A DROUGHT IN THE SOUTH.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2131, 13 July 1907, Page 3

A DROUGHT IN THE SOUTH.

SERIOUS STATE OF AFFAIRS. Press Association. DUNEDIN, last night. ; In the Central Otago districts anu Oamaru there has been practically no rain since August, and in Lawrence, for instance, the total ramfa.li from January to June measured only 7 inches.- Farmers report that they are only able to plough stubble turnip land, and that only to the same depth to which the around was ploughed last year. From Naseby to Mount Ida it is impossible to plough at all. This will have a severe effect on the grain harvest, and as Oamaru grain is extremely valuable for milling purposes the shortage from that district will be much felt by merchants. Tokens of distress have already become apparent, and to sluicing miners a continuation of the drought will be very serious. The company at Waitaliuna has been able to put in only one solitary broken week’s work during the last eight months. At Blue Spur the sluicing averages per week used to range from 190 to 210 hours. Certainly last week the hands worked 128 hours, but previous to that the average ran as low as 42 hours. Such a lamentable state of affairs has not been known in raining circles before. Snow is often regarded as a valuable source of water supply, but snow that has alrcadv fallen is frozen. The substrata of frozen snow will probably not begin to melt till January, lvhen the harm will have been done.