WELCOME RAIN.

Waikato Times, Volume 104, Issue 17581, 10 December 1928, Page 7

WELCOME RAIN.

BENEFIT TO PASTURES. WATER TANKS REFILLED. Just when the pastures were begin- ! ning to show undoubted evidences of ! the need for moisture, heavy rain ! commenced to fall about 5 o’clock ! yesterday afternoon, and continued : until six o’clock this morning. The i fall was steady throughout and has : done a tremendous amount of good to : the pastures and gardens. It has also 1 performed another very beneficial act for the farmers by tilling their tanks. In numerous instances these had run very low, and the farming community was beginning to feel worried on this account, fearing a repetition of the conditions of last year’s disastrous drought. In many cases hay was made while the sun shone, although the harvest has by no means been completed. The rain came on so suddenly that it caught many with their grass cut, but not stacked. Still, if a further fine spell follows, the damping will do the hay no harm, while there is no doubting the tremendous amount of good the downpour lias done. The fall varied in different parts of the district* being heavier in the country than in Hamilton itself, where the fall was .4 inches. RAIN GENERAL IN TARANAKI. FARMERS’ FEARS RELIEVED. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) NEW PLYMOUTH, Monday. During about 24 hours, from midnight on Saturday to midnight, on Sunday, 3.62 inches of rain fell here. The fall is apparently general over Taranaki, greatly relieving farmers, who were beginning to fear a repetition of last summer's drought.