46
THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, July 7, 2011
WE CALL IT NYJER
by Steve White Contributing Writer
Nancy Ferguson, LMT, NCBTMB
In July and August, ev- erything’s coming up ros- es. Except maybe those large purple flowering weeds along the high- ways and byways of North America. This is the native purple thistle. It bears absolutely no kinship to a tiny black seed called “guizotia abyssinica” or nyjer seed. However, it still is packaged in many retail stores with the in- correct name of thistle. In fact, up until about a decade ago, it was spelled niger, not nyjer. How- ever, a civil rights group launched a court case against a large retailer, claiming the little black seed was being mispro- nounced as a derogatory name for African Ameri-
cans. Rather than fight the court battle, the seed industry changed the spelling of the name to its present-day “nyjer.” The fact that the imported seed was grown along the famous Niger River, (hence the name) in Africa did not assuage the politi- cal forces at the time. This poor, little maligned
Interested in Advertising Your Business in The Weirs Times?
Call 603-366-8463 or 1-888-308-8463 or email
sales@weirs.com Deadline: Friday at Noon for the Next Week’s Issue.
1colx2 ad for as low as $15.60/week
1colx1 ad for as low as $7.80/week
2colx2 ad for as low as $31.20/week
“MAN OF LA MANCHA” July 5 - July 17
“GUYS & DOLLS” June 21st-July 3rd Tues.-Sat. @ 7:30 Sundays @ 7:00 Matinees @ 2:001 June 23, 29, 30
“HAIRSPRAY”
July 19 - July 31 Performances held in the air conditioned ILHS Auditorium
Box Office 1-888-245-6374
www.interlakestheatre.com
weed seed is actually an imported seed from such far away places as India, Ethiopia, and Myanmar. American farmers don’t want anything to do with the natural thistle seed for growing purposes. Our native thistle plant is ex- tremely invasive and will easily take over any plot of land in a very short period of time. Although many birds do eat the seeds from the native thistle plants, these are digested. Since they don’t pass through in bird droppings, it is not the birds that are spread- ing weed seeds. You do not have to worry about the imported nyjer seeds sprouting in your yard, however. Like all grain imports, nyjer seed is sterilized at the port of entry in the United States before it is packaged and shipped to stores. Many customers believe that the birds are wasting
most of the nyjer seed in their feeders due to the amount of black seeds on the ground below. Imag- ine their surprise when we tell them that the seeds on the ground are simply the nyjer shells. Yes, that tiny seed has a black, opaque shell that the birds have to crack and discard to get at the single wisp of meat inside. Now, that’s working overtime to get such a small reward. The reason that goldfinches, house finches and other birds are attracted to the nyjer seed is the large fat content that it contains. Imported nyjer seeds
are used to make dry chutney which is used as an accompaniment with breads. They are also used as a spice in some curries within the Indian Ocean regions. Enjoy your birds!
Wild Bird Depot is locat-
ed on Rt 11 in Gilford, NH. Steve is a contributing au- thor in major publications, a guest lecturer at major conventions in Atlanta and St. Louis as well as the host of WEZS 1350AM ra- dio show “Bird Calls” with Lakes Region Newsday @ 8:30AM. Wild Bird Depot has donated over $5,000 to local rehabilitators and local nature centers since 1996.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56