WHAKAMARAMA NOTES

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 14367, 17 May 1947, Page 2

WHAKAMARAMA NOTES

YOUNG GRASS DOING WELL TOPICS OF INTEREST FROM DISTRICT (From Our Correspondent) A splendid autumn is fast drawing to a close. The night air is becoming keen and frosts cannot now be far away. With little to check it, young grass is doing well and is rapidly greening up. This feed should go some way towards tiding over the early spring weeks. The growth has been so considerable that in some cases care has to be exercised in grazing, particularly with young stock.

Most herds are now out for the season and are in-very good condition., Generally the winter outlook, so far as: fodder is concerned, is quite good. With little over a month to go to the shortest day and plenty of feed about, one may be inclined to be over optimistic, but it may just happen that the winter will be a hard. one. It is some.years since a really severe winter was experinced in the district.

The shooting season opened very quietly with only one local gun out. The bag of two pheasants was quite satisfactory. The birds are just not here. A few hen birds have been seen from time to time and clutches of young, but there is no increase, only decrease. There are so many factors to be considered that it is difficult to arrive at the cause. Before the war there were quite a few birds about. Very little shooting goes on, in or out of season, and yet the birds have "dwindled. Of late years a Persian strain of house cats has become common. These cats are good hunters and range far and wide in their hunting operations. Careful observation has pinned a fair share of the blame on to the cat. Then there is the stoat and rat, both known killers for the sake of killing, and both day and night hunters. The food question must also be taken into wconsideration.

Crickets do not seem as plentiful in this district as they were a few years ago. Perhaps the cricket filled in a space between other food avenues, and the food question is an important one. Some will no doubt ask what harm could the hedgehog do? Where numerous, the hedgehog could or must considerably reduce the ground food supply and probably also destroys eggs. Unknown in this district ten or so years ago they are now quite common and should be placed on the list of causes. It is reported that the rimu bush is about worked out and may close up any day.