§ COLONEL R. WILLIAMS (Dorsetshire, W.)To ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, if the Board are aware that the American gooseberry mildew has been found in fourteen counties in Ireland, and that diseased bushes are at present on sale in many nursery gardens in Ireland; and if the Board will take immediate steps to prevent the spread of the disease through the sale of such bushes.
§ (Answered by Sir Edward Strachey.) We are informed by the Irish Department of Agriculture that the disease in question exists in several counties in Ireland, and that diseased bushes have been found in certain nurseries. The Board have at present no power to prohibit the importation or sale of such bushes, but my noble friend hopes to introduce very shortly a Bill giving powers to the Board and the local authorities to deal with this and other destructive pests. In the meantime we are advising fruit growers not to purchase bushes from any infected district or without a certificate of freedom from disease.