5 MARCH 1954, Page 14

SIR,—May I support Mrs. Kitcat's protest against the use of

chemical sprays on hedge- rows and verges. Besides the dangers and aesthetic horrors cited by your correspondent, there is also the added hazard to bees and honey-consumers. The flowering trees and herbs of the roadside verges are important bee-pasture; and while I do not know what insecticide local authorities favour for their roadside spraying, I do know that some of the systemic varieties find their way through the sap of the plants and appear unchanged in the nectar and in the resultant honey.

I would further suggest that everyone should study the chaotic and potentially dangerous situation which exists in regard to the manu- facture, distribution and use of poisonous sprays as revealed in the Report of the Working Party on Toxic Chemicals in Agri- culture. Residues in Food. (H.M. Stationery Office, Is. 6d.)---Yours faithfully,