STOCK NEARLY MAD

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 30, 5 February 1935, Page 10

STOCK NEARLY MAD

POSITION IN CANTERBURY

As reported last week, the dry spell of weather has had a serious effect in Canterbury. Stock are suffering considerably and are reported to be nearly driven mad with thirst.

Though a thunderstorm accompanied by heavy falls of rain brought a small amount of relief to many farmers in North Canterbury on Sunday afternoon, the position of the water races in the Oxford, Malvern, and Selwyn districts remains unaltered, reports the Christchurch "Star." Feed crops that were badly in need of rain received a temporary freshening, but in the parts where the 1 rain was most urgently needed little fell.

For miles and miles the side-chan-nels running from the main races ar<* dry, but there is no likelihood of any, water reaching these unless the long-1 looked-for rain sets in, in earnest. Trouble is also being experienced with stock for, nearly driven mad with thirst, the beasts are breaking fences in their search for water. A heavy siiower lasting for two hours fell at Darfield, but the rain did not get as far as Aylesbury and no change has taken place. Rationing of ■water is still in force. .Stifling conditions soon made all traces of rain disappear, and yesterday morning the ground bore as parched a look as ever The heaviest rain fell around the headquarters of the Waimakariri River. Seaboard districts, which are most in need of rain, were passed by. By nightfall the storm had reached Kaikoura. It was welcomed there as on the flat the country is drier than it has been for sixteen years. Many cows have gone off.

vAt Mount Fyffe and in the Blue Duck and Puhi Puhi valleys, where fairly regular falls of rain have been experienced, farmers are not suffering from a shortage of feed. They are lucky, however, as further south everyone is crying out for the -am that will not come.

To investigate the possibilities of drawing water from the Waimak&riri River to irrigate the large areas of land in the Oxford district, which is at present without water, owing to the failure of the supply from the Eyre River, a Public Works Department survey party under, the irrigation engineer (Mr. T. G. Beck), will make a camp in.the Oxford County Council's yard, East Oxford, in ten days' time. A thorough investigation of supply conditions will be made, and the prospects of drawing from the Waimakariri above the Woodstock homestead will also be exhaustively gone into.