🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <RjmPuQAga011EwFl@wharfe.demon.co.uk>, David Brear
<dbrear@wharfe.demon.co.uk> writes
>I seem to have lost the beginning of this thread in uk.environment.
>conservation so forgive me for starting over again.
>
>I have seen a hell of a lot of ragwort this year. It seems to be all
>over Norfolk and the Vale of York, both arable areas, of course. I
>thought 'hang on, this can't be right' so it is interesting to hear that
>someone else thinks so too. What does anyone else think?
>
>Also, I have a message from a gentlemen in Cornwall who has
>found a poster in his post office to the effect that five species of
>weeds must be destroyed if you have them on your land. The list
>includes ragwort but not giant hogweed. 

I have just returned from holiday in Ireland (Donegal).
I read a copy of the weekly 'Farmers Journal' and saw that two letters
in letters page mentioned ragwort.

One (from Wexford) said there was an 'epidemic of ragwort', and though
the farmer was succesfully pulling ragwort on his own land, he felt that
he was about to be 'overwhelmed' by seed blowing in from other farmers
land and was calling for legislation to have it controlled.

The other (from Dingle??) letter was from another farmer. It was a toung
in cheek letter about the failure of local authorities to properly trim
road verges. Among other things he was suggesting 'the Tourist Board
organise wildflower trips to see the wildflowers....nomly only ragwort
and thistle'.

There was also a lot more ragwort in Donegal than I remember when being
there as a child.
-- 
Theo Hopkins