FARMING UNDER FIRE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 250, 16 December 1940, Page 7

FARMING UNDER FIRE

THE COURAGE OF BRITAIN SOME WARTIME PROBLEMS A. reader lias forwarded a letter received from a farming family in the South of England, written in early September (equivalent to our season in early March. Some passages give an idea of what farming is like under air raids. One tells of two big enemy bombers brought down nearby. The second crashed in a field in which were grazing 50 high grade milking cows and "they gave hardly any milk for several days." Mention is made of eight German airmen parachuting down and this is described as "a really pretty sight." This problem is told, of: "We are up nearly every night, for they drop a lot of incendiary bombs and we are afraid of these destroying the corn, We shall thresh out as soon as ever we can. We shall put the stacks in different fields to guard against fires.' That is all right, but the trouble is we shall want the straw in the yards near the cattle in winter; but we shall have to manage as best we can." A Farm Wife's Problems. Envy is expressed of the New Zealand recipient's having a bag of sugar—''Shouldn't I just love it, for one really cannot make cake or do much other cooking without sugar. And then we have such a lot of fruit this year, and I shan't be able to make much jam." 1 Another extract reads: "We had a leg of New Zealand lamb on Sun-* day, 61b for 8s or Is 4d a pound. (These prices equal 10s and Is 8d in New Zealand money). It was very nice; we do not get much beef :as the-troops have that." There is this reference to billeting: "We had 96 soldiers in 1 the yard and two officers in the house some time ago and since have had two more lots. We never know when more may come and this keeps me busy." A reference to invasion: ::We are not allowed visitors except by permit as we're in the danger zone, only three miles from the coast. We are expecting an invasion any time; the weather is suitable now . . . He (Hitler) won't get on very well, I can' assure you; we shall all turn out and fight, j . . Dear Old England is not going to let a man like that rule her, no fear, even if we die in the attempt."