NOTES PROM THE COUNTRY

Western Star, Issue 1349, 27 April 1889, Page 4

NOTES PROM THE COUNTRY

[I!Y OUR R.VJUiBIXa COKKESI'OXUKXT.] y think that I can venture to say that thin season’s crop has been safely gathered in ; of course wo take but little notice of tuc few patches that ore yet green, as the farmer himself is to pay for this Every threshing millavailable know in full swing, and everywhere you go the roads arc lined with teamsters hauling the grain to market. 1 hear nothing of the Tires Act now, and it is to bo hoped the County Council have had the good souse to drop the matter altogether. The yield of onts on tho Waimatuka Flat, the whole way from tho Riverton road to Isla Rank is exceedingly good ; in several instances GO and 70 bushels has been obtained, and one paddock of black tartars on Route Christo estate averaged 80 bushels. To produce such heavy crops the land must ho of the. most fertile description, but it is very much to bo regretted that the farmers have no outlet for drainage, and owing to this the best of the land is still in its native • state, and will in all probability remain so unless some united action takes place to open op the several water-courses. Several attempts, as you ore aware, have been made to form a River Board with that object in view, hut hitherto no arrangement has been made ; those of tbo lower part believing they would be swamped out by the proposed work, while residents in the vicinity of Is la Bank have got it into their hoods that the whole thing would bo up a tree long before it could como within miles of them. Sonic of the knowing cues have frequently remarked this to me, but those imaginary troubles will no doubt pass off in tho same way as a very recent iVRa that the valley was about to become the future bed of the mighty waters of tho Apalima. There is now a cry on tho opposite side that in a very short time the Opio creek will be no more, as the Aparima is about to swallow it up. Tho river is encroaching in that direction, and indeed such a thing may happen at any time It is therefore high time tho O'autau River Board did their duty in the matter, as tho inhabitants of Strathmore and Otautan arc in imminent danger of being totally mined. I notice that the farmers on tho Strathmore Flat have some very large stacks of straw in their paddocks, and that is about all that remains of this season’s crop, as the grain has been sent away by tho iron horse. Ploughing preparatory for next year’s crop lias been commenced here, and already Mr R. Guppies has a big piece sown with wheat, and I am told that he intends to sow a considerable amount more without delay so as to bo able to supply the millers, in March next when all our grain stores will contain nothing but the bare walls. From a paragraph appearing in your local columns the other day it was made to appear that a scam of coal was discovered in Hodgkinson on the Yellow Bluff.- As to how your informant was supplied with tho information Las nothing to do with me, but the general impression among the inhabitants of that embryo village is that the coal m question dropped oh" some drays ,whilo_ coining that wav from Mackintosh’s pit, which fact alono accounts for the important discovery, but if your correspondent is in a position to prove to the contrary so much the better for us all. A valuable horse belonging to Mr P. Ryan, Hoddon Bush, nearly camo to his death recently nndor somewhat peculiar circumstances. Tho animal was turned out one night with a cover, and as ho was in the habit of divesting himself of the cover, it was nmo-'sery to bucklo it on him I'athor tight, and as heavy rain fell and shrunk up the clothing, it was found next day that tho rope had cut half way into the animal’s tail. In a very short time a great, swelling took place through mb the hind quarters, so much so that his recovery seemed hopeless. But Mr Rvan and his brother wore determined to do what they could for the poor creature, which must have been in great agony,and for three solid v ceks they bathed hiin with warm water, with the satisfactory result that the horso is /now all right.