PUERUA.

Clutha Leader, Volume XX, Issue 1027, 30 March 1894, Page 6

PUERUA.

--♦•... [From Our Oavn Correspondent.] Harvest is now so far advanced in the district that all the crops are cut and part is in stack. Others are busy from daylight to dark leadinor in." The fine weather of the past three weeks has permitted harvest operations being pushed forward. Seldom have we had such favourable harvest weather. The advent of the reaper and binder has made short vrork of tlie cuttiug. With only the back delivery much of the crops *ould yet have been standing. Mr James Tulloch's threshing mill has commenced at the Port Molyneux end of the district and will be Avell supported. I expect two other mills will be at work in the district, Mr G. Petrie's and Mr Kobertson's starting at the Waitepeka end. The crops in "this district this year are a good deal above the average, while turnips are a splendid crop, no doubt partly owing to their having been sown some weeks earlier than usual. If the prices for grain Avere only a little higher farmers' prospects would be brighter than they have been for some years. _ Both main and district roads are. iioav in splendid condition, thanks to the good weather and the traffic being lhditer than usual. ° The rabbits are still with us, and as numerous as ever. They will continue numerous until more general and united efforts are put forth to keep them down. Out of the 37 or 38 settlers in the district proper not one half do anything to keep down the rabbits during the spring, summer, and autumn months. Most of them lay poison in winter to comply with the Act, as they imagine, but more especially as the skins bring a good price then, aud there being no great pressure of work on the farms. A large number of rabbits are no doubt poisoned during winter. When the skins get low in price a large number of settlers cease all effort, and only the minority persevere by poison, trapping, dogs, etc. I know that in a scattered district such as the Puerua this comes hard on the few who try to keep their properties free of the pest. I venture to say that there ia no district in Otago where the settlers do less work in unison to keep down the rabbits.