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NOTICE-DISPATCH OF MAILS VIA
GALLE PER NOBIA, FROM MEL-
BOURNE.
Mails containing letters, packets, and newspapers,
specially marked " Vis Galle," will be made up at
this office, and forwarded by the Ellora to Mel-
bourne, on Saturday next. Mail3 will CIOBB as fol-
lows :
Registered letters, at G p.m.
Unregistered letters, at 8 p.m.
Newspapers and packets, at 6 p.m.
Late letters for the United Kingdom via Brindisi
only, will be received at the General Post Office up
to II p.m. on Saturday next; late fee 6d.
Every letter forwarded by this opportunity will
require a Id. stamp irrespective of weight, in addi-
tion to the postage formerly charged by this route.
General Post Office, Sydney, 24th Nov., 1874.
TROUBLESOME WEFDS. - the following letter
appears in the Australasian of November 14 :-" Sir,
-Weeds, weeds, weeds ! Time was when there was
not one bad weed in Victoria, but now their name is
legion, and tre cry is itill they tome. We already
have thistles, Bathurst burrs, cockspur, tarweed &c,
and now, according to the Geelong Advertiser, we
have another, known as the Indian ma tweed, added '
to the list, and it Seems likely to give the fsrmerB
much trouble as any of the above mentioned eye- 'i
sores. For, I suppose the seed will be allowed to '
spread over the greater part of the colony before any
steps are taken to prevent its going further ; for, as
a rule the farmers will not trouble about weeds when
they first make their appearance, but will look on
calmly until then: paddocks are covered with them.
Their policy seems to te not to anticipate trouble,
but to wait until it comes upon them. With regard
to the Scotch thistle, it is not nearly so Bad as
cockspur (which is, I believe, in Adelaide called .
farmer's dread, and with good reason), but it
is bad enough ; and if allowed to spread, as
some people seem to wish, will soon take the
place of grass, and as, owing to its prickly nature,
the stock cannot go amongst it to get at the heads
(Which are the only part they can eat), the greater
part is left to go to seed, and when it withers away ?
is an annoyance instead of a benefit to the unfortu-
nate animals that have to wander about in search of
food. I am inclined to think that the friends of the
thistle are those who have already let it take full
possession of their land, and are not willing fo ex-
pend their cash for the purpose of eradicating it; for
it is but reasonable to suppose that land that will
bear a crop of thistles will grow some more iraeful '.
Bort of herbage if not overstocked. The system of
feeding pigs and cattle with the roots of the thistle,
as recommended by your correspondent "Arator,"
would, no doubt, be a good way of preventing it
from spreading, trat it would pay better to grow,
mangels to feed them on. In my opinion it is sheer '
nonsense for people to say that thistles improve the .
land : they might as well have a crop of whitethorn .
growing on it, I saw this country before there was
a thistle in it, and the grass then grew luxuriantly
where now little else is to be Been tut thistles. My
advice to the farmer is, iiH out etery weed which
your cattle will no¿ eat to the ground, and grow
something that they will "eat instead, and don't trust
to the Scotch thistle to improve your land,"
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