A DRY SPELL.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 7, 9 January 1926, Page 11

A DRY SPELL.

CONDITIONS IN COUNTRY. THE PASTURES AFFECTED. SOME AREAS PARCHED. Prom one end of the North Island to the other farmers are facing a prolonged spell of dry weather, which .is. in some districts, seriously affecting the crops and feed supplies. One result was demonstrated to-day by the announcement that, owing to the scarcity of feed in the Auckland district, the price of milk had gone up from fed to 7d per quart. Reports from the various districts show that some settlers are more fortunate than others. In the Rangitaiki Plains the pastures have been affected, but there is an abundance of feed. Although the quantity of milk given by the herds has fallen off, the quantity of batterfat retains its usual level, and the outlook for the coming season is good. There has been an exceptionally heavy yield of hay, and several hundred acres of maize have been planted.

On the Hauraki Plains dry weather is being experienced, but here, too, it is not affecting to any appreciable extent the dairying industry. The settlers, however, are hoping for rain. In the Waitakaruru district, where the land is more dry, the weather has had more serious effects. The milk production has fallen off, and pastures are in need of at least 24 hours of rain. At Tauranga, the spell has not so far had any serious consequences. If rain does not fall soon, however, the farmers will be compelled to draw on green fodder from their lucerne stands, or utilise green maze. In the North. Much more serious conditions are being experienced in North Auckland, where the creeks are drying up rapidly, and crops are suffering from want of moisture. Unless rain comes within a day or two the settlers and business people will be confronted with a very serious problem. .The need for rain in the districts parched by the hot sun has become acute. It would appear that the driest area is a belt running through Kaikohe, Ohaeawai, Waimate, and Waipapa, while Pakaraka is probably the most scorched stretch in this locality. The danger of grass fires is ever present. Butterfat returns have been influenced by the continuous dry weather, as have also the fruit crops. Rain at Helensville. Heavy and much needed rain fell in the Helensville district last night, to the great, satisfaction of farmers, whose crcps were suffering from the continued heat. This morning the downpour had slackened, but it had every appearance of continuing steadily.

The King Country has not suffered greatly from the heat, while reports from Opotiki indicate that, although the last fall of rain was on New Year's Eve the country is looking very fresh, and there has been little decrease in the supply of butter. The quantity of milk has decreased, but the cream supply continues as usual.

In the Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa and Poverty Bay districts the position is so serious, and feed, so scarce that large numbers of cattle have been trucked to the more plentiful pastures of the West Coast. A shortage of pasture, it is reported, has prevented lambs from developing.