The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-08-28 00:00:00

aoriculturt.

IMPORTATION OF CORN INTO FHA:MM.—An Imperial
decree is expected,laccoriling to which corn and flour,
on being imported into France, by land or sea, in the
latter ease either in French or foreign vessels, will only
be subject to the of duty until the end of
September, All vessels laden with corn and Hour
will be exempt from tonnage dues.

THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS.
There has not been one tine day during the whole of
the week. Seldom or ever Ins the sun been seen, and
the occasional promise of more settled weather has
been but too soon broken. On the Saturday, as we
write, there has been rain falling from early in the
morning—the very reflection, in fact, of the Saturday
preceding. Our pro 'eta become accordingly only the
more gloomy, and the country generally begins to echo
our complaints of the harvest. An old correspondent
heads his report as a "crisis," and others naturally
lose hope 11. the *noon advances without change or
improvement. Only last week our contemporary, the
Oarderfers' Chronicle, wrote that "over the whole Wold
district of Lincolnshire the corn crops looked well."
Hut what has occurred in the interim, or was occurring
when this opinion was offered, has tended materially to
alter the appearance of things; and the same journal of
Saturday, referring ti a harvest report, now states that
this is "as might have been expected from the weather,
of a very different complexion fr ~,,, those of seve-al
previous years. There can be little doubt that the wheat
crap generally is considerably injured. Of 140 reports
received from as many correspondents in England and
Scotland, no fewer than it:t declare the crop to be above
an average; and if the chief wheat-growing districts be
selected, it will be found that the proportion of unfa-
vourable returns is quite as large. Thus five out of six
reports from Lincolnshire, three out of five from
Norfolk and Suffolk, and all from the counties of
Oxford, Gloucester, Wilts, Hants, and Kent report
unfavourably." When, or however quickly the
ripening yet may conic, it will be only with three appa-
rently inevitable results--a late harvest, a short yield,
and • sample in bad condition. Disease, in fact, lIAS
already attacked the crop,and thus go taronly realised the
fears Coat for some time past have been entertained. Our
Ely report of this week declares that "two months have
given us nearly half • year's supply of rain. The effect
of this will be continued cold, and absence dean, which
has been injurious to some of the cereal crops, more
especially to the wheat crop. This crop is far less
promising than when WO last wrote: blight prevails to a
fearful extent, more particulary on the lands sown after
clover or grass seed ; but it is not confined to these. On
the black lands, where the crop is more bulky and laid
a good deal, there is a prevalence of mildew, which
threatens materially to affect both quality and quantity."
Again, in the neighbourhood of W.ssliiridge, in Suffolk,
Illost of our farmers easel t that our wheat crop is not
generally dyeing well, bet of A peculiar rusty and some-
what unhealthy colour, indicating mildew; some pieces
have decided mildew, and some declare that the entire
wheat crop will be more or less affected by it." In
Norfolk, within the last day or two, the appearance of
mildew has become more and more unwiatakeable ;
while the damage done to the potatoes is yet more
decisive. However much the wheat may recover, there
is hardly any question but that in very niany districts
the potato dies-see is already niaking great ravagec
Since we wrote last Monday the money market has
been in a state of continued disturbance, and the ,1
week closed with • yet more suggestive step on the '
part of the Government. The Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer hu asked for a discretionary power to raise
another million of money, as a naar,;in to sapply any
deficieucy that might anon from the continuance of bad
weather. Our only trust is now in that Providence
which may yet do more that we can scarcely hope to
expect. "In Essex," writes • correspondent of the
Ipswich Journal, "special services are being held in
the churches, and the people are being called together to
supplicate the aid of Him who ' ivaketh the storm to
cease.'" Still we must not wilfully shut our eyes to the
prospect before us, despite even a market, tLe tone of
which still continues our great enigma—Murk Lane
Tress.
Tug HARVEST AND THE WEATRER.—The following
letter appeared iii the Timms on Friday last :—"Sir,—We
are threatened with .1,8 of the greatest calamities
which can befall us, and are just now in imminent peril
of a wet harvest, and its fearful results in wide-spread
rain, distress, and disaster among all classes of the
community. I reside in .ne of the most rich and fer
ile districts in the beautiful county of Kent, but our

prospects are truly appalling. The potatoes are diseased
and pitten ; the pelIA. although abundant in quantity,
are ',rowing again and scarcely worth cutting at ci;
our hops, the ttiiplu growth of Kent, are struck with
blight, and are black and stinking Upon the poles ; our
corn crops are most abundant, but wherever barley or
oats are cut it immediately begins to shoot and grow
front the exeessive and interminable wet. In one word,
God is now tesehing us as a nation that we are entirely
dependent upon Ilia provides:,u, and that Ile can turn
our plenty into scarceness, mud stud a blast and a mil-
dew to destroy what He has so bountifully given. If
ever there was • periial which called for national
humiliation and prayer it is just now, and I beg,
through your world-wide columns to sug,,ntist that the
heads of our church should set apart next hlubbath, or
another early day, in order that as • nation. we may
send up our prayers to God, beseeching flint of His in-
finite goodness to be,,tow upon as the mercy of bright
sunshine, and to grant unto us 'the appointed weeks
of the harvest.' A CousVitT GENTLEMAN.— P.S.—
While I write (August :2) we have a hurricane of wind
aud floods of rain?'

l'orAru Citor IN Inmssn.—The accounts are
unfavourable, the unseasonable weather doing consider-
able mischief. In some localities it is feared that a
third, at least, of the crop will be lost by the old
In addition. it is stoted that the quality generally is
leul, the absence of sunshine and the constant rains
!caviar, the potato wet and soft, and depriving it of all
uourbliment.

CArri.r: iou tUSTIVII.I.I..—The Copenhagen, Captain
Godfrey, be:tonging to 3lessre. Dunbar. of London.
sailed from Plymouth on Saturdr.y, the lnth lint., for
Melbourne. lksides a full general cargo (1,609 tuns)
of British manufactured goods, includim; a large quan-
tity of gas apparatus and pipes, she take. l choice
bulls, two cows, the entire blood-horse Lion, worth
about £3OO, a supenur prize mare and foal, lately shown
at the Royal Agricultural Society's Exhibition at
Canterbury, a number of rains and sheep, • pair of
swans, a quantity of poultry, Ize. Most of the bulls are
of the Durham breed—one (Duke Humphrey) is valued
at rAal, and another, l'rince of Prussia, is worth double
that sum. This bull won the second prize at the last
canterbury alow •g&tist Royal Butte: fly, brother to
Master ButterEy, which was taken out successfully by
Captain Oudfrey, in
Tug CORN CROPS IN SOUTH Rl'SSlA.—Alarming
accounts have been received in St. Petersburg of the ate
',earwax of locusts id wane of the southern provinces ;
the wheat crops has suffered most from their ravages,
especially in the Government of Kherson. It is re-
marked that this year, for the first time, the locusts
have nut attacked the dux fields.