CHRONICLES OF STRATH TAIERI

Evening Star, Issue 16529, 14 September 1917, Page 5

CHRONICLES OF STRATH TAIERI

[Special 10 the 'Star.'] MIDDLEMARCH, September 13. - Quite a number of returned soldiers have passed through the Strath lately in quest of employment. Some havo f'mnd employment, and have'taken to th.» work of the. farm again. Others have come, looked, discussed the wages, etc.. and passed on. But they, too, will doubtless find what the Scots call their " settling grass " and settle down to the old routine again. Even the most unsympathetic will make allowances for men who have been through the hellish experiences of war, and _ allow them considerable latitude in getting back from the abnormal lifo which they have been living for so long to the normal life which must seem so tame and strange to them. Time alone will work the cure.

Meantime work on farm and station proceeds apace. The heavy rains of two days ago put a stop to the work of seedtime and sowing, for the ploughed paddocks were quagmires impossible to-wade through. But a day or two of sun and wind dries up the land, and now work is going ahead merrily again. A hve proportion of the land is already sown and it is probable that a greater area than the average will this vear be laid down in wheat. The labor question certainly gives the farmer some misgivings and uneasiness If he wore only assured that sufficient labor would bo forthcoming for the harvest he w ?," ld proceed to lay down his grain crops with far greater confidence; indeed, it is probable he would sow more grain than he dare do under the present circumstances, for he is already feeling the pinch as rogards the shortage of labor. He cannot get skilled and experienced hands, and has to content himself with whatever class of men turns up, and muddle through somehow. -Nearly all the young unmarried men ironi the district- will soon be away, and then the farmer will have to depend upon the rejects," the old men, and the youths t*° ° a ?i mustel '- Tlle Problem is acute now. It will be more acute as time progresses, end so far no national scheme seams to have been evolved to meet it. This blem, more than any other, gives the farmer anxiety to-day. Lambing has begun on the low lands and paddocks, and with this mild and favorable weather sheep and lambs are doing veil, ajid are in fine condition. The lambs are strong and healthy, and there promises to be a good proportion of twins. •> The weather continues mild and favorable—warm and sunny during the day, with snarp snaps of frost at night. These frosts are not Unpleasant, but they retard the growth of grass, and fanners long to

see the last of them. Then, with warm weather, there is certain to be a great growth of all kinds of herbage; but, taking things "by and largo," farmers cannot grumble, and they do not. A most favorable winter, a most promising spring, good prices, and great prospects—what more could the heart of man desire, even if tne man be a farmer?