'A trip into the country at the time furnishes ample reasons for the feel-
Ing of hopelessness and desperation that "is seizing the people. Last summer there were weeks of rain that resulted in disastrous floods. There have been few rains since. The winter crops, though light, were not a failure ud everyone marvelled at the unusual amount of sunshine.
Farmers delayed cultivation of their rice fields until they wore softened by the rains that they hoped would come. Thus far these hopes have not been rewarded. Fields that should have been flooded during the winter months have long been dry. 'The ground Is parched and. hak Where atiempis were made to brea} Jup the sell the fields have every ap-Dearance of broken cement. In many [Places all of the available' water has been used to prepare a small rice seedling bed. Here the rice has been Droadeast and now there are patches of velvety green seedlings ready for transplanting.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.