The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1877.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5233, 31 December 1877, Page 2

The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1877.

The genial rains which have so recently fallen will have the twofold effect of stimulating vegetation and of dispelling the anxiety which was beginning to be felt on account of the somewhat lengthened continuance of dry weather. In some districts—as the Wairarapa—the face of Nature began to wear that sombre and parched aspect, which is the invariable concomitant of a continued drought. It is true visitations of this kind of a serious characrer are few and far between in these islands. We seldom have to complain of want of rain, f Our insular position, and the fact that immense areas of surface are still covered with primeval forests, conduce to make the rainfall constant, steady, and with one or two exceptions, almost uniform throughout the colony. It is a matter of the first importance to any country, in an agricultural, and. horticultural point of view, that the rainfall should be constant and evenly distributed throughout the year—neither too much nor too little at any one time. There are many parts of the earth where the annual fall of rain is far in excess of that of New Zealand, but which suffer from all the inconveniences and horrors of famine at not distant intervals. We need scarcely cite British India as a case in point. The average annual rainfall of Wellington (we write from memory) is about 42 inches. The average rainfall of some parts of our Indian Empire exceeds 600 inches. Why then is that country subjected to periodical visitations of drought and famine, while wo enjoy a singular immunity from such calamities? The reason is clear. India depends to a largo extent for her rain supply upon the south-east moonsoon. This wind, pursuing its journey across the Bay of Bengal and the northern parts of the Indian Ocean, approaches the land heavily charged with aqueous vapour which it has taken up in its passage across the ocean. It then discharges its superabundant moisture on the thirsty soil. The rain becomes a deluge, rills and watercourses swell into torrents, and sluggish rivers suddenly overflow their banks and hurl forward their mighty volumes of waters, with an irnpetuousity which nothing can withstand, in their headlong journey to the sea. Yet this very “ war of elements” is a harbinger of good, heralding salvation to the teeming multitudes who inhabit the Indian peninsula. Should these monsoons be limited in their extent, which sometimes happens, those regions not visited by them are rendered unproductive, and famine is the result We need scarcely remind our readers that a large portion of British India has just passed through a period of famine. Wo need not cross the equator to find instances of the baneful effects of a fitful and intermittent rainfall. The sister colonies of Australia furnish abundant evidence of what we have advanced. New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland have, even within the memory of very young colonists, suffered more than once from this cause. Recent intelligence from New South Wales states that the want of rain is seriously felt in many parts of the interior—so much so that flocks and,herds are travelling many miles to obtain water, the ordinary sources of supply being dried up; and the most serious consequences are feared if the drought should continue much longer. These periodical droughts constitute serious drawbacks to pastoral and agricultural enterprise in the continental colonies. Not unfreqnently the savings of years, and the fruits of honest industry and toil, are swept away at a stroke, and the unfortunate colonist is suddenly reduced from a state of comparative independence to one of bankruptcy and ruin. Perhaps New South Wales has had more than its share of disastrous droughts. Yet the rainfall of Sydney is greater than that of London, but it is not equally distributed through the’iyeiir in the 'former city as in the lattqr. As much rain, sometimes falls in Sydney in a day as would fall in London in a mouth. Still we have in the Australian

capital weeks in succession, of a cloudless sky and burning heat ; while in the British capital we have a clouded sky, a humid atmosphere, and a rapid succession of rainy days. By papers recently to hand we learn that Tasmania is now suffering from drought, and fears are entertained for the wheat and other cereal crops, as the time of harvest is now rapidly approaching. It need scarcely be remarked that rain is necessary while the corn is filling, to give it plumpness, otherwise it never attains its full maturity, but is light, shrivelled, and of less value than well-filled corn. Tasmania has more than once suffered from periods of drought. The limits of this article will not permit us to do more than hint at tno natural causes which combine to produce this effect, although it may be remarked that the geographical position and other influeijces reduce these effects to a minimum. Like New Zealand, Tasmania is in the region of the variable winds, hut she has the disadvantage of being in close proximity to the Australian Continent ; consequently the north winds, which in summer blow across the heated deserts of Australia, and which produce the hot winds, the terror of the southern colonies. These winds, cooled indeed by their passage across Bass Strait, but still dry, blow with unmitigated violence over the tight little island. The result is that very little rain ever comes from the north. The rain winds in Tasmania are from the south and west. As a rule the east coast of the island suffers most severely from drought. We are not among those who would magnify the misfortunes of our neighbors, much less trade upon them ; at the same time, if we are free from the natural disadvantages which encompass them, there is no reason why we should hide our light under a bushel. Being in the region ot the variable winds, every gale that crosses these islands must traverse a vast expanse of ocean before reaching oar shores. From whatever point of the compass they may come, they must necessarily be charged with rain, which they pour out upon our soil. Therefore, speaking after the manner of men, we need not at any time fear a drought of such a serious character as to . endanger more than a very small portion at any one time of our surface. A very slight attention to the operation of Nature’s laws will convince the most unbelieving that we enjoy more than our share ot good things, and that, coupled with the excellence of the soil and the persevering industry of the people, nothing can prevent us from continuing in that march of progress which has been so marked in the brief history of New Zealand.