Rise In River Follows Heavy Rain

Chronicle (Levin), 23 April 1948, Page 3

Rise In River Follows Heavy Rain

Although the' Manawatu River showe'cL littie effdct of the heavy downpour of TueSday evening, yesterday saw the results when there was a sharp rise at the Shannon Bridge. This was probably due to the bulk1 of the water from the hills and further up- country makihg'its way downstream. However, farmers in the lower Manawatu are not concerned, .as the river will nee'd to rise considerably more to reach flood leVel. The remarkably heavy fall of 5.78 inches in the Mangahao Dam area has resulte'd in the dams being filled to capacity. The district's farmine community greatly .appreciate the breafc m the drought eondition's, althougn some are of the opinion that the rain came too late in the season to have any beneficial effect- nn dairy production, in the district, which has tailed off very sericv.ly over the past two moiiths. The best that can be hoped for is that it might hel^ their stock to survive the winter in reasonable condition. For any substantial benefit to rjesult it will be necessar" for a xpell of mild weather to follow the tain, otherwise most of its ! possible good effect will be lost. Most. dairy farmers iri this district aregoing into the winter season with reserve feed supplies seriously deoleted by the inroads caused by the necessity to feed out reserve stocks over the past severai weeks. Th'e effects of the drought will not end with the present season, however, but will be felt until well into the next season. One reason for this is that the feed shortage during the winter will probabiy result .in many cows coming in next spring in poorer condition than usual, and another is that, as a result of the hardness of the ground, very few crops have been put in this year for early spring fppiinPG