BAD TIMES IN THE SOUTH.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1220, 31 August 1911, Page 8

BAD TIMES IN THE SOUTH.

SHORTAGE OF FEED.

For same time past reports have beon coining to hand from Canterbury which have indicated that farmers in that provine? liavo been experiencing unusually bad times, and latest advices do not show much proini-e' for the' immediate future. In several parts of Ashburton, more particularly on the lighter land where the grass grubs have wrqught the nicst damage, stock, is. stated 'to l>e on-,the verge nf .starvation; .and thb-death-rato among ag«l breeding ewes has been very pronounced during the past few--weeks. 'Carcasses of sheep are to lie seen in practically every paddock in some of the upper, districts, and at Lismorc one farmer has lo>t by death over ono hundYed ewes, besides several cows and horse?. Another farmer in the same district has lost over fifty sound-mouth eyes, and deaths in a lessor degree have occurred among the whole of the flocks. Weakness, brought, about by dearth of feed, is mainly responsible for the heavy mortality referred to. : A : report, from - ''the' Killinchy district states that feed is very scarce nil over the district. General lambing lias not yet commenced, but the death rate amongst ewes is fairly heavy so far, owing to the shortage of green feed. Another roport states that lambing is now general throughout the Ashburton county, but it is faired' owing to' the great mortality., among the aged owe?, that the percentage Will be very much below that recorded for several years past.. • _ :.,:'..; Sowing of grub-aiToetflci' pastures is being ; pushed on in Ashburton generally,' and. many of the paddabks which were sown early have "struck" satisfactorily, and promise to give good results. • Some .of, the cereal crops in the Maronan and Tiismore districts are looking particularly well, and are now sufficiently..advanced to permit.of stock being turned in.to feed them down. Tlw grass grub has not wrought extensive damage in thi.s-'lo-.cality, but the. paddocks .are, .nevertheless, "very bare; and sheep have suffered considerable hardship a; a result of.insufficient feed: In one paddock, which is infected with yarrow, the sheep have scratched holes in the soil like a rabbi; warren, to enable them to get at. the roots of tho yarrow, which they appear to relish very highly.