HAWEA AND WANAKA.

Otago Witness, Issue 1581, 4 March 1882, Page 13

HAWEA AND WANAKA.

(FROM OUR OWN 00BSBSPOMDBNT.) February 27th. _ In consequence of the late gloomy and variable weather farmers in the Lower Wanaka district are compelled to suspend reaping: operations for a short time, as several fields of corn are not yet fit for cutting. This will allow them ample time to cart and stack the corn they have in stook, at which work they are now busily engaged. Harvest weather appears to have just set in ; there is scarcely a breath of wind at present, the sky is cloudless, the sun's power is blazing, and the heat most oppressive. Should this broiling weather continue reaping will be resumed m a few days, and in all likelihood will continue to the finish. The farmers in this locality are loud in their complaints anent the ravages committed by the rabbits. They do not want to live on unfriendly terms with the runholder; but if stringent measures are not speedily enforced for their extermination the country wUI soon be overrun with the pest, and all attempts to cultivate the land will be rendered futile and abortive. The quantity of fruit grown in the small gardens at the head of Cadrona and Pembroke is really surprising. Apples, plums, and cherries have ripened to perfection. Through the medium of the Press I perceive that the block of country lying between the lakes, and locally known as the "Fork Run," is subdivided and offered for sale in two runs, independent of 4600 acres reserved as prime agricultural land. Better soil for the purpose cannot be procured in the southern hemisphere. The country is connected with the district of Hawea by means of the Hawea bridge. As a whole it is naturally fenced by the Takes and rivers ; firewood is abundant, and building timber can be easily and cheaply obtained. With a small amount of labour abundance of water can be obtained to irrigate the fertile portion of the country. In fact, there is no place in the Clutha Valley that offers such facilities for settlement, and the land is really magnificent.