FIRE ON A FARM.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19807, 26 November 1919, Page 8

FIRE ON A FARM.

CLAIM FOR, DAMAGE DONE

At tho Magistrate’s Court this afternoon Florence Adeline Maud Cullen, wife of James Cullen, of Culverden, farmer, claimed from Hanmer Atkinson, of AVoodbmik, Hanmer Springs, sheep farmer, the sum of £172 10s, for damages alleged to have been suffered bv her on account of a fire lighted bv the defendant or his servants on June 7, which spread on to plautiff’s property. Air H. Van Asch appeared for the plaintiff. and Air AI. J. Gresson for the defendant.

Air Van Asch said that tho plaintiff owned a block of land near Culverden. property at the north-west corner. The lire spread Irom defendant’s properly to that of plaintiff’s. She endeavoured to subdue the fire, and thought it was extinguished, but, owing probably to the peaty nature of the land, the flames broke out again and did the damage complained of. ° The plaintiff said she owned the Ctouu leasehold of the blocks of land containing 430 and 383 acres respectively. Woodbank adjoined her farm on the western side. On Juno 7 a lire came across from Woodbank on to her farm. Subsequently she received a. letter from the defendant, written on June 9, stating that he had started a lire which ho noticed had run through his boundary to her property, and __ he hoped it had done no damage. When tho fire broke out her three children and a man did! their best to put it out. About four or five acres of grass was burnt on her property that night. The next day a heavy nor’-wester came on and tho lire restarted, and burnt between 3o and 40 acres of grass- AVhen the lira reached a marshy piece of ground, two men, assisted by her children, were able to put it out. 'Hie paddock which was burnt off had been sown with about of aud* about a bushel of Italian rvegra-ss. She pint eight cows in the paddock after the fire, five of which died. They were weak through want of feed and they broke through to another paddock, where they died. The paddock iwould bo useless until it was reploughed and sown agapn in grass. She believed it would cost her aobut tor seed and 30s for labour in Betting live work done.

Mt Gresson; She knew that the fire was not properly extinguished on ill" Sunday night, but she believed it to bo perfectly safe. She left a flax hush burning because the grass around it was burned-. -She was perfectlv certain that the second outbreak commenced from the flax bush. (Proceeding.)