Bay of Plenty Beacon, 17 October 1944 TERRACED HILLS LESSON FROM ITALY NOT AN ACRE WASTED A New Zealand soldier in Italy writing to relatives on the East Coast, gives some interesting observations on the manner in which soil erosion has been countered on the hilly lands of northern Italy. The writer is Corporal P. Bremner of the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry who first discusses the Italian climate as compared with New Zealands. He states that press writers have had a lot to say about the severe winter conditions encountered by the, troops in Italy. Personally I think the winter here was very little colder than lots of places in New Zealand, and certainly not as cold as Waiouru, Corporal Bremner comments. Certainly the mud was a nuisance, hindering operations, but it wasnt so bad for us in the Divisional Cavalry. We nearly always managed to get a vacated farm house to live in or else made our canvas shelters comfortable with plenty of straw and good drainage. Of course when one is out in a slit trench holding a section of the line it is not so good; but that sort job never lasted very long before one was relieved. Hundreds of Terraces Touching on his surroundings at the time of writing he mentioned that May day was as hot as any January day in New Zealand, and they expected to find it hotter towards the end of the Italian summer. I am writing out under a big oak tree whose new leaves have just broken out and on the side of a hill looking across a narrow valley/ the writer continues. At home this sort of country would probably be in rat-tail or scrub and part of a big run-off in the hills. Out here there is not a square yard wasted and I believe that off this area of about. 1000 acres nearly 3000 people get their living. Up the centre of the valley there are fields of wheat, patches of oats, barley and broad beans and also lots of small orchards and vineyards. In most cases the vines are trained up the trunks of young straight willows or fruit trees, and then along cross-wires about 7ft. above the ground. In this way they leave the ground clear for ploughing by bullock or mule teams and get about two crops off before the grapes require much attention. On the steep walls of the valley where at home in New Zealand there probably would be slips and wash outs, these people have made hundreds of terraces, supporting the banks with stones, and these little terraces also grow their small contributions of wheat, grapes, beans or vegetables for the peoples sustenance. Where the slope is altogether too steep or rocky, they plant, birches or thorns, which they cut every few years and burn into charcoal. I think an Italian peasant would be altogether lost on a New Zealand farm, but he would be an ideal gardener. A Very Pretty Sight The letter closes on a social note. Now the people are strolling back up the road which leads through the valley, on their way home from church. They go about all the week in all sorts of old things, the men bewhiskered and the children often dirty-faced. But on the Sunday, they can all find something special to wear, though the Germans took most of their good things. The men are all clean-shaven today and the children all have nice fresh clean faces,, rosy with the effects of soap, water and elbow-grease. It is a very pretty sight to see them strolling along in twos and threes, all types, all ages, and all gossiping contentedly. It reminds me of the old days when we used to go to church in the two-horse waggon.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 00:49:26 +0000
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