EFFECT OF DROUGHT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16620, 10 April 1928, Page 10

EFFECT OF DROUGHT

NORTH ISLMD CONDITIONS VARIED CONDITIONS Interviewed on his return from .atour of itho, North; Island between'; Auckland and Wpljington, .Mr. Dynes' Fulton, chairman of "directors of the' Now Zealand Go-Operative'Dairy Co., had some interesting comments to- : • make on the' effects of the '• climatic? Conditions otuj the; districts through; which he passed (states the Waikato Times). When . discussing the drought, in;; January, Mr. Riltoh Opinion that it w6iils be belief t£ rain" jspt 'off : when there would-be so much he>t in A the sun as to afford a better chancel of a late 'autumn. Tha|," he statpd a, few days ago^'was exactly'what had. happened in many .parts, although it unfortunate 5 and that the rain had not been'general imi ' The lower Waikatp, from Mercer ,to', Auckland was oasily-tke inbst strickeht drought area he had seen, and reflected, worse frpjn a dairy fameis' point' pi' view than in any other territory in the Waikato. Since the,r,ain\'.at the'«*idh of February and .carly : March',; however, very much of-that v .«puntjiy.;hi'a, become quite a picture although a further good rain was urgently, needed. Frem Mercer right through tho TO;i-' fcatp, the country; was looking exceedingly well, almost equal to springtime,' and the indications' wer-fc. that there would be a good Tate autumn. The increase from many herds had already been quite phenomenal, that- ssas, on properties"mat had'"been "well farmed and Oh the main road south through the King Country the pptures were, added Mr. Fulton, looking exceedingly,, well, until Urenui was reached. ■ FrplMi there, through Waitara,, Bell Block aud indeed the whole of . northern. Taranaki, the country 'wassuffering"; from tlie long dry spellf and 'farmers . Avhom ho had knpwn Jqi 'SO; years, de-.j clared they had never seen 'North Taranaki sp dry. The -speaker, certainly never had. From In-glewood right through spilth Taranaki iiig exceptionally well,'but from Palmerstbn to Wellington tho country ~if very dry and particularly about Levin,'} where the land is'of; excellent (quality. Thus in the short distance of from tfQO to 400 miles the climatic .'fioadir tions have varied to such an extent that it is difficult to understand; "Whilst I still think the -dry spell will have a compensating result," • said Mr. Futyon to his ;ihtbrviewer,|' the fact nevertheless remains that it had hit' the dairy farmers very severely and the loss sustained this season through the drought had put many who just struggling >Ver the skvline, back a great deal." Jn the N.Z.C.D. Co >$ own territory,; said Mr. Fulton, there had been an increase for March of about; 12,points over i February, which indicated that the rains had been fairly'general in the ' Waikato, and the output was, he ' thought, going to be maintained longer': I than tho company had hoped 'for a I few weeks ago. ;