WHAT IS WRONG? .

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1934, 17 December 1913, Page 7

WHAT IS WRONG? .

TEE WEATHER AND THE SEASON. Such long, steady flooding rains- as have been experienced in Wellington during the past fortniglit may in all likelihood constitute a new record for rain in December. Nor is the wet weather peculiar to Wellington. It has been raining fairly solidly throughout the North Island for a fortnight, and where in places hay-making should bo beginning tho country is knee-deep in the greenest of grass springing from flooded fields. In tho Wairarana, Rangitikei. Manawatu, AVanganui, and Taranaki districts the experience has been of a kind—heavy soaking rains, with now and again an hour or two of hot sunshine.. The farmer is literally "up against it." His sheen and cattle canr.ot cope with tho lush food. There is an old saying that one cannot have too much of a good thing, but here is a case where tho former is crying out about the phenomenal plenitudo' of "Vass. The rains that ho wanted in .Tune, July, and August have been lons deferred, and now ho does not want them. Tho spring has boon a veritable boom to tho dairy farmer, but tho sheep man wants the normal summer. One serious effect reported is that the continuous rains arc encouraging tho spread of blight among the potato and tomato crops, for which the public will later on have to pay. Tho weather report of yesterday indicated that almost the wholo of New Zealand was under tho shower. Out of thirty-three reporting stations onlv three recorded blue skv, in each case it wns in association with passing clouds. Most of the places reported overcast skv, gloomy weather, with rain. Tho forecast for the twenty-four hours wo are now passing through read: "Unsettled, thick, and foggy weather. Heavy rain, probably generally with rivers flooded over the North Island, and in East Coast district of South Island; snow on + 1 t higher levels." This a week before Christmas!