WETHERSTONES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2389, 14 December 1899, Page 29

WETHERSTONES.

December 11.—The weather during the pas< / fortnight .'has .been something . extraordinary; with thunder and rain. The excessive wet and heat at times aro making all vegetation ' grow rapidly, especially weeds and docks. Th'o rain is injuring the early potatoes. They are running to tops too much. The 27th November was gloomy all day, but fine, barometer 29.3; at 11 p.m. it began to rain, and rained all night, and very heavily next morning, changeable throughout the day, wind from N.E., round N., .about to S.W., barometer 29.15; showery on the morning of the 29th, . blowing from N.W. throughout the day, and hotf barometer 7 a.m. 29.2, 9 p.m. 28.89; the last day of November waß warm, with thunder showers, barometer 29.3; Ist December- gloomy, but warm, at night .heavy rain from N.E., barometer 29.16; Saturdayf-2nd, was a day to be reckoned with. In the morning a rough. N.E. gale with rain, and thunder by noon, tho thunder mid rain from S.W. lasting some hours, some of the claps being both loud and • close. There waß an ice shower at Lawrence, and a great .destruction cf glass, all the windows facing the storm being broken; 'Mr Moss, gardener, Lawrence, had his glasshouse completely destroyed, and there are others whoae glasshouses were all broken. Some of the pieces of ice were as big as road metal, clear on one side and opaquo on the other. Clark's Flat was'llbout the centre of the storm. • It penetrated the iron icof of a woolshed there, but - the iron was old. The storm travelled towards Bryant's Hill, on the 'lower road to Waipori, but it did not reach the latter .place. Here in Wetherstones/ we only had some Heavy drops of rain. On' Sunday, the 3rd, then) was more heavy thunder and join, and Btrong hot" winds, barometer 29.20; ,tHe 4th.,was tho. | .wettest .day we Hav^ had for some iamei the. / only day there has been '-, a. flood for Eonie , months. It rained'ircni'N.E. to 1 E. all morning, chongingto S.E. and then'to SiW. f 1 and still heavy rain. " It" stopped at night* ; barometer 20.25,.- The .next' "day "was "fine, . wind S.W. to N.W., barometer 29.35, the highest it has' been for -some weeks; the 6th, -fine, wind N.W., and cold, heavy rain at midnight, barometer 7 a.m. 23.27, 9 p.m. 28.94; the next _, day was fine in the morning, afterwards rough ' and strong S.W. wind and rain, clearing at night, but cold, barometer 23.91, unsteady; the Bth was gloomy at times, wind N.W. to W, changing to S.W,, strong and cold, barometer 29.16; Saturday morning clear and fine, showers -throughout the day, wind N.W. tc S.W., barometer 23.83, falling; Sunday, 10th, n perfect summer day, hot at times, wind W, to N.W., barometer 8 a.m. 58.63, 9 p.m. 28.65. falling, heavy rain inte at night or early on Monday morning, barometer at 7 a.m.' 20.63. Tho lowest reading of the, thermometer was 50deg at 7 am. of the 9th, the highest SSdcg "at 2 p.m. of the 3rd. I The Elections.—The elections aro over at last, and \ for one ant glad *>f it. It was a perfect boil over in this district. .Nearly ' evory one expected Mr Rawlins to head the j poll, but his attitude on the Old Age Pension ' spoilt his chance, for I heard men of all ages, ! even men below 3) years of f.ge, and who had ' , no prospect of the pension, say that they would ' not vote for him because of the speech he i made in the House on the old age pensioners. > ' Every one thought that Mr Fraser would >be 1 second on the poll. No one expected he would I be so low dqwn. " f