"martin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 13:02:24 +0000 (UTC), "The Devil's Advocate"
wrote:

well it's the nearest I could find?

I don't blame you. I blame the ones that wrote it

Statutes are composed by lawyers. Guess who benefits most from badly written
laws.

Howard Neil

"Ron" wrote in message
...

"Kate Morgan" wrote in message

Please would you all check your lawns for ragwort, I know it is a time
consuming job but it is a bad year for the nasty weed.

Snip

I trust that you do not use broad band insecticides.

One explanation for the increase in ragwort is most likely the reduction
in
the tiger moth population for their caterpillars eat the weed and I've
seen
a patch of ragwort plants stripped of their foliage in less than a day.
No
grazing animal would think of eating it then for the smell of the
caterpillars' faeces would put them off!.

I hope that some ragwort is left for the moths.

Judging by the amout of ragwort, and its rate of increase in my part of the
world, the farmers put too much trust in tiger moths and don't spend enough
money on glyphosate.

Franz

"Kate Morgan" wrote in message
...

Please would you all check your lawns for ragwort, I know it is a time

I hope that some ragwort is left for the moths.

Ron

No Ron, I will remove every bit of ragwort that I can. Risk killing my
pony, I dont think so.

Am I right in thinking that if ragwort is found on land belonging to you,
you might be fined for it?

Franz

On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 19:07:33 +0100, "Howard Neil" hneil@REMOVE TO
REPLY.co.uk wrote:


"martin" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 13:02:24 +0000 (UTC), "The Devil's Advocate"
wrote:

well it's the nearest I could find?

I don't blame you. I blame the ones that wrote it

Statutes are composed by lawyers. Guess who benefits most from badly written
laws.

The UK Sales of Goods Act takes some beating :-)
--
Martin

"Ron" wrote:

Hello Ron

R I trust that you do not use broad band insecticides.

We don't, yet it continues to flourish everywhere. Clear a field one
year either digging or catching early with spot-on, it's back the
next.

R One explanation for the increase in ragwort is most likely
R the reduction in the tiger moth population for their
R caterpillars eat the weed and I've seen a patch of ragwort
R plants stripped of their foliage in less than a day.
R No grazing animal would think of eating it then for the
R smell of the caterpillars' faeces would put them off!.

Actually, horses and cattle won't usually eat it while it's still
alive. It's when it's dead, or baled that it becomes a killer. Having
had several horses die from it, and some who are dying of it (I work
for an equine charity) I loathe it more than most. It's also poisonous
to humans, if you pick or handle it without gloves, it'll get into
your system (after causing burns on sensitive skins) and leads to
progressive liver failure.

This is not a plant you want to allow to grow.

Sadly there's a lot of ignorance about it, I've even been harangued by
a rambler when culling it that "It's illegal to pick wild flowers you
know!"

R I hope that some ragwort is left for the moths.

It's illegal to allow it to grow on your land. (Most county bylaws
specifically mention ragwort as a notifiable weed.)

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/

"Graham Dixon" wrote:

Hello Graham

GD Cattle and Horses do not eat Ragwort - they eat round it -
GD the danger lies in modern agricultural methods where the
GD (very toxic) plant is cut and dried and either silaged or
GD bailed with grass and then fed to the animals.

Modern? Hay's been feed to farm animals for thousands of years, and
even before modern baling ragwort was a huge problem.

GD If we eradicate Ragwort - then we lose one of our most
GD attractive day-flying moths.

Oh gawd, another "cats" debate. TBH, I'd be happier to lose a species
of moth that I don't see anyway, than to have to destroy another
perfectly good horse or cow because it's in incredible pain.

Sadly, Ragwort will always be with us. The motorway embankments, just
like the trains, provide uncontrolled corridors for it to continue
spreading.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/

"Franz Heymann" wrote:

Hello Franz

FH Am I right in thinking that if ragwort is found on land
FH belonging to you, you might be fined for it?

In theory, that's possible. It differs depending on your local council
and their policy on nuisance weeds.

What used to happen is if someone complains, they send a Weed Officer
around to berate you and shame you into dealing with it. Only after
repeated warnings are they likely to act, and even then they may
prefer to do the work and bill you for it rather than issue a fine.

But again, it depends on the individual council's policy and whether
they can be bothered.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/

The message
from Stephen Howard contains these words:


No shortage of Cinnabar moths in my garden!
I have a couple of patches of very dismal looking ragwort which are
infested with the bright orange and black striped caterpillars - they
really go to town on the plant.

Lucky you. Although ragwort is abundant here I never see either
cinnabar moths or their caterpillars (my favourite kind, as a child in
England). Do they live as far north as Scotland? Malcolm will know.

ATM the verges here are all yellow and scarlet with ragwort and montbretia.

Janet (Isle of Arran)

On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 15:53:57 +0100, Robert wrote:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/co...ragwortcop.pdf
*it is a large pdf file and may take some time to download*

256k large? Only a minute at 40kbps, I blinked and missed it on
broadband...

Mind you once you have it it takes a lot of reading 30+ pages, two
columns/page... Rather repetative though, it could do with summary of
the key points.

I see that they recomend landfill or incineration for disposal. And
recycling in garden compost is not recomended. When the council garden
waste bin was offered I specifically asked if Ragwort, Thistle etc
could be placed in it and they said yes. I guess with the huge hot
heaps that the contents of that bin ends up in and the dilution with
grass cuttings and all the other "normal" green waste the odd Ragwort
plant isn't a problem.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 19:33:13 GMT, Simon Avery wrote:

We don't, yet it continues to flourish everywhere. Clear a field one
year either digging or catching early with spot-on, it's back the
next.

That's 'cause it's a biennial. Small flat rosettes the first year,
flower spikes the next. However it can switch to perennial when
damaged by cutting, grazing, pulling etc.

If you can face that document previously linked and dig through all
the waffle it does have some good information.

It's illegal to allow it to grow on your land. (Most county bylaws
specifically mention ragwort as a notifiable weed.)

But tolerated as it is a native plant and host to several
invertebrates. If it's more than 100m from grazing horses/stock or
land used to produce forage they say leave it. Of course round here we
are surrounded by sheep...

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Kate Morgan wrote:
I will clear mine as soon as I see it as my brother has a horse and
I know how you feel Kate


Many thanks for that :-)
kate

Can I just suggest that more horses die of laminitis (over indulgence
of rich grazing) than ragwort induced liver failure. (Veterinarian's
observation.) Right then, lets all kill off all the grassland.

Yes ragwort is a problem but, let's keep it in context.

--
ned

I will clear mine as soon as I see it as my brother has a horse and
I know how you feel Kate


Many thanks for that :-)
kate

Can I just suggest that more horses die of laminitis (over indulgence
of rich grazing) than ragwort induced liver failure. (Veterinarian's
observation.) Right then, lets all kill off all the grassland.

Yes that is right but there are not many peeps on this group who will
know what Laminitis is but most will know ragwort.Over indulgence of
rich grazing is only one cause of laminitis.

kate

"Simon Avery" wrote in message
...
"Franz Heymann" wrote:

Hello Franz

FH Am I right in thinking that if ragwort is found on land
FH belonging to you, you might be fined for it?

In theory, that's possible. It differs depending on your local council
and their policy on nuisance weeds.

What used to happen is if someone complains, they send a Weed Officer
around to berate you and shame you into dealing with it. Only after
repeated warnings are they likely to act, and even then they may
prefer to do the work and bill you for it rather than issue a fine.

But again, it depends on the individual council's policy and whether
they can be bothered.

It's a funny old law if the powers that be can't be bothered to enforce it.

Franz

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 07:24:25 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:


"Simon Avery" wrote in message
...
"Franz Heymann" wrote:

Hello Franz

FH Am I right in thinking that if ragwort is found on land
FH belonging to you, you might be fined for it?

In theory, that's possible. It differs depending on your local council
and their policy on nuisance weeds.

What used to happen is if someone complains, they send a Weed Officer
around to berate you and shame you into dealing with it. Only after
repeated warnings are they likely to act, and even then they may
prefer to do the work and bill you for it rather than issue a fine.

But again, it depends on the individual council's policy and whether
they can be bothered.

It's a funny old law if the powers that be can't be bothered to enforce it.

Many laws aren't enforced. In general, the more laws a country has the
less they are enforced. Take the Netherlands traffic laws for example.
Max speed limit for truck on a motorway is 80km/hour and yet the
majority travel in the slow lane doing a steady 100 km/hour.
--
Martin

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 07:24:25 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:


"Simon Avery" wrote in message
...
"Franz Heymann" wrote:

Hello Franz

FH Am I right in thinking that if ragwort is found on land
FH belonging to you, you might be fined for it?

In theory, that's possible. It differs depending on your local council
and their policy on nuisance weeds.

What used to happen is if someone complains, they send a Weed Officer
around to berate you and shame you into dealing with it. Only after
repeated warnings are they likely to act, and even then they may
prefer to do the work and bill you for it rather than issue a fine.

But again, it depends on the individual council's policy and whether
they can be bothered.

It's a funny old law if the powers that be can't be bothered to enforce it.

Many laws aren't enforced. In general, the more laws a country has the
less they are enforced. Take the Netherlands traffic laws for example.
Max speed limit for truck on a motorway is 80km/hour and yet the
majority travel in the slow lane doing a steady 100 km/hour.
--
Martin