Damage by Late Floods.

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 890, 20 March 1877, Page 3

Damage by Late Floods.

OFFICIAL BETTJBNS. The following is the substance of the replies received from the -collectors of agricultural statistics, ' in answer ' .to a memo from Mr J. Sperry, Superintendent Collector, asking them to furnish returns stating the probable amount, or percentage, of damage done to the crops by the recent floods :— * MorningtonV — Strict, enquiries -„ were made from; the.occupier of each separate holding within the limits of the district, and no -report was received of loss of -cattle or crops, as the boundary was entirely free from floods. ~ North East Valley Road District — The enquiries made showed that £50 would cover all the losses. ~ Linden.— ln« the Roslyh and Morning- . ton Road-Districts no damage was done |by the floods, there being no low-lying land in *ihe district under cultivation. ■The only *losS : reported was by the late high winds. -One may estimate the loss at £12. . The amount of damage done to roads, bridges; and culverts, may be estimated at £20. Municipality of Hawksbury. — - No .damage was done. V i Macraes.— ln this district the per;centage was about one-tenth of the whole cereal crops. The grain crops sustained but little damage. Palmerston/— In this district some farmers complained of having lost onehalf of their grain by the storms, others of having lost one-fourth, whilst others have sustained a loss. Tbe collector estimated that the average loss throughout the district would be one-tenth. The returns from this district were based upon the quantity of grain the farmers think tbey now have. Tokomairiro Road Board District. — In the opinion of the collector £700 would cover the loss of grain in the Tokomairirs Road Board District— say 1000 bushels of wheat destroyed, and 1000 damaged ; 500 bushels of oats destroyed, and 500 damaged ; about 100 acres of potatoes and turnips damaged ; two head of cattle drowned. Mount Stuart Road District.-—Dam-age done very slight. Kaitangata Road District. —Estimated damage, £230 in grain and potatoes. No cattle lost ; a^few sheep drowned. Biverton.—No damage done to the crops or live stock up to Friday, February 23. On that day the crops lost about four bushels per acre. The collector believed that about 100 acres had sustained that loss, which was allowed for in bis returns. Winton. — About two-thirds of the crops were secured before the storms, and the loss on what remained would not be more then 10 per cent, The assessment was made for all cases on the probable result, if no damage had been dore to the crops. New River Hundred.— No damage was sustained by the crops in this district. Peninsula.— The damage in this district was but trifling The collector thought that L3OO xr-juld cover the loss incurred by lan«*-« B »P s and a dlß e ase amon g tne ppMtoes. Portobello District.— The loss of grain io this district was fully one-third of the whole amount grown, as a considerable portion of the oat crop intended for grain had to be cut for hay. The loss of hay and potatoes was al«o considerable. Tbe most serious damage done, however, was by the numerous large landslips, which had completely blocked up most of the roads, and one piece of land slipped into the bay. The collector said that the damage could not be estimated under several thousand pounds. Suburban District and South part of Kaikorai. — No damage done to either crops-or cattle. North and East Taieri Ridings.-— The collector reported as follows:— Damage in Wheat, about 6500 bushels ; in Oats, 7700 "bushels ; in barley, 1200 bushels. There were 130 head of cattle destroyed. The assessment of produce was made after allowing for the damage done, Waiwera District. — But little damage done. Clatha. — There was no loss of cattle. Tbe.following is about the loss of crops : — Wheat, 8710 bushels ; oats, 3190 bushels; potatoes, 210 tons ; turnips, 200 tons. This is not included in the returns of crops collected. . Blacks division of the Dunstan— The crops in this district were ready for cutting when the rain come on, and through the delay in cutting the farmers expect to lose about five bushels to the acre. One , farmer got three acres of produce carried ( away hy the floods. The potatoes will be very bad as there were a good many acres covered with water, as there have beeo about -200 chains of fencing destroyed. There were nojsattle lost. Clyde.— Only one ton of potatoes des- - troyed by Ihe overflow of the Clutha. x Dunstan.*— Ten bushels of oats were - destroyed. Alexandra-division of the Dunstan.— damage done. Mataura.— ln this district the settlers •sustained the average loss of four bushels " per acre. v ~ Monnt Idfc-f3OO bushels of oats; 200 bushels of wheat, and 20 tons of potatoes "were destroyed* - Twentr sheep .were drowned. .. „ ; s .. • -' 'Naseby.— No damage sustained. Port Chalmers. — Owing to the elevated nature of the. land, no damage was done .cither to crops or cattle. ,' t Blueskin^— The losses,- if any, were : .imall. y' "' -■«-., Waikouaiti.— But little damage was, •done.. -/..,.• ." . . .,, „•,, -*, ■ Hawksbury.^No damage was sustaiu«t in this district. : Oatra^Ro»dDUtrict.---Thelofseiwere

eetimaied astftjilows: Wilieat, 29,446 bushels* oats; 33;372 bushels; barley, 1549 bushels j potatoes, 960 tons ; quantity of ojther crops lost in acres, 140; cattle lost, 60 ; sheep lost, 4380' The report further stated that a great quantity of the grain though not lost, would not be worth cutting: : In other cases what had been cut had been completely carried away. Considerable damage has been done to fences, also to grass paddocks, by the quantity of sand and mud deposited in them. In other cases the soil had been carried away. Occupiers of land in many instances were obliged to send their cattle away, having little or no pasture for them. Kuri Bush and Grey Road Districts. — Crops splendid, but suffered severely from the winds which lately prevailed. The yield of oats would be above the average, but the potatoes would be a failure, as they were beginning to rot in the ground. The great portion of the hay crop was destroyed in consequence of the bad weather which continued so long in the time of mowing. The hay previously stacked had afterwards to be opened and be spread out in the snn, so the crop would not be so plentful as usual. Damage estimated at £1200. Waipori Road District. —- The crops looked splendid, and the yield of both oats and wheat promised well, particularly about the Waihola Gorge and Horseshoe Bush. The crops had been laid so that they could not be reaped by the machine, and iv many instances had been torn up by the force of the current. Their fences had been carried away by trees and large logs brought down by the Waipori River from sawmills working in the bush. Their fields and crops were covered with brushwood, logs, tops of trees, and shingle, so that it would take a great deal of expense and labour to put them in the same state as before. Mr Kinlocb, at Waipori Gorge, lost eight calves, and Mr M' LareD, of Otakia, lost 1000 sheep that he had grazing on Mr Shand's ground. Meßsrs. Sinnot Bros, lost 54 head of cattle. No large breadth of potatoes had been planted, but what was, promised fairly. Estimated damage in the Waipori Road district, £2000. Lawrence.— The duty of collection was commenced after the date of the floods, and the yield and acreage were computed after deducting the loss and damage sustained. The crops in this district were particularly good and heavy, and had not suffered as much as was dreaded. With tbe exception of various farms situated at Tuapeka Mouth, no perceptible loss had been recorded. Waitahuna.— With the exception of three, all the holdings in the returns in . this division had been collected subsequent to the storm floods and in each case the assessment of produce was made on the probable result after allowing for the damage done by the floods to the crops. The floods in this division had been very severe, but not so high as in 1868. Much grain was damaged by being discoloured, and by being shaken off the stalks. In some cases, ia low ground, the potatoes have rotted. No losses of cattle bad been reported. Tapanui Division. — No losses in this district. i Waipori Division. — The yield in this ! district was much better than in former years. Tois is owing to the billy nature to tbe country, and consequently the wet season was favorable. The same remark applies to that portion of the Taieri County included in thia divjaipn. Roxburgh. — No serious damage was done to grain cr other property in this district by the late floods. The principal damage consisted in the props having, in some instances, been beaten down by tbe raio. Jn one or two cases, ferces bad been carried away. The collector attributed tbe freedom of thjs district from any serious loss to the fact that it is situated along the east bank of the Molyneux river, and was kept drained by that river so that the water was not long enough on the crops to cause any serious damage, Switzers.— No damage was. donp to stock or crops within the bounds of this district. Hampden. — The statistics, with the exception of a few holdings had been collected since the floods, and the estimates have been given accordingly. The average damage done to tbe crops was 85 per cent, of oats, 28 per cent, of wheat, and 2,9 per cent, of barley, which loss had been caused chiefly by the wind before the grain was cut. Maheno,-«-Tbe collection had been made since the floods, and the probable amount of damage bad been allowed for. The general average showed a decrease of fully 10 bushels to the acre, owing to the storms. Oamaru. — The collection had been mnde since the floods ; the probable amouut of damage allowed for ip the returns. The general average showed a decrease, owing to the storm. The principal damage has been done during the heavy gales which preceded the rains, and before the crops were cut. The props inland were touch Jess affected than those nearer the coast. It was estimated that 10 to L 5 buahpls to the acre would represent the total loss thrpughout the district. Wallace.— No damage had been done to the crops, cattle, and so forth in this portion of the Mataura Electoral Dissrict.. „ , Orepuki. — -No damage was done in this sub-district, Cardroua.— No complaints pf losses having been sustained were made'to the collector in this district. Tbe^settfers were all of opinion that the wet season suited them, as the soil" was of a* sandy nature, and the crops late. „ Queenstown.— No damage was-uone to the crops, and no losses of .cattle susr- • tamed in the Queenstown sub^-division of the Wakatip Electoral district.

Arrowtown— The collector, while obtaining the agricultural statistics- in the Arrow division, examined the grain in several coi-n fields that had been cut before the wet season commenced. In each instance he found the grain in good condition. The late crops were not cut till after the weather cleared up, so there would be no losses to cattle or to any kind of stock. Damage to Shotover Bridge, £700; and by a land-slip at 4rrow B.uff, £200.