IN SOUTH CANTERBURY.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14980, 9 June 1914, Page 4

IN SOUTH CANTERBURY.

A South Canterbury correspondent writes: —A steady succession of hard frosts, broken only by a wet, sleety Wednesday, has carried us through the first week of June, and but for that most annoying calendar bfdding Us believe it as yet autumn, we might thankfully accept the statement that wo are getting nicely over tho first winter month. With mountains covered by snow since tho piddle of May, and water-pipes frozen regularly eveiy morning, what more convincing evidence could any man want, so we are going" to expect the beginning of spring in August as before.

A drive down from Aruhdel nearly to the Ilangitata mouth showed the grasslands less bare than usual at the ptesout season, and the stock almost everywhere, in a satisfactory condition. Great flocks of starlings were busy in sorao of the paddocksj and it is to bo supposed they wore putting an end to certain brown beetle pests. In the districts, closer to the hills there is yet plenty of good sheep feed, but the man who desires to become the owner of a good root crop has a difficult quest. It is very hard to buy turnips anywhere at a reasonable price, for though hi many places they did well, in others they did not do at all, and how the deficiency is to be made up is not quite clear. For instance, a farmer near Orari bridge had to go beyond the Kakahu beforo ho could buy the turnips, which, generally, he can procure easily within a couolo of miles. By the way, hares apparently are decreasing in the Kakahu district, for «t Mr Scott Thompson's annual shoot the bag has fallen from a. hundred to about seventy, and; lastly, to a short forty on May 30th. Nowadays we hear that hares are being sold a% one shilling and three or four pence each, for freezing, so, presumably, they will decrease also in other localities. Rabbits, on the contrary, aro far more numerous than ever, and though on small holdings they may be kept easily enough in cheek, the landownors near to river-beds aro not well pleased. In many places various diseases have broken out among the rabbits,-but, seemingly, the only effect is to render the animals very highly unattractive as human food.

The fur trado initiated last winter air.ong the Chills by Orari Gorge, has vanished auickly into obscurity, by reason of the scarcity of opossums. Ekewhere experiments have been tried. Listen to the "Man from Pleasant Valley" : "J- trapped a scoro of these unweicoine. little visitors to mv garden (he did not put it quite like.that), and I skinned a dozen of them. Two stins were not as good as the rest, but I sent them all down to Ihinedin to be sold, and got 8s back for the lot." It does not sound a wildly exorbitant price, anyway, but it is easy to find

little things 3ike that in these 4ays, when trying to save enough money to buy a loaf of bread. Mentiou is being made of bakery "Co-ops.," of whicli wo may hear more. , So , far the season has been most favourable for all agricultural operations, overnight frosts quickly giving way under a bright sun, and & large area of land is now sown down witn winter wheat and oats, which are making.excellent progress. One field I noticed for an exception to this rule, and there the larks were ongaged busily in pulling up tho sprouting corn. On euch occasions. I have been told, "the corn 1 seed must have had a grub in it. It is a sweet thought, of course, but nobody can dispute the. sad fact that when a young corn plant is pulled up. j its growth very certainly is retarded.