FLOOD SEQUEL

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24875, 22 April 1944, Page 6

FLOOD SEQUEL

CATERPILLAR PLAGUE DESTRUCTION OF NEW GRASS (0.C.) WHARATANE, Friday Following the recent floods which inundated large areas of the Rangitaiki Plains has come a plague of caterpillars which is causing extensive damage to vitally-needed pastures, which in many cases have just been resown, on farms covering a wide area of the plains. Although this is not the first time that such a visitation has occurred, the damage is much more serious than formerly as farmers are still recovering from the effects of the floods. In many cases water covered their entire holdings. With much of the pasture previously available rendered useless! by water, under which it lay in some cases for days, and the rest of the paddocks being laid bare by hordes of caterpillars, the position is becoming increasingly serious and may result in a major problem for the district. Swarming Over Countrysido Apparently the Hoods were responsible for bringing the caterpillars and carrying widely scattered deposits of eggs into a compost area, where the heat from the sun caused them to germinate in record time. The result is that millions of caterpillars are swarming over the countryside in search of food, rapidly spreading wherever there is a good supply of grass. Farmers state that, although these plagues have occurred before, each one is worse than the last. They consider that the only course before xesowing of pastures commences is to wait for the winter frosts to kill the pest. The plague started in the-Paroa and Thornton districts. No sooner had the j grass in covered areas come away than the caterpillars made their appearance. I Thev swarmed across the countryside, j eating everything in their path. Serious Blow to Farmers Many farmers who were victims of I the flood and had recently sown suhI stantial areas in new grass found the - 1 fresh crop eaten to the earth overnight, j As a resuit some have suffered a second setback from which, it is stated, it will be impossible to recover without State assistance. The flood relief committee of the Primary Production Council has petitioned for additional supplies of superphosphate with which to dress the pastures in the hope of ! checking the pest. Although the damage started at I Paroa and Thornton, the affected area I to-dav extends north of Edgec-umbe ami is still spreading on to the mid-plains. Efforts to eliminate the pest have so far been unavailing. Flame-ihrrfwers ■ have been tried, as well as rollers, but , the results have not been satisfactory. THE OLD WINDMILL NO PLAN TO DEMOLISH ; "NOT EVEN CONSIDERED" ! A report that the old windmill on ! the Partington estate, Svmonds Street, • is to be demolished was categorically ; denied yesterday by Mr. R. King, manager of the trust department of ths New Zealand Insurance Company, Lim- " ited. which is managing the estats on behalf of the six next-of-kin of the " late Mr. Joseph Partington, who be- , came its owners as the result of a [ I Supreme Court judgment last Septem--1 | ber. j Mr. King said that the owners had ,; taken steps to demolish an old shop ' : and certain other dilapidated buildings ! | on the property, and to dispose of some ' ; old machinery and other chattels. Howi ; ever, the demolition of the windmill was , ! not contemplated and had not even f been considered. ; LOCAL AND GENERAL Anzac Day 1 ; The Hekald will not be published on 1 Tuesdav, Anzac Day. For the oonveni- ; ence of advertisers, the Queen Street office wili be open until 6 p.m. on MonI day and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on _ ; Tuesday. . : Rehabilitation Dress r ; An airman who recently returned to 1 civilian life after, four years' service, - more ihan three of them overseas, has 1 just received his account for the civilian a clothes he found it necessary to buy - upon discharge. For an outfit comprising a tailored suit, sports coat, flannel 1 slacks, raincoat, three shirts, and four a ties he is to pay £49 Qs 2d. Under- . clothes, socks, shoes and handkerchiefs 2 are not included. To meet this expens? - the mufti allowance was £25. • Telephone Windfall 1 In a time of rising costs telephone " subscribers in some of Auckland's outer suburbs received a pleasant surprise this week when a notice attached to the .• department's half-yearly account indi--1 cated a reduction in the rental charge. r The lower fee is the result of a slight v adjustment of the Auckland base-rate I area, following upon the full operation | of the new automatic exchanges at St. r. 1 Heliers, Avondale and Mourn? Albert. Previously the rentals of subscribers affected in these areas, which were outl side the department's base-rate ares, were assessed 011 a distance basis. f Auckland Gas Supply s The gas pressure in the city has been 1 poor during _ the last two days awl B many housewives have encountered da* e Acuities in preparing meals. A rep--1 resentative of the Auckland Gas Cob* • pany stated last night that, due to s the strike of the retort house workers f and firemen, the week was started wiuj t only a small stock of gas and it pa r been a haud-to-mouth position sine* a then. The men at the works were doing 1 the best they could, but it was not ii»- • usual during the week for the demana 0 to overtake the supply. The company 2 hoped to recover some of the lost ground during the week-end and on A~«ac 1W- • Naval Raid Anniversary 1 The 26th anniversary of the historic f naval raid on the ports cf ; brugge and Ostend during the las, war „ falls to-morrow, St. George s Day. ■ , purpose of the action was to blocs tn entrance of both ports, which were being much used by the enemy as marine bases. Admiral Sir Roger £ J , was in charge of the hazardous ventu , 1 which was highly successful _at brugge. At Ostend the expedition w less fortunate, but 16 daysJ Ja r Vindictive, which had led the Zeebrngg® raid, was sunk squarely across the cpa. net at Ostend. Nearly ail the Bru! craft returned safely, but there 637 casualties, s Two Shilling Fines , t Fines of Is without casts were 1 by Mr. J. H. Luxford, S.M.. W t*> ■" separate prosecutions by the poup® I - terday. A girl, aged 18, admitted » e charge of furiously riding a horse aOS '■ the Filers!ie main highway on Sun February 6. Defendant told the 3 trate that she allowed the hone d gallop for about 100 yards m orde^ t quieten it. The other case was -• * , which John Victor White (Mr. 0-^ - Snedden) was charged with conduce^ • a dance hall without a licence. Ooun.. • explained that White's offence j 1 caused through a slight misunclers _ e iiiii between defendant and the lice * ? body, the Auckland City Council. T Hospital No Man's Land j The old anomaly which excludes , Auckland Hospital site and the e from Auckland City for r tor a I purposes conies again to a as the triennial local _ body ele r draw nearer. Its principal effect is 1 disfranchise about 300 cn.ployees nurses, who live on the perty. Patients, whose usual plaoM^ r residence are elsewhere, are n < j I Legally the bospital site and t 3 Domain are part of Eden count -?' : which the Counties Act does 0, 0^ 1 are. and which, therefore, has no co - council to he elected ! " ths - anonialv is strange.-t ! ' > v the f Domain, which is .administeredJ City Council, 'but is not city