Drought in Australia.

Gisborne Times, Volume VIII, Issue 517, 13 September 1902, Page 4

Drought in Australia.

A DISCOURAGING OUTLOOK,

The Sydney Mail of the 6th itist., in an articlo on the drought, says : The actual losses sustained this year arc not available, and, unfortunately, the total has not yet been reached, for however favorable tho balance of the yoar may prove, there will bo many more deaths among stock. At the present timo the only districts from which fat cattle are being received are tho most northerly of the rivers and the Monaro country. Supplies are becoming so short that best beef is selling on its feet at up to 55s per hundred, and sheep frequently realise 50s per head. The prospects of the great fattening industry have sunk to a lower level than that touched by tho greater wool industry, and both must suffer severely from a scarcity of live stock for a few years to come. Wo are passing through the rare experience of having values for tut 1 1.: 11.. flin

stock in Sydney practically fixed by tho prices ruling in New Zealand, The imported crossbred at 8d per lb has superseded the locally produced merino at dd per lb. New Zealand.bred oxen, fattened upon non-indigenous grasses, are sold at 9d per lb, where tho Australian bullock, turned off the light natural grasses and herbs _ol this continent, very recently realised ud. From tho position of a country easily supplying its own needs and rapidly developing markets for its surplus of beef and mutton, frozen and canned, Now South Wales has in one season fallen back to that of a State compelled to depond upon its neighbors for supplies. Wool will probably this season represent tho only surplus from a State in which the disposal of the surpluses of several products has been a serious problem. The wool clip will, however, bo comparatively small, and it is to be hoped that the known shortness will induce boom prices.

The position may thus to an extent be defined in connection with fat stock and wool. But the prospects of the wheatgrowers have reached a highly critical stage. The year to date has been the worst the farmers have known since wheat became a principal crop, and the results of the seeding are most alarming. Thousands of acres sown in March, April,

May, and June are still as bare as the beaten tracks that ran past the farms, and the most promising indications in favored localities amount to a mere showing of green above the surface. Despite this discouraging state of affairs, however, there is s ill a chance that good rains may bring about a marvellous improvement and that fair crops may be gathered in places. The fate ot the wheat farmers lor the coming season depends entirely on the weather of the ensuing eight weeks. Good immediate rains with sustained showers mean fair crops, no rain or very light showers mean almost total

failure. The latter would add considerably to the disasters of the year, for the wheat crop has assumed very important dimensions ia the State. The _ volume of agricultural products will be insignificant in a good season if wheat were missing, We may talk at large of tho agricultural resources of the State, but the natural conditions dictate that this cereal must continue to be the leading crop of New South Wales during many years to come, In all probability dairying will suffer less, proportionately, than any other rural industry. Supplies have been very wretched and some cattle have died, but

the prospects of a reasonably late spring on most parts of tho coast are fairly well assured. The inland areas devoted *to dairying, such as Mudgee and the Hunter I?iyer, have had a very severe time, and are not likely to recover during thi.-, season. These failures will affect the make of butter, and, combined with the effects of the late season on the coast, will probably reduce the quantity of buttc-r. for export to almost a vanishing point. Fruitgrowers have not escaped the suspension of the rainfall. The setting of

summer fruits will be light nnd unsatisfactory, and the citrus crop of the coming year will probably suffer as did that of 1902. The last hopes of the State for this disastrous second year of the century depend solely upon the chance of a phenomenal general downpour or a month of continued light rains before the dry summer weather.