that in most parts of New Zealand, gorse flowers at a time of the year when the weevil is dormant. However, in certain regions, such as Otago, the gorse flowering takes place at a time of the year suitable for the insect, and the ’Cawthron Institute authorities have hopes that the weevil will do some effective work in Otago and parts of Canterbury. This weevil has been liberated on the field* and, so far as is known, is becoming slowly established.