mersiowsky - 8-3-2016 at 05:00 PM
1886
14 Aug, p. 282: Prilopk.
Postscript
From Australia. Mr Dejka (Doecke) of Steinthal, one of the faithful readers [of the] Serb. Nowin. there, has sent a letter
to the editor in which he writes of the great drought prevailing in Australia and of the misery it has caused. Already last year the harvest was
destroyed by a great drought in many areas. That is also the reason why the harvest this year has failed. We sow grain crops here in autumn and at the
beginning of winter, at which time rain falls instead of snow. But because last year there was very little rain, barely half the crop sprouted, and
because even after the summer grain crop had been sown there was no rain, we could expect only a poor harvest. Because of the long drought everything
on the fields and meadows perished. Many cattle and especially sheep died, because they could not find food. Our region has few wells and for that
reason water is collected in cisterns. But because no rain came for such a long time, they dried up and human beings fell into great need. For months
on end they had to travel long distances to get water. You can easily imagine that that is very troublesome and costs the farmers a lot of money. But
owing to failed harvests farmers have run out of money and have incurred debts. Then the poverty of the farmers depresses trade and commerce. Every
day you can hear of bankruptcies. Such sad circumstances as this year have never before been known in Australia.