NOTES FROM SOUTHLAND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1829, 30 April 1888, Page 3

NOTES FROM SOUTHLAND.

(JTROM OUB OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The weather during the present month has been everything that could be desired, the much abused nor'-wester having the good effect of drying up the land which enabled our farmers once more to resume the cutting, and I can as-ure you that no time wae lost while the sun and moon gave out their light. Those who were unable to do all the work m tix days, wont at it again on the seventh, and may their labors be abundantly blessed I say. After all many of the farmers on the Ore'i Plains seem sadly behind, so mnoh so that a large proportion of the late sown cropj •re not yet cut, and aB the ripening eeaion is over, I fail to ccc what on earth the people are waiting for. The frosts will whiten, it ie true, and that is about all. From what I have seen of them I would, and that without hesitation, hazard the asserton, that most of the crops m question will do little more than pay the expense of threshing. I would not bo at all surprised to hear some of the farmers exclaim, when the threshing is over, that they would have been much more ia pocket, had they set fire to it before the reaper was put to work Somehow or other farmers after all of what is said and done, seem determined to adhere to the old traditional method of doing all and everything, which no doubt accounts for the fact that no steps have been taken to pot into practice the most valuable instructions which from time to time have formed the subject of leading articles m all the newspapers of the colony with reference to ensilage This ceneon offers every opportunity of trjing this new method of harvesting, the uncut crops, as a rule, being heavy, free from rust, and quite green. However, as lam about to try the experiment myself I Bball make do further comments. i?ome people will have it that the depression is now at an end, and that things are looking up, but, judging from the fol lowing foots one would be inclined to think otherwise. Last week a largely attended meeting was held at Drummond. a little township on the Oreti Plains, to ooDsider what would be a fair wage for men working with threshing mills. After the usual remarks from the Chairman, several eloquent speeches were made Q here was no lack of speakers, mauy of whom were actually foaming at the mouth, and the language used on both ■ides was, to my idea, far more forciblo than polite. After about two hours " jawing " the meeting broke up m confusion. Not being saiisßed with this result, the few farmers remained behind until Dick, Tom and Harry bad made themselves scarce, when a second meeting took place, at which the following reeolu tioa was unanimously agreed to :— v That the wages be 9d an hour without food but the farmers are prepared to supply food at the rate of 4d a meal, lunch, it any, lo be given m." To you Ashburtoniaps the foregoing arrangements may appear not out of the way, but when we tajse into consideration the lateness of the season, which must result m much Ipss of time, though wet weather^ npd bad roads, saying nothing of the shortest day being close at hand, wo cannot but admit that the mill hands havo got the worst of it. Bitherto the men have been getting 9d an hour and found, thereby tbrowipg ail the loes from bad weather, upon the farmer, who at times Lad to tucker all hands for upwards of a fortnight, waiting for a dry day to put through his bit of grain, and as each mill owner has sixteen bullocks for shifting about with, the farmer has to feed them also, which means a great deal to a small settler with only a few hours threshing. But what shall we say now, that all the risk has been thrown upon those who go with the mill. £ Since writing the above it has come to my knowledge that all hands have struck, and as many as are able are off to Victoria, where it m to be hoped they will meet with better luck, but i question it very much. I worked with the farmers there for upwards of ton year's, and it never came to my lot to have a bettor Bleeping place than a hen-house or a yaparit stall i# the atable, and talk about a JJendigo. pudgier, 16 hours a day, a man is very lucky if he gets off at that. Not many years ago I was engaged on the Bbeepwash Creek, near old Bondigo. Every morning, Sunday included, I had to start milking at half-past three o'olock, and by the time I would have eight or ton cows milked, I generally felt as if I could eat a good breakfast, which was always ready at six o'clock, and after this meal was over, I had to go out m the field on m the bush, and work m the broiling eun until 1 eight -o'clock p m , thereby beating the puddler by one 'hour. Talk of country life and roughing it, farm laborers and shepherds m New Zealand are kings compared with those of Australia. Jf anyone wanis to see misery and deo tifcntion among tho farming community, 1 would reoonimend him to take a stroll fhrpussh the' Charlotte Plains on the Lqddpjij or tjie Terripk Terrick Blabs on tfyo p^ftn Hill road, when he would see scores of families huddled together m log hutn, notwithstanding that they have been there for over twenty yeare, and there are only a few that can boast of having either doom or windows m tneir dwellings ; a few old eaoks doing duty for both. Without further (irespadping. on your valuable! fcpac^, | wish: to leniark that m throwing out th'J foregoing hints, [that I have no end io view other than the interest of your readers',