THE DROUGHT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 13 February 1908, Page 2

THE DROUGHT.

ITS EFFECTS IN THE WAIMEAS.

THE SCARCITY OF WATER.

A RUINED HARVEST.

BAD LOOK-OUT FOE THE WINTER

(Written for the "Evening Mail.")

Generally there seems to be no question that the drought now being experienced here as elsewhere is tho severest on record. The rainfal since October has been exceedingly small, ihe early spring was unusually wet, and the ?ancf was so thoroughly saturated in the early part of October that ,t was thought that there was likely to be a wet summer. But that such anticipations were not realised we all know -to our sorrow. The high winds that were experienced after the weather cleared caused the land to settle down and cake , making it difficult to work Since then j only very light rains have fallen at fairly long intervals, and they were not sufficient to reach the subsoil, so that at the present time there is very little moisture left in the soil. Seldom, it ever, before have the rivers, watercourses, and springs been so lpw as they are at the present time. Creeks and springs that have never been known to fail before are now quite dry, and have been for some time past. The scarcity of water is a more serious matter to fanners than scarcity ot feed, as the stock naturally require more water at a time like the present than at any ordinary time. This fact is easily proved where stock are .running. In places where water is plentiful they are looking well and are in the pink ot condition, although the feed may be short. Many settlers are at their wits end to know how to keep their stock supplied with water at the present time, so the position is becoming very serious, especially in view of the numerous fares that arc continually breaking out in dif-

ferent parts of the country. The dry summer has enabled farmers | to gather the harvest of hay and cereals { in an extraordinarily short time. But it may be that is has been got in too dry, as on account of the many exceptionally hot days that have prevailed of late many of the crops cannot be said to have ripened normally. They have simply withered witth the extreme heat. It is feared that this will be made rather painfully apparent, and when th. stacks are cut into chaff or threshed it is more than likely that many disappointments will be the result. The experience of those who have already threshed bears out this supposition, as the proportion of seconds to firsts ot corn threshed is inclined to be in favour

of the former. The effect of the long dry spell and the extreme heat has been disastrous to all root crops, especially the later sown areas. Except in a few isolated cases of favoured localities the rape, turnip, and potatoes, in fact, all root crops, are suffering severely- In cases where farmers have had their rape and tunups sown at the usual season they had the disagreeable experience of seeing what promised to be a really good crop gradiiallv Ji.app«»r from ™». because of the want of sufficient moisture and the successive heat waves. It is feared that the potato crop will be a complete failure—that is, the main crop. The area under cultivation is comparatively small, and the tubers are likewise ( small A good raiii would most likely bring about second growth or blight,, possibly both. With regard to the turnip crop, should we be fortunate enough to have a good rain within the next week or two it will be possible to get a decent plant of the grey stone variety. A good many farmers' are making preparations on the chance of the rain coming in time to make the experiment. . The drought is also making itself painfully apparent in the kitchen gardens and orchards. Vegetables of all kinds are becoming articles of luxury instead of common necessaries of life. Potatoes are beins? sold by the lb. instead of by the sack or ton, as is u.ually the case at this time of the year. Onions, like potatoes, are very small, and also scarce. Tho same remark applies to all classes of vegetables, except where irrigation haß been carried out; but unfortunately very few people have been able to irrigate. Fruit trees are shedding their fruit at an alarming rate. Blight and codlin moth are among the most flourishing things now remaining in the orchards, in spite of Orchard and Garden Pest Acts, inspectors, arid spl-ayiugs. All these little matters mentioned above are only incidents in the life of the mm getting hi" living off the land. If some of those gentlemen who are at present engaged in stumping tbe country advocating the nationalisation of laud would only take up sonic land under the sixty-six years renewal lease, and be made subject to all the provisions of that lease in a season like the present, the chances are they would not object to a little bit of freehold themselves, or, better still, a good billet where "sweaters" or white waistcoats would take the place of dungarees and moleskins. In a season like tho present the lot of the farmer is not a bed of roses; but a serious business. There is not the least doubt that unless rain comes soon there will be a considerable shrinkage of the Dominion's exports for 1908. This will mean a curtailment of the people's spending powers.

All kinds of produce are meeting with fair demand and good prices; but, on the other hand, crops are light and will not yield up to tho average of other more favourable seasons. Thus, taking all things into consideration, it seems likely that 1908 will prove a rather lean year from a farmer's point of view and this will naturally affect other branches of industry.

Nelson badly needs industries such as freezing works, and also a fruit cannings works. The former we are likely to have very soon, and we must keep the latter steaily in view.