COUNTRY NEWS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 252, 27 November 1914, Page 10

COUNTRY NEWS.

(From Our Special Correspondents.)

DUNSANDEL. Uaiii commenced to fall at Dunsandei on Tuesday night, and it continued on until Wednesday evening. For the past fortnight there" has been a succession of drying winds and the country hail a >" dried-up appearance. The gnrn crops and, pastures should now be hi a favoniable condition for some tin.e, and the outlook is more encouraging. Previoiis to the rain feed was rather scarce, but i it should now come away very freely. From present appearances the crops 1 „V"will not bo so heavy in straw as last ye,aiv Already some fields' of bailey and wheat are "out in ear and the blades are not more than tv.o feet high. Some good paddocks* of clover may be seen throughout the district, especially in the heavier swamp country. In Killinehy and the crops are soinewhat backward, but on this class of;.soil;with good weather a wonderful change'"is wrought in the course of a few weeks. ;

All the gardens and orchards have suffered' severely- by the late frost. Shearing is now genoral and somo .good tallies have been recorded. On Monday evening Mr 11. M. Ste>vatt gave a lecture on the failures of No-license, and the fallacies of prohibition in the'Bunsandel Hall. There was .a'-fair .attendance and the speaker was given a patient hearing.

WAIAU. "It is a long time since the Amuri was looking so,, dry and parched as it has lately- Although in the Whalesback district conditions are not So bad, round Waiau the crops have been in a bad way for lack of rain. Several crops of oats ; Only a few inches high wore beginning to come out in ear and everything pointed to a dry summer and a shortage of grain. Early on Wednesday morning >aiji began to fall and a copious down- •, pour followed throughout the day. This 0 has been a most welcome <>vent and -should go a long way to save many acres of valuable grain-