THE DAMAGE IN THE COUNTRY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11493, 28 January 1903, Page 8

THE DAMAGE IN THE COUNTRY.

TREES DESTROYED AND CROPS DAiIAGED.

WATERSPOUTS ON THE PORT HILLS.

A representative of "The Prees" left town at three o'clock yesterday afternoon with the view of inquiring into the damage done in the Halsweil, Tai Tapu, Lincoln, and Prebbktoa districts. Fine weather was ex-

perienced as far as Halswell, when matters looked decidedly threatening. With tbe exception of a few battered crops, no special signs of damage were apparent until abour a mile from Lansdowne had been covered, -when the presence of a full-grown willow tree ia the madklte of the road showed that the utuwn luwl made itself felt in that locality. A little further on it was impopdble to avoid noticing certain blue-gum branches, which though not detached from the paj-ent trees, were turned and twisted as though they had been puitr, rather than hard wood. At Mr" J. Smith's farm branches were strewed about everywhere, and three or four of ilu.se without leaf or stem were driven through the weather-boards of Mr Smith's In/use, and aiv stili sticking theie. Here again it was the north sidtf of the house wiiiich suifu-ed, and the poplar tree from who'll t he branches had been blown was souk* thirty yards away to tlte northward. When the gale was at its heigat a lady, who was driving a light trap, lett her vehicle on the roiul, and ran into Mr Smith's house for shelter, and though branches were hurtling through the air in all directions, she and her horse escaped without damage. All the mischief here was caused within a few minutes of 12.30 p.m.. Our reporter overtook a small mob of sheep, driven by Peryman Bros., who stated that they were on the hills when two waterspouts passed them at a distance of about one hundred yards. They >ay that it was lucky for them that they were, dear of the path of theso waterspouts, for no man could have lived in their track. The heavy crops were down all along this portion of the road.

At Mr R. Heaton Rhodes's estate at Tai Tapu there were twenty minutes of continuous hail, and, as may* be imagined, it left its marks behind. Rows of pots of choice chrysanthemums were knocked to pieces, the plane trees were stripped of their leaves, young apples so indented by the heavy hail as to .x-ave no promise of future usefulness, and some fine rows of ctltry, rhubarb, etc., were so smashed up as to suggest the idea that a large mob of sheep had been camping in the garden. The rhubarb was simply cut off. Between Tai iapu and Lincoln there were some extremely fine crops of beans, peas, and potatoes, and the havoc which the pitiless hail had wrought upon these was very great. Hpringfcton fcuflVred severely, and the staiioumaster there after applying his gauge to a fair sample of the hailstones Usund that they averaged an inch and a quarter in diameter. Ac Kaituna the weather was equally uncompromising, but fortu"ate;y most of the crops here were in steuk. Mr E. Hamilton, of Springston, who has resided in Canterbury since 1856, states that neither during his forty-seven years of Sew Zealand experience, "nor in the Old Country, has he witnessed such devoitaticg effects in a few brief momtnts.

At Prebbleton the tale was similar. From here the lookers-on saw the passage of the two waterspouts along the Port Hills, and it appeared to them as if a volcano had burst into activity, but was working downwards instead of upwards, prevented any sight-seeing between Prebbleton and Christchurch.