HOROWHENUA.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 287, 1 November 1934, Page 12

HOROWHENUA.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) OTAKI, Oct. 31. The annual goneral mooting of the Otaki Athletic and Cycling .Club was hold on Monday night, when Mr D. Richards was elected president. The balance-sheet showed a credit of over £3O. It is expected that the coming season will be a very successful one.

Members of the Otaki River Board, with a Government engineer, visited the upper reaches of tho Otaki River on Monday and viewed the damage done of late. Although the flood on Saturday night was not a heavy one, the waters had reached well up the stop-bank, part of which has been carried away, leaving a portion of Mr Crystal’s land exposed to a swiftly-running current. Mr Marino has also lost valuable land on the northern side, while Mr Synnott and Mr Kyle have also lost heavily during tho past few years. These properties are on the southern side. Unless extensive work is done a big flood will do much more damage, and at the same time will make inroads towards the township. An attempt is at present being made to divert tho water from tho southern bank by tho erection of a fence and the cutting of a channel. However, this work is in the hands of a few men only who have only horses and drays for use. Dr Francis, who has been seriously ill, is making good progress towards recovery. The white butterfly may be seen in Otaki in thousands, and much harm is likely to bo done to market gardens. _ Last year the loss caused by the butterflies was large. Potato blight has already rnado its appearance here, many crops being affected. Tho lands in the vicinity of the Otaki River which suffered from floods three voar c ’ ago arc now in excellent condition, in fact some liavo never been better Feed is kneo-deep on some holdings. Stock are looking well and the milk yields are very 1 J have spread over hundreds of aerns of riverbed land, during the past three years, while plants are plentiful along the banks.