A Brief Review of 1942.—Frequent rains during the 1941-42 summer gave benefit to crops, but ripening and harvesting were delayed. Drier conditions in the north, however, caused the milk-production to decline rather early. There was excellent autumn growth, and fodder-supplies were more than ample for the favourable winter. Autumn-sown wheat made steady progress also. A cold snap towards the end of July checked pastures temporarily, and wet conditions on the east of the North Island near the end of August caused some deaths among new lambs. Lambing percentages, on the whole, were up to, or above, average. By October all young stock were thriving well. Some crops ripened earlier than desirable during the dry spell in the month of November, and a considerable amount of harvesting was successfully completed during December.

For the year as a whole mean temperatures were slightly milder than normal in all districts except Taranaki, Nelson, and Westland. Sunshine was below average, especially in the districts mentioned, as well as in the Waikato and Central Otago districts. North Auckland and Hawke's Bay were, however, sunnier than usual. The districts of the North Island where the rainfall exceeded the annual average were a belt extending from Cape Egmont across the central plateau to East Cape and the Wellington Provincial District south of the Manawatu Gorge. Rainfall was excessive over most of the South Island, especially in South Westland. Deficiencies occurred, however, in eastern districts from Christchurch to Invercargill and locally about Tasman Bay, the percentage departures being greatest in South Canterbury.

Seasonal Notes.—January was cool and changeable with frequent, but not excessive, rain. Cool temperatures continued during February, which was dull and humid for Hawke's Bay, where rainfall was heavy, while conditions were dry in Auckland, Taranaki, and Nelson. Towards the end of March temperatures became milder, and there was excessive rain, but North Auckland and South Canterbury were dry. April was a typical autumn month, being rather dry, except west of the Southern Alps. Several long-standing rainfall records were broken by the excessive falls in May, which was also an exceptionally dull month. Flooding occurred in the vicinity of Christchurch on the 24th. June, in contrast to May, was the driest on record for most places. The rest of the winter was comparatively mild, rain being frequent, particularly in July. Several districts in central New Zealand experienced severe flooding on the 13th and 14th July. September was a changeable spring month, with windy periods and frequent showers. Some hard frosts followed widespread snow showers on the 10th and 11th, and there was considerable thunderstorm activity on the 23rd and 24th. October was a mild, sunny month, with ample rain in the South Island, falls being very heavy there on the 23rd, when Central Otago received also a steady snowfall. Thunderstorms accompanied the final rains of November, which was a month of little really settled weather, and, for the fifth month in succession, mean temperatures over the Dominion were above normal. December was quite cool, with several windy spells. Except for the seriousness of the continued dryness prevailing in Hawke's Bay and the Manawatu, it was a fairly good month.

THE NEW ZEALAND OFFICIAL YEAR-BOOK, 1944.