THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



549 



during the past twelve months, next seaso- 's 

 output of sugar should— in fact, will be Ihe 

 heaviest ever gathered in Natal. Fruit of every 

 description, grown on the Coast, is coming on 

 well, though, with the exception of mangles, 

 the crops will not be so heavy as last season's. 

 Last year's mango crop was a light one, which 

 accounts for the heavj one now coming < n. 

 Mealies in many places ar • a foot high an ' loi k- 

 ing well, and the coolie farmers are very busy 

 getting in all the land they can The weather 

 Has, however, been so favourable to the growth 

 of weeds, that they are expentncing some diffi- 

 culty in dealing with them ; and there have been 

 a good m'any desertions from service owing to 

 coolies offering higher wages to procure hxbour 

 to deal with the weeds. I have not seen any 

 locusts since writing my last notes, nt r have I 

 heard of any. I hope this is a sign that we are 

 reaching the end of that plague. Stock of all 

 kinds is looking well, and I am glad to be able 

 to report that the Division is at pre sent cl ar of 

 disease ; nor have there been any cases of horse- 

 sickness yet. The following are a few of the 

 meteorological observations made in Verulam 

 during September, 19(J1 :— M -ximum tempera- 

 ture in the shade 98 degs. on the 7th, which is 

 the highest this summer ; minimum, 49 degs., 

 on the 22nd ; mean for the month, 6)4 degs 

 Rainfall, 6 00 inches, which fell on 10 days, the 

 heaviest fall be-ng 1 84 inches on the 19th. 

 With the exception of the 7th September we 

 have hid no hot weather this summer, the tea- 

 so 1 having been characterised by successiv j 

 cloudy days and cool temperature, sometimes so 

 cold as to necessitate overcoats. The new 

 epidemic amongst do^s, which I referred to 

 8( me t me ago, still cuntines, and 1 believe has 

 carried off nearly half the dogs in the Division, 

 and will no donbt be reflectea in a considerable 

 reda ction in dog tax next year. The average 

 - yield of this tax for the Division has hiiherto 

 been £600 per annum, representing 2,400 dogs. 

 Coolies are the latgest ewners, and as they ap- 

 pear to be very fond of their dogs will no doubt 

 not be long in replacing their losses. 



John L. Knight, Magistrate. 



NEW HANOVER, 4th November. - The 

 rainfall during the month of October was 3-28 

 mches, Quite a record for the corresponding 

 month of the last few years. Locusts have not 

 been seen here for mc nths past. The majority 

 of horses bought by farmers from the military 

 authorities have died, very few of them t eing 

 strong enough to stand the sudden change of 

 climate after the privations they were first put 

 to. The few surviving ones are only just be- 

 ginning to pick up in condition although they 

 have been in the District for several months. 



A RiTTEK, Magistrate. 



NQUTU, 31st f ctober.— Ihe weather h.ving 

 proved so favourable during the mouth, full ad- 

 vantage has been taken of it to cultivate 

 the land, and ploughing and planting has been 

 freely indulged in. I fear that the area of land 

 being cultivated will, however, fall a deal short 



of last year's, as so many oxen have been looted 

 by the Boers since last season, and the natives 

 of this District rely chiefly on the plough. Rain 

 fell on ten days during the month, giving a 

 record of 2 52 inches. The weather was other- 

 wise most pleasant throughout, and there was 

 an absence of heavy winds and excessive heat. 

 The country is looking green and cheerful, and 

 grazing is excellent and abundant. Stock are 

 in fine condition, but I reg et to say that there 

 have been several fresh outbreaks of lungsick- 

 ness amongst native cattle. 



C. HiGNETT, Magistrate. 



UMLlLAZI, 3rd November.— Spring has 

 given place to summer, which has now fairly 

 set in here, bringing with it the hot north winds, 

 with their too frequent accompaniments, to wit, 

 swarms of locusts. A large swarm of these 

 pests passed over the Magistracy on the 28th 

 ultimo, travelling from the ni^rth-east to the 

 west On the 1st instant a second swarm, 

 coming from the same direction, settled here, 

 and has not yet left us ; the young mea ie 

 crops in this neighbourhood are, in consequence, 

 suft'e-ing considerable damage. Another dense 

 swj,rm has just alighted on the forest skirting 

 the beach two miles north of the Umlalazi 

 River. The natives have been very energetic in 

 their agricultural operations for some time past, 

 and the present prospect of losing the reward of 

 their labour is a very disappointing one. I 

 noticed a garden of mealies a few dajsa^o in 

 full flower, with cobs forming ; but the average 

 height of the plants now is about 12 inches. 

 Rain fell on 14 days during last month, totalling 

 5'52 inches, the heaviest fall being 1"66 inches 

 on the 24th. Only one fresh outbreak of lung- 

 sickness has been reported since my last report 

 to this Journal, which may be regarded as a 

 favourable sign. Unfortunately, however, there 

 there is still a good deal of this disease n the 

 Division. A depot for cleun cattle is being es- 

 tablished by the Government on the Tugela 

 River bank, on the Zululand border, in this 

 District, for the purpose of placing cattle prior 

 to their being allowed to leave the infected 

 area, which, I believe, now comprises the whole 

 Province of Zululand. A quarantine station has 

 also been established near the Injoni River, also 

 in this District, in which the transport oxen 

 used by the military authorities here will be 

 placed for a certain period after being released 

 by the military before be ng handed back to 

 iheir owners. The lepe- location has now been 

 surveyed, and comprises some7,000 acres of land, 

 situatecl between the Ir' atikulu and , Inyoni 

 Rivers in this District, and extending down to 

 the sea beach. All the natives living on that 

 land have now been removed from it, and have 

 been placed well outside of the boundary. 

 Whilst at the location in connection with this 

 duty, my attention was drawn to the remark- 

 ably fine sweet potatoes grown there, which 

 were certainly the largest I have seen anywhere. 

 The natives have also cultivated small patches of 

 cane, which appeared to be very flourishing, and 

 well adapted to the soil there. 



J. J. Jackson, Magistrate. 



