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TBE DROUGHT IN THE
COUNTRY.
FROM HOBART TO PARATTAH.
While bush fires have been devastating the
beauty spots around Hobart, and destroying
habitations as well as adding to the death
roll of tbe colony, a process of destruction,
more widespread if not so disastrous,
has been occurring in the
country districts. Although the fire
fiend has not wreaked such havoc upon the
farms and homesteads, his arch-conspirator,
the sun, has rendered desolate wide tracts of
country, and in place of growing herbage and
verdant sward, there is little to be seen but
parched and sun-dried land. A visitor
from any of the Australian colonies
travelling overland from Launceston to
Hobart at the present time, must experience
disappointment, not that the scenery
is in any way inferior to the landscape of
Australia, but because the long-continued
drought has made such inroads upon tbe
attractive features of a country that invariably
presents a pleasing appearance. Along
the railway line between Hobart and
Parattah, the ravages of the present dry
season are unfortunately but too apparent.
Instead of wide stretches of country
clothed with the greenest of grasses, where
sleek oxen and contented sheep should be
seen, a picture of another kind is presented.
With the exception of the very low lying
lands, nothing but parched and withered
grass can be seen. Pastoralists who are at
all heavily stocked will suffer severely from
the effects of the present season. At places
along the line sheep can be seen seeking
food on hill sides go destitute of
verdure that a grasshopper would scorn to
exploit them. Unless a copious fall of rain
comes while the ground retains its present
heat, in order that the growth of vegetation
may be stimulated, the prospects for the
winter season are not too hopeful. And
then the pastoralist is not alone in his suffering.
Many of the amaller holdings are occupied
by a class of people who devote most of their
time to agriculture. The effect of the
drought upon crops has been most severe.
There are occasional patches where the moist
nature of the ground, combined with a few
other favourable causes, has produced a
satisfactory result. But these plots appear
like oasis in a desert, and only tend to
render more conspicuous how fruitless have
been the efforts of the agriculturists
generally. That much of the land
tilled will not yield the amount of seed with
which it was sown there can be no doubt.
In many instances the crops are so thin and
stunted that although the stalks wear an
autumnal tint indicating maturity, the earth
is plainly visible underneath. Even where
the grain will properly develop the yield
will be light—so light that a mallee farmer
would hesitate to devote the time required
to drive a stripper over it for fear that the
returns would not compensate for the labour.
Some of the crops have suffered so severely
that it would be a waste of time to cut
them, and evidence is not wanting of determination
on the part of farmers to make the
best of a bad undertaking. Already a
number of fields have been abandoned
to stock instead of the crops being
gathered. Agriculturists generally take
a despondent view of the prospects of
the harvest, and aver that the result of the
two past seasons will be disastrous to small
holders. One noticeable feature in connection
with a number of the crops is
the mixed nature of the grain. It
is not uncommon to see a thick sprinkling
of oats in a field of wheat, or vice versa.
Docks are also plentiful along different parts
of the line, and apart from the havoc caused
by the bad seaaon, the value of part of the
grain must be materially lessened by want of
care in selecting clean seed. Where a steam
thresher is being taken round a district to
thresh a variety of small crops, farmers
require to be watchful. In order to save
time it is unusuual to commence threshing
a certain class of grain before a previous
kind has been thoroughly finished. By doing
this oats, wheat, and other cereals often get
mixed, and become useless for seed purposes.
In seasons when weather conditions have
reduced the yield of grain to a minimum, it
is worse than folly to farther lessen its value
by the use of unsuitable seed.
CASCADE RSPBERRY AND SODA once taken
always asked for.
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