The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-07-03 00:00:00

HARVEST PROSPECTS.

Snbioined is • Utter on the growth of the crops daring the
past tow weeks and the prow us of the coining harvest It
is written bp Mr. Kaitts..lmAson, of Oil, Mars-lane, London :
"In pre-tekgraphio days, at this season of the
year, farmers were supposed to combine and give a
Fetter account of harvest prospects than were really
justifier!, in the expectation that foreign shippers would
thereby be deterred from sending forward supplies. and
two .rdingly home produce would he without ci mm petition
early in the autumn. Such a state of thing. 11,1 re not,
however, at present exist ; the foreidn merchants in
Mark-lane are better inforuted, as is rule, oh the state of
our growing crops than farmers are themselves, out of
their own parish, and telegrams keep Continental
houses informed of changes in weather anti prospects
up to within a few hours if the despatch. Still it is not
easy to ascertain the actual position of the country, from
the want of stock-statistics and other means of informa-
tion, except by personal inspection and close attention to
the subject. For instance, we to stocks of wheat in
farm-mei bands, trio tine great PC ircity of corn stack ft—
visible to the eye—we might at present suppose the late
clop was well nigh exhansted. yet, when we consider
that he erupt Iment of the thraahind machine often
reduces, in a week, the entire prod..ce of a farm into
granary attics really for market, and as market sum); ies
are still liberal, the returns of sales from 150 towns,
.howing 'he trade of the pre.ent Season more than
&tile that of 1868, prices b..in4 then 69, ltd. anti
fl cc 455. si •I. per or.. the conclusion ruust be that stocks
in farmeta' and theaters' hands are yet considerable,
and sufficient for the eight weeks more during which
they will be required for cimmumption, wheat being
now id ear, and in early districts in blm.m.
'• San, the 15 ti of the ',recent month I have enjoyed
a fair opportunity of making an estimate of the pleseut
crop prospects in the large corn- growing districts of the
east coast, the importance of Ni hieh as the natural area
from which we must mainly draw our pia tent and
futuze cereal supplies is shown 1 y the following
figures :—The average area corn-cropped in Essex, Suf-
folk, and Norfolk ranges over 45 per cent., whereas
(vide Statistical Journal) the south-Midland counties

reAUll lAA 40 Lt.• 40 oel oeor., Sn, Si,,Lon-Last.to :54 55
40, until in the north.west the per centage tall., to be-
tween 15 and 20 per cent. ; while, it. respect to wheat
a'one, the East grown 20 to 25 per cent, the South-
Midland and South-Eastern 15 to 20 per cent. only.
As regards acreage, Lincoln, York, Norfolk, Essex,
Suffolk. and Cambridge are rather more than one-
third of the whole emu area of England. With the
object of seeing the most country possible, at one
iteritsl of the season, I have visited Her n, Cambridge,
Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, aid the Great It:extern
Railway, alighting at different stations, and being thus
enabled to walk through diffelent farms, awl inert at
the principal markets the farmers and millers of the
district,. The weather has been through rut rainy,
gloomy, and cold, and with many wintry signs, such as
the flight of win dueks and geese, the season has been
extremely disdouraging, until since the lonesst day,
when a decided change (steady mercury, higher tem-
perature, calm era, and some sunshine) occurred. The
fact of the winds being N.E. and N.W. is not un-
favouralile, as in 1868 and 1826, during the months
of June and July, the wind from these points 40 days
out of the 61 distinguished la eh the two hot years.
On refereece to my notes I find that, lir.t, as to the
tempt rain and hail storms, the wheat is not laid
to any damaging extent, even when, ham, the magni-
ficent joint of view of Ely Cathedral, the eye looks
over the level far-etretching fen land, where the
stem and flsg are, perhaps, heavier than else-
where. In Norfolk, and especially in Suffolk, it is
the exception to see part of a fiehi laid. The worst
appearance anywhere is a rusty Pip-adorn- residue-II by
the cold day winds and low night temperature. Up to
• certain stage all rat real crops may be considered as
green crops, and until the milky grains are forming,
innisture, and the abeence of sun ate notch less felt
than supposed, and plenty of straw and flsg greatly
helps to nourish and mature a large and well-tilled ear.
The wheat earls 110 W unsheathed, and in early iliatricta
in bloom, aud hot weather is much desired. Last
year's forcing heat, which at he time many growers
expected to shrivel up the grain, has made us expect
another abnormally early harvest, which we cannot
have. However. I find the reason is not very hick.
war). NVheat i srxlrei"ed to flower it, Cambridgeshire
(Are Farmers' Atatoaack) on the 25th ott J,ine, and this
year, a week later, it will be general; many Kentish
fields are already in bloom. Ti compress into one
sentence the impressions receive), 1 mmy say
that wheat is at present a prouti-ing crop and
unharmed by such wet and cold as have pre-
vailed. The wheat lands are thick with a strong
plant, but the light lands and flats plantel
with wheat are thin, yellow, and characterised by
spiky and spindled fawn. If these lands were in area
one-half iiwteel 1)f about one-sixth of the whole, our
future prospects would be poor indeed. As it is, the
loamy soils, the clay soils, and the fen lands promise
tis a good aver tee ...rap. I find trot the total number of
. fields marked I have down 78 good, 28 middling, 26
l poor crops, and, having with sines geological atlas, I
was surprised to find the change from good crops to
poor crops almost c-rtainly marked by pas-ing from
good to light sillily and gravelly eels, on which v-get,a-
-t' seems starved, as is even the case with hay in
parta of Norfolk, this crop being very heavy on all
good meadoess,
" Ihe bailey crop did not aati-fy me; it looked
yell iw, agoi.h, and backward ; but there are noire
marks of ' against the fields than of 'lsin!,'
and it, Essex and Norfolk the average of ' good' fields
was equal Sr the others,
"Beaus and peat are simply the strongest and largest
crop I have ever 00 iced for the last ten years. Oats
well cover the ground, wh;ch means they promise a
capital crop in ordinary wgather Nltingolds and the
nips are in g,0,1 pl .nt. and many hells gettin: into.
leaf. TIM Flll breadth of fl ix planted in Norfolk is
undoubtedly go id. and as a singularity of the present
Reason the ne w potatoe+, the ri e, the musts d and
c Ic seed app. tiaching maturity have done Cr, in elate
of May snd Jane Lying cold ate) overcoat. I think this
fact, showing a superior underground temperature.
affords a fair hope that my individual views of the
crops being bet ter than stipposed wil he resli-ed this
SYIBOII if, as I I. lieve, the mean summer temperature
of the text are- tit inths will be an average."

" P.S —Foreian I,Arvest prospects, so far as I have been
ad v died, are, like • it own, Irregular; there will be en uneven
lod not a small crop, and in conle4sing. as I to, that at ire-
rent we really atom little for certadi, except tint the
Alaelian h wrest June goo and that the barley rut-
'trig is well liege apt, France, and th tt of wheat i- als.mt to
commence in the ,outhern United Sta.... sod California,
thei e Scripps to excuse w hat, ver that ally Over nine nt, level
with the spirit of the times *Mudd cease to collect torricdl-
- slail•tics (as a tart nal necassity cheap at asy mod,-
rate coet; until this km.dom e•peciall knows its own re-
,ources and those of its neighhours."

Mr Meal, of Tiptree lieU, K elve.lon, Esser, also writes:—

• •
Notwithstanding cold nights and an absence of sun,
which will delay our harveeot three week. as C niparet
nbh the unnsu .11y early one of last year, we hove evi•
&nee that vie gross total i.roducti .... of food (animal
and vegetahl, ) will proba-Ay txgeed, considerably, that
of !sat tear.
What may be less in quamitv, nullity, and
we g t, brit matt, beans, oats, potatres, and isvhaps
brio ey, v•in b In •N. FV, especially pe a aid
List year there v-as a rninous .leficiency of meat-
making product.. The 224 itilliot, acres of pertnaneitt
ott-ttoe lone half the agricultnral area of the United
Kingdom) 4ied'ed a wret..hedly deficient crop. end
cauled a heavy national lose, while nearly tea million
acres of riot and green cr,pe and artificial grimes fell
sadly short of an average crop. Hence our small
topple d high plice of home-grown no-at, &c.
laeve atea of cottage and general gard••n was
also very deficient in yield. This year ail this is re-
vel eel, and we are bleesed with the promise of ahniolant
grass and other vegetdile prodogts, which must have a
happy influence on the quantity and price of home-
grown meat, milk, butter, cheese, and vegetables.
Supposing that we lose a trifle on our wheat area—
between three and four million acres—great will be our
gain on the 41/ million aerea ttf other products.
Harvest in Edrn.•X will pridribly commence about the
Ist of August in the early districts, and become general
towards the lOth. fleecy and deep soils have the best
, of it this y e:ir, which is always a happy event f.m the
country at large.