WAIAU.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 39

WAIAU.

August 16. — The weather this winter has been remarkably mild and -free from frost . and snow as a rule. The turnip tops were growing green about three weeks earlier , than usual. Hence some farmers have . had , j their sheep running over them to prevent ' . ! the bulbs getting fuzzy, which follows the j ' growth of a strong shaw in spring. As a' rule, sheep have been very healthy, al- ' " though there have been a few deaths from lung-worm in some flocks, and others attri- [ ] bufced to that cause, but which, on inspec- ' '■ tion, turned out to be due to some other "! trouble. I : Waiting for the Mill. — The greatest • trouble here has been the difficulty of get- | ' ting the heavy crops threshed. Many have ' ' yet to wait some time before they can get I the mill, and have had to buy oats, al- J though they have had 50 acres, or more, j ( in stack. This was caused by the dearth j I of bags in April and May, the mills being ' j idle in consequence. As a result those who had cattle have brought them through in poorer order than woultl have been the case if they had a good straw stack to back up their other feed. ' Rabbiting. — Rabbits have had a better "' thinning out rhan usual, as owing to flax ! mills and similar works being closed more men have paid attention to trapping. Good men have earned excellent wages, while , ' othors earned so much in the height of the J season that they were able io talce a spell ' | early in the winter Some are talking of ' i making rabbiters pay a deposit, to be for- ( ; feited unless the ground is cleared to the satisfaction of the rabbit inspector. This ' is not necessary in most cases in this distvict, although the good 'uen would get < their money returned. 1 An Organ. — The congregation of the « Presbyterian Church at Eastern Bush are i 1 trying to get an organ, and have already j 1 raised sufficient money to btry a capital | < instrument. j 1 Dairy Factory. — The splendid cheese fact tory at Eastern Bush remains closed, and ( i there seems no immediate prospeoc of its t being reopened. j Railway. — The opening of the railway to I Tuatapere, the terminus on the Waiau, will t

greatly .benefit the district. It is a pity that it was built on such a wasteful and extravagant system. The money spent on it ought to have sufficed to carry it at the least 50 per cent, further.