The conditions of the Jewish colonists in Bessarabia has become critical, according to reports received here by Dr. Henry Moscowitz, chairman of the Executive Committee of the Ort Reconstruction Fund.
Reports from agronomists of the Faleshti and Wertushani colonies state that the colonists lack seed. The situation has become critical because the turnsole which usually covers one-third of the fields and is the main source of income for the colonists has completely failed. Winter wheat, barley, maize, hemp and flax have brought only partial success and many farmers have had to sell their working and productive cattle. There were forty horses and eighty cows in the Faleshti colony. There are now five horses and twenty cows.
From the colony of Wertushani comes the report that there is no fodder for stock. Two months ago the colony counted sixty horses and one hundred and twenty cows. Today there are less than half that number. There is no rain. Some winter wheat has been sown. Some of the seed is lying in the ground for the past six weeks without any evidence of life. Only some maize is growing green, but this will perish if there is no rain soon.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.