DROUGHT!

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 93, 13 January 1908, Page 8

DROUGHT!

■ — V— TTT .. ■ A TERRIBLE PICTURE CONDITION OF • CAMDEN DISTRICT;. 5 ;. • N.S.W.L, 1 i Tho oldost residents of the district" of Camdon dcclaro without exception (says the Sydney "Morning Herald" of December 30) that the present season .is the worst they have ever known., For miles'-in''"every direction tho country is scorchcd and barron. Tho nills. around Campbclltown,. Mcnangle, The Oaks, Narellan, Camden,-: ote. '.j are - like tho bare floors, of. a house after the carpet has been removed. Not a blado of grass is, to be seen on thousands of acres: Whist little corn or Planter's Friend tho-farmers wero able to grow has long ago been used in feeding their cattle, and the oats did not reach above a foot in height. As a- dairymen and others have: been forced*- to the drudgery of band-feeding .every animaj -they: possess. ■If the feed, could be would. not be nearly so- trying. Tlip; enormous expense offhand-feeding may' be iimajsjined ,whon it is said-that one, of,the leadingistdrckeepors in Opmdsri has kindly supplied; Jtho' following .figures /the" 1 moiitli'j^.of.'-''September' 1906 ho":, entered ;on . his books'' £1069 for produce" sales;, forOctbb&r; 1236; November,.,£2l23;' and- Decemberi; £1788. • In addition to these amounts Jus '.took £625 in cash produce sales for tli'e-foUr.'imqnths mentioned. 'For ths whole of ; 1907; swith the exception, of January, -the; samb'; -merchant, has entered on his books for,- prbducß, alone ncarlv. £11,0JX),! and has taken'- in'Cash;,:£llso. He nays on ; an- average-••$,160'; month, for freight;[' There are .manyiVVother. produce stores in ; the district : which" liiro/! doing an: onormous trade. These fi^ur^s' give, some, jdea.of the tremendous amouiit of fodder that is being consumed from-week to . week It costs something like £10 per;week to , feed 60 cows., And after the 'dairyman., dias : gone, through the drudgery ■ ,'twioe" ;v": day, for a" : whole week, his-returns^are;,'something like £2 or £3. . It is costingv.one farmer £12 por week to feed, and his the milk, is £2. Another spends £lo peK'W(-\ck, and gets a-return of'a little over £3r;\:D\i):ing the last five months, farmers have spent from £100, to : £200 for produce, and-, ope ..very' large ..owner has spent over' ';-the : stock could live, the great: ambunti-'of trouble in feeding them would ri6t>.bc>;felt : jso -much; But they die in many, insjtanccs, eyen where.thoy, have been fed-all ai6ng-,.bn the\ best chaff arid - bran. Many ; \farmers. ,aro using tho, prickly pear- to great-advantages. The spines-, on, the. leaves .cause:-endless trouble, and have to be burned ;br-boiled in order to dispose of thd thorns arid reader them flt for The supply, however, is : limited, and cannot' be expected. t<S' last long. . • : In many .instances the. farmers have been forced.,to givo up' in despair; 'arid seek fresh fields. Almost every week' one hearjs of settlers moving, ' and several ■. families qf . long standing have left. The' North Coast naturally invites the land-seeker, arid'a large number haVe.gone there... Those: who remain are lighting bravely on. Several farmers have sent-most of their .cat-tie away, some to the Richmond River, others to ; Crookwell and Moss Vale, and /This has naturally : affected ■ the "dairying; -.industry... Where four or .five milk vans .were-required in a fairly good season;nonly-: one, is. nowused to do the same VbrkV"'in' placcs the sairip number of but only about a fifth of thenormal)' supply of milk is procured. The whole liusiness is out. of joint. Cattle that would.'bqng £4 or £5 per head in good times are' being, sold for. as low as 17s. 6d. Anj- man iyith money to spare could make large, profits: out of these sales by buying up hundreds.of these animals and shifting; them to a: better district. The district is full of possibilities.' Every natural faoility is- here with' the exception :of rain. As every' one knows the soil is of the richest" quality, tho district is right on the market, : and'- past years show that : any kind of stock can be produced to perfection in good seasons. - Yet here, it is practically a desolation, gardens with no flowers in them, rivers and creeks with, no water, hundreds of cattlo skeletons looking fora place to die, and men arid women, worrying ,out ' their souls. Tho orchards, which were laden- in the good years' with mellow fruit, aro now. carrying scarcely half their complement. 1 . Peaches and apples redden into half, maturity. Tho, grapes 'give promise , ofsomething better, but very little. At present there seems,to be little hope of. any chance. . A,.week agb about' 40 points of rain fell, and many drooping hearts were cheered. For the last ten or twelve years there have been droughts^,so; often ,!t-hat the Jan'd has not had a chance: The faimers liavo found it- impossible !to : grow feed for. winter use.- Unless rain falls very soon the same trouble will be repeated. . A. little ploughing is being done as a result of the rain last week. ' But uiilo'ss ■ . continuous showers fall, there will be little or no chance for tho, grain even to geminate. Tho farmers hero are passing through a continuous struggle that would kill many of their fellow-countrymen v in about six months, The hard-earned savings of riiany years are. all going to buy produce. /Arid -when they aro done, there is nothing left but to borrow. Yet the spirit of-hopefulness pervades the district. And one feels as, one sees it all that .this district can. b.oast., some of the bravest men and. women .'iii/ i\ew South .Wales. '