Farmers Receive Good Christmas Box

Franklin Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 140, 30 November 1938, Page 5

Farmers Receive Good Christmas Box

BENEFICIAL RAINS i:' 'J ■ ■ . ' COUNTRYSIDE WELL SOAKED PASTURES REFRESHED CROPS RESUSCITATED The gift season is rapidly approaching, and people are now beginning .to give some thought to the purchase of suitable presents for-their friends. As far as the farmers are concerned they have received the best gift . that could possibly be given them :s.—-a copious rainfall during the past two days. In Franklin the country requires a good deal of moisture, more at’ this time or the year than perhaps any tither‘part' of New Zealand. A week of flne weather finds the soil deficient in moisture with the result that growth comes almost to a standstill, but a day’s warm' rain works wonders. The rain over the last two days has proved beneficial to a wide area. Pastures* which were beginning to wilt before the drying gales during the week, have been refreshed and growth has been stimulated. Crops, too, have benefited as the result of the moisture. To farmers generally, the steady warm rain has been a good Christmas box. If they do not receive another they will be thoroughly satisfied.

Haymaking operations, which, under a normal season would have been in full swing by now are late this year, due to the dry spell in the spring, ’ ; There were fears earlier that hay crops would be ruined but the rain of a few weeks ago did much to alay fears. Paddocks closed hay came away well and with yesterday’s rain they will improve considerably. The prospects now are that while haymaking will be later than usual there will be some fair crops. The rain has been fairly general.

A local farmer who visited the Waikato recently told a pressman yesterday that feed in that area was much more plentiful than it is in Franklin “No doubt they have had more rain down there than we have had here,” he added.

CREEKS FLOODED The heaviness fo the rain which fell over the Franklin and Rgalan districts yesterday can be guaged by the fact that a number of creeks and streams were flooded. One farmer at Onewhero had to use a long deviation to bring his cows to the shed last night, as the bridge he usually used was under a foot of water, and the animals refused to cross.

FLOODING AT WIANGATAWHIRI Torrential rains fell in the Manga'Ll whiri Valley yesterday, causing minor flooding in the lower lying paddocks. One farmer had a large area of his farm covered knee-deep in water, which accumulated in a few hours when the over-taxed drains were unable to cope with the deluge. However, the water lias now largely subsided, and the creeks are almost back to normal.