the times | Saturday August 1 2020 2GM 41Hockney got it right about
Velázquez masterpiece
Page 45Animal habitats destroyed
for 100 years by bush fires
Page 44Barque Eagle, left, shadowed the Mayflower II during sea trials off Rhode Island. The replica of the Pilgrim Fathers’ 17th-century ship was built in Devon in the 1950sSEAN D. ELLIOT/APmust know result on election night to avoid fraud
Canada says
mystery seed
parcels could
be a plant
Canada
Charlie Mitchell Ottawa
In any other year the arrival of unsolic-
ited packages of seeds, many of them
postmarked from China, on doorsteps
in Britain, Canada and the US, might
have seemed like one for the conspiracy
theorists. This year governments have
issued alerts.
The three countries, and Australia,
are investigating the deliveries and
have told recipients to keep the seeds
until collected for examination and not
to touch or plant them.
Most of the packages apparently
come from China but other origins in-
clude Taiwan, Uzbekistan and the Solo-
mon Islands. So far the US Department
of Agriculture, which began investi-
gating more than a month ago, is said to
have identified 14 varieties including
mustard, cabbage and rosemary.
Cynthia Fournier, who lives in Tra-
cadie, New Brunswick, received a pack-
age addressed to her containing four
unmarked bags of seeds. Although she
is a gardener she did not open them,
because she had read about the oddity
in the US. “They were brownish and
looking like dried berries, a little bit like
cranberries, but they were brown and
hard,” she told the Canadian Broadcast-
ing Corporation. “It’s a little bit scary.”
The rise in deliveries, including to all
50 US states, some Canadian provinces
and many parts of the UK, has caused
concern. There is no sign that the seeds
carry diseases, pests or hazardous ma-
terial but officials said that they should
not be thrown out with rubbish because
they could germinate in landfills. “If
you receive a seed package that you did
not order, please contact your regional
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
office immediately,” the CFIA said.
“The threat is twofold,” said François
Tardif, a professor of weed science at
Guelph University in Ontario. “One,
the seeds are of invasive species that
have the potential to escape from gar-
dens and invade natural habitats or ag-
ricultural fields. Two, the seeds carry
some form of plant disease that could
affect crops.”
The seeds are frequently marked as
jewellery, allowing them to bypass bio-
security checks. “If seeds are arriving
without their checks, then that’s obvi-
ously a concern for the UK,” said Dr
Gerard Clover, head of plant health at
the Royal Horticultural Society, which
has had up to ten reports of unsolicited
seeds in recent weeks. “We don’t know
what the threat is until we know what
we’re dealing with.” Seeds can carry
pests and diseases on their surface or
could grow as invasive weeds, he added.
The most likely explanation, officials
say, is a “brushing” scam, in which sell-
ers on Amazon and Ebay pay “brush-
ers” to order their products, ship cheap
items to strangers, and post glowing
reviews, elevating the seller’s standing
online. Many of those targeted have
bought seeds in the past, suggesting a
database of customer addresses.
On Tuesday the Chinese foreign
ministry said that the postmarks on the
packages were fake and encouraged
western countries to send them to
China for investigation.likely rival, in opinion polls. Democrats
see his objections to an increase in
postal voting over coronavirus fears as
preparation for a rejection of the result
and a legal battle over the outcome.
Mr Trump tweeted: “Must know
Election results on the night of the
Election, not days, months, or even
years later!”
The complaint was his latest of more
than 70 since March about the coming
election. Officials have regarded his
protests as unreasonable, given that
states with narrow margins usually
have recounts that can last for days.
The Florida count in 2000, which was
decisive for the presidency, took more
than a month before the Supreme Court
ruling to end recounts. In 2016, a close
result in Michigan took almost a month
to confirm.“We’re just going to have to be
patient,” Ellen Weintraub, the federal
election commissioner, said. She added
results in some states would probably
not be clear on election night ow-
ing to more postal voters. She
called for more funding for
states, which run the election
process, to “get this right”.
“It’s not written into law
anywhere we have to an-
nounce the results on elect-
ion night,” Ms Weintraub told
CNN.
“There are some races...
where we don’t know the
results because it’s too
close or because inthis year what is likely is that we’re
going to have an enormous number of
mail-in ballots. All of those mail-in bal-
lots have to be opened and counted.
“Some states have rules you
can’t even start the count
until after the polls are closed.
We’re going to have to be
patient.”
Under questioning at his
White House briefing on
Thursday, Mr Trump backed
away from his previous
suggestion in a tweet that the
election could be delayed.
He said: “Do I want to
see a date change?
No. But I don’t
want to see a
crooked elect-
ion. Thiselection will be the most rigged election
in history.”
Democrats have raised concerns
about cost-cutting measures by Louis
DeJoy, 63, a Republican donor who
became postmaster-general in May.
They warned that his move to end
overtime payments could exacerbate
problems counting postal votes. Frus-
trated workers have reportedly nick-
named him “Louis Delay”.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority
leader, and others said in a letter to Mr
DeJoy: “Your failure to provide
Congress with relevant information
about these recent changes or to clarify
to postal employees what changes you
have directed as postmaster-general,
increases concerns service compromis-
es will grow in advance of the election.”
Leading article, page 29Ellen Weintraub
called for more cash