THE DROUGHT SPECTRE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 119, 17 May 1912, Page 6

THE DROUGHT SPECTRE.

OONDITTONS IN NEW SOUTH ■.•.■■••'.■'■ "■ --WALES.-.'. ■;■ ■ ■■

RAIN QREATLY NEEDED)

• :' ''■. r>algety's Weekly ;Iteview -for tbe '.' ';'loT7illg; Vr^-—-:.'■■■'■■"'■'■■■-''■■■ -■■■■■-■ .'[' ' ■.■'■*'■-' .'..>•• '..' ' ■■ ;' • - ;©a?-Iy' ?m P;th.*i :■ ;practi<?a}ly; .all; parts of/ the ; .-.^i*te. '"■< -where droughty conditions have pce1 • vailedi of late give c'ui&& for anxiety. :'■ The welcome news from West Australia of rain there: hat; given hope ot rain in New South "Wales over the -table-lands, slopes, ia-nd plains. Reports from the north-west show*-that laii-ge numbers of sheep have beer sent from Morce, Narrabri, and <mfc Collarenebai w*.y to tlie Upper Hunter end! northern tableland, but tho tableland itself is beginning to fe<»l /the strain of dry weather, There &w mobs of shefep on nenaly every stock iwite on the'.'search'for grass. Many . mobs iu-e travelling from Moree oi<sA and noi-th towards-Queensland. L'isi ■ Sunday morning no less than ,ft«-e mobs of. starving sheep passed along the stock route, travelling east to wards the tableland, between', .daylight and mid-day. 'Th ey; were Ai I camped within a radius, of throi--miles. The stock routes generally arc practically denuded of feed, although iihere are-, patches of rough feed hero and there. Not only that, but the waterholesi are becoming unwhoiel--some. ■ On many stations scrub-cut " ting has been, proceeding for somt; \ "Weaks, but since the 1902 drought ' there is on msniy rims a* shoi-tago /f 1 scrub feed, such aa myiill and w.ilg'» Ma.ny pastorf>lists around NarriibW and Moree decka-e there will be n-j lambing, ?.&, even H the ' ewes giv«J birth^to lambs, thicre will be no sus- '. tenance froirr the starving ewes, erasi if plenty of scrub be provided. Thero ar© ;localities'- near JVloree ' which are well off for. grass, and are even taking in horses for agistiiient. There was a phenomenal ftJl of about six inches of rain early in the year at 'Gun'ley' and Tycannnh,' when. -Mo.rea. not many miles aw^iy, only i*ecen rel _;two inchesv, ■ .As the -resultj thf" yevc is .-;■•: plenty--qf d-ry feed for stock. - Bpiirke it is repoi"ted that ./•since-Jiajiußiiry-Ist only 45 ppintsi of, irain/ have been i^stered in fth^' *iii \ :r- '-^m&l^MttQft'-Jffi../•:f«6flyt^nS- v it 11%,-. ~»■ -.. ppasiessing>g;r.:fes •:o'nl^'-^'rive'' it'.'-mtsV.ic^* ; a- ory: stiite^tha^ :it-• is) of ;littie' ; -.vn.fvto.. for fette; ndng'/'--'pufppi^^.\;i'-:;Tlti;s>'':!j-j..' grass, howover, will keep np the wm dition of stock; for an indefinite timo . provided the: stock ere kept , <&■'. vScrub-cuttihg commeKoed some few weeks ago in this district; ten r mp'n are at present employed on Fort ±toii.rke Station, and if rain does «iofc fall, shortly at len.st 25 more will bi» put on. Mitlga. is the chief ffl.U-bn-ic Jiere for the pastoraJist*. The 1902 drought almost ■demised-some of ti u > ~..■;> stations-of-their available quantity cf 1 n*«fe so they are, no t now in . -the' good position that they then v/ei-o ;./.-•,'oTb©: :^O|iier^iesi lying between Bnurk* •;.'v:-.stn4.rr'pbrbar seem to be better off -o •

feed than do the stations lying between Bourke and , Wanajuring, a-i»:I

Hungerfoi-d and Brewi-rrina

. The water supply is now giving rite ■ to ;a certain -amount- of anxiety, >' especially in those cases, where the grazier can daily >cc all his available ■ supply of water-gnklually eraporsiitirig tand being; usedup. Those st a tionsVwhich possess: artesian vbc*es '■;> vi% \6i -course, in? position to : ■thooe^wliicli;,depend upon their .•ckaiis'.-V ; 'in' tt; tfew isofe^d ;ca^i stock Ji:»r;'i; ', been removed;: ;f f om) stations' lately,' possessing' goo-cTj feed,. but the .water supply h;us failed. During the past few weeks there have been some big '■ movements in station sheep. "TooraLe : Station has at present 25,000 sheep I grazing upon Dunlop Station. -Eleven. ( thousand sheep have lately left Beemery Station, en route for Aide laide, in search, for ■= feed.. /t Many smaller holdings have also removed their stock. Practically all the stations between here and Brev/amna have all their stock v.w&y on agistmonfc country in more favored parts. There have been no heavy losses '/f . stock ireported yet- on laocount of starvation: A dry time like this requires the never-ceasing vigilance on tae part of the grazier, and1 all t<he station hands are now busily employed fencing off dlams that are, in some cwses, rapidly drying up. Those stations that lie along the banks cf the- Darling River are now busily building brush fences in the bod <)*' the iriver to keep the stock confined to tlieire legitimate boundaries, ir.a Darling River is now lower here tb.au it hasl been for ten years. In i-,.p----pearance it would remind one of a large lagoon. It is quite full oi weeds. Emus are now plentiful along the Darling River, and are a, greatsourco of annoyance to the stations. Thf.v move about sometimes in pairs, and shmetimes in large mobsy and the.'r presence is very Jlisturbing to the sheep, causing them to stampede, thus pulling them down in condition Kangaroos f:lso a.ppear to be plentiful on some stations. In Riiverina the water supply is very low, and feed very scarce. Water trains, airo running continually ; now between Wagga. and , Junee. Iti tlie :<country proper practically thet^hioie lof the supply has to'be. carted, in; j some,cases for ift&ny;miles. ; iWatcr" {; Jioles, creeks, and lagoons, which haVe !;:nevGr b'een^knbwnt to^fsnl absolutfeiy ; This; is.dtae ,t6 hthe^sibseiioe of "summer rains /in,;,any /appreciafyl^ > qti.iptity. One hotelkebper ■'"■• of ■ fo/resight -in Riverina is. at 'present said to be sell • { itig £20 .-■yvorth Qf w.ater per ..week. Some years ngo he put down a we'll,'obtained a fine supply'of good water in the drift, ,-i.ndi erected a suction en gine for raising it. The result is that jhe now has an abundant supply for i his hotel and plenty to meet the re I qniromente of the public. As a resit't I | ofthc lack of feed and the bitter iy,. ■ coTd nights stock are rapidly fallinjr ! off in condition, and it i» now certain that very heavy losses will be sustained. ■ ■ ''. ■'■ , ; According to v Corowa report •irfn»

outlook from a pastoral point pf view is veiy bad. Many owners, when found the country denuded of g™*s. with no prospect of rain to bring about a new shoot, rushed a prop-^r-tion of their flocks iwre,y to more ifcvomble districts. This in itself was' a costly undertaking, but they now tina •th-at these* iandfe are unable to ary longer carry their sheep, and1 they are fciped' with rone -of four decisions—(l). To' sell; (2) bring them home ~,?,?*!• feed; (3)rlet them take their chanre ; •''(f/br''^k'.a;-fui^hWvfield'-ioT"new1 -.pa?-' turesi/ • The adoption^ of one-of the four named steps is: seen in different directions, but whichever one is accepted the cost is heavy-. Owners whe are feeding state that it is even at this early- stage more expensive tha-a in the 1902 drought. Victoria is boing . drawn on for chaff, while he Fry tninsactioiTS in lucerne from the northern parts of this State have taken pisoce. On one big run nea.r C~rown, the owner started to feed with cha.ff &nd bran mixed, and when the latter gave out the cheep absolutely ■refused tq> touch chaff alone, ar>d although it h:.s beon frequently '\>vt out for them, they, though in a starring condition, will not touch it. O-i all sides sheep <-are repoi-ted to bo dying, while the jaitimin lambing cs.p only be written down as a dismal tail ui-e*