The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-08-30 00:00:00

THE PROGRESS OF THE HARVEST.

Another week of glorious harvest weather has glad-
dened the farmer. In the south many of the fields
have been cleared, and the crops carted in excellent
order. In the Midlands both cutting and carting in
are being conducted in all directions with the greatest
despatch, and if the good weather continues until the
end of the month, most of the land will be cleared by
September Ist. In the north cutting is going on,
while in the lowlands of Scotland farmers are get-
ting very busy. The last week has proved the
most suited to the ripening crops, and as a rule
they will be likely to exceed our first estimate of
their yield. It still, however, remains a fact that
many crops in different parts of the country are
much damaged from being lodged, having fallen
early before the heads had filled, therefore a thin,
lean sample will in such instances be the result.
Owing to the hot weather crops will not bear delay in
cuttings and farmers find all their crops ready at once.
Ddringithe last week only light rains have fallen in
giligktnd ; and this is well, for if a week or ten days'
rain was now to fall the damage would be great indeed
to the grain crops. Turnips are now growing fast,
but are generally very late. They made such a bad
start for want of rain that many had to be sown once
again, others several times. Therefore in the end
they will be found very deficient in England, although
good accounts come to; us across the border. Mangel-
wurzel are growing east now, and bid -fair to make
nearly an average crop. The early potatoes are being •
raised, and are turning out abundant yields, but are
not eikiiit4. ef from. diseae.. Should the. weather hold •
pretty' hot .and dry, the late sorts will soon ber
fit to ra4isq, and serious disease need not bo
feared but on. thee other hand, if much rain falls.
and damp atmosphere prevails the. disease
will spread rapidly. The apple crops are very
variable, but, taking them on the whole will fall very
far short of
_last year's average. In the midland
counties the pasture exhibits a pretty green appear-
ance, tilthough upon some of the poorer and hardly
grazed lands keep is very short. Stock, however,
continues to do surprisingly well, and drafts are being
made weekly to the different markets, and the
thinning down of stock. will give the lean pastures a
better start. In some of the southern counties the
drought is becoming serious. Many pastures are
qcorched for \ Vb.nt of moisture, and water-courses are
dried up. Dry hot weather is, however, needed for a
few weeks hi the harvest field, and it will h,e hettel tq,
_Tslvortiif eiffi'certain distrias filen tChave
heavy downpour of rain just at this busy season,—
Land and Water.

+-raw

GOSSIP ON DRESS.

Tun almost tropical heat which has prevailed in
these islands during the past feveweeks has rendered
a brief sojourn at the seaside an acceptable change to
the dwellers in our populous cities, and has been very
extensively adopted by those whose means and oppor.
tunities permit a temporary cessation of their ordinary
avocations. To the great metropolis, with its teem-
ing millions, the exodus of a few thousands makes no
appreciable difference, though it is said to be "empty"
—the tides of life ebb and flow in its busy streets
with all their accustomed vigour, and it is only
by the comparative absence of well - appointed
carriages from the West - end thoroughfares,
and the deserted condition of the " Row " and the
"Ladies' Mile" in Hyde Park, that the dispersal of
the fashionable world is made apparent. The pro-
fessional and commercial classes, mostly residents of
suburban London, also contribute their quota to the
legions of holiday-makers, but the number of those
who go is as nothing to those who remain, so that the
whirl and bustle of London life present few signs of
diminution or relaxation. But those who watch the
movements of the votaries of fashion must un-
doubtedly turn their gaze towards those resorts
which railway facilities and local enterprise have
rendered so accessible and so attractive at very point
along our coasts. In these health-giving retreats,
fashion relaxes somewhat her rigidity, and much
diversity, not to say, eccentricity, of costume is
allowable. The Queen devotes a special article to the
subject of "Seaside and Travelling Dresses," from
which we extract the following: The new mixed
braids are used by leading tailors for trimming
costumes of cloth or cashmere, which are mostly made
in the prevailing fashion of ample-sized plain round
skirt, with a narrow box-plaiting below. The skirt at
the lower part, the tunic, and bodice are braided in
handsome designs, all most effective, and some quite
unique in their richness of form and detail. A dress
of dark navy blue cloth was trimmed with round blue
cord, mixed with four single strands of gold thread.
A broad border of braiding some six or eight inches
in width surrounded the skirt, which was plain, and
the trimming was also displayed on the long pointed
drapery of the overskirt and on the short coat-shaped
bodice, with fronts cut away from the neck, and
"make believe" waistcoat below.

A COSTUME of chocolate cloth, with brown gold
braid, and tan leather, was remarkably stylish
and novel. The plain skirt was cut up at each
side, showing a narrow-shaped panel of leather,
sewn round with brown and gold braid. The
short festooned drapery was also trimmed with braid,
and fell in loose folds at the back. The
close-fitting Zouave bodice had a waistcoat of leather,
fastened with flat gold buttons, and was bordered with
mixed braid to match. The jackets and wraps are in
endless profusion, albeit both useful and good; while
ulsters are well to the fore, and of many new fabrics
and styles. Among the latter may be noted an ex-
ceedingly well-looking garment of soft fawn-coloured
cloth. It was bordered all round with dark brown
mohair braid. In front it was fastened by hooks, and
on either side was a patrol braiding, which, however,
ceased below the waist. At the back were a number
of plaits, with braid carried up to the shoulder; on
one sleeve was a large A ustrian knot.

SKIRTS of soft silk mixture tweeds, with hair lines
of some bright colour, such as red on small blue and
white checks, or pale blue on black and dark green,
are ladylike, useful, and good. They are frequently
worn with a bodico of plain coloured cloth, trimmed
either with fancy French braid or bordered with
narrow overlapping frills of the material, the edges
scalloped, and cut in sharp teeth. Should the checked
tweed be used for the entire costume, the jacket
bodice has collar and cuffs of velvet the same shade
as the lines on the stuff, which is made as an all-
round skirt, with the drapery stitched at the edge,
and gathered up high at the sie A new, or rather a
revived, fashion, is to have an tside flat pocket of
velvet sewn on one side of the tunic, or on the skirt
itself, if this be of " housemaid form, that is,
hanging in folds from the waist. Velvet Tam o'
Shanter hats are almost invariably worn with this
style of dress, and, made with a rolled underbrim,
are a headgear both chic and becoming.

A COSTUME of cotton, while charming for seaside
apparel, cannot well be adopted for travelling. Its
freshness is its chief beauty, and this fades away all
too soon. Round skirts of dull blue satteen, with a
full-gathered frill at the edge, are worn with broad
scarves of coarse twine-coloured canvas, worked with
dice, spots or stars of bright wools. The patterns are
outlined with shaded gold thread, which produces a
handsome effect. 'A scarf tunic of this uncommon
material, embroidered with sprays of flowers or
shaded old-fashioned pinks, with foliage of dull green
and geld, was cleverly draped on a skirt of rich
crimson satteen, which was edged with a full cocks-
combs ruche, embracing the various colours used in
the costume, which was completed by a tailor-made
jacket of deep red twilled serge and a red straw
steeple-crowned hat, the latter adorned with a terrade
of canvas, embroidered and edged with gold lace.
Grocer-blue cotton, with st4trg of brlgllt rod, or Sort:
crape cloth, embroidered with brown, are remarkably
pretty when made as draped skirts, and worn with
smart, tight-fitting jackets of plain blue or brown
cloth to match. The collar and cars are of velvet,
of a deeper shade, which is also used on the hat of
coloured straw, and fastened with gold-headed pins.

COSTUMES of cream-white serge, the skirts mach
with several tucks, or trimmed with narrow velve
ribbon, are stylish for morning wear, especially by
the sea shore, where muslins are quite out of place
should the morning be breezy a Id cool.. All coloured
velvets are used, such as reseda-grey and dark red.
The two first are novel and quaint in appearance
when worn with rich cream or pure white. Tight-
fitting soldier-like jackets of rough surfaced cream or
white cloth, with facings of coloured velvet, and
buttons of shining gold- are fashionable and very
smart additions to the skirts just described; while for
warmer days these may be replaced by loose blouse
bodices of Surah or soft Merveilleux, matching
exactly the shade of the velvet that appears sewn in
rows on the skirt.

DISCUSSING the subject of travelling-dresses, the
same authority says that soft clinging woollens of
dull neutral tints in all shades of grey, drab, a-ad
fawn are admirable for the purpose, and cannot well
be surpassed. Light colours, too, are far better than
dark (which require such constant attention to free
them from all travel stains), and are largely adopted
by ladies on their journeys by sea or on land.
Brown, trimmed with crimson or green—the latter
the tint of dried moss—and beige, with a bright shade
of red, are both very favourite mixtures, and make
up exceedingly well.- The skirts may be plain or
kilted, and are often bordered with a wide flat band
of one or other of the colours named, which
is reintroduced in the waistcoat and cuffs, and
as piping at the edge of the short scarf tunic
tied in long loops at the back. A woollen costume of
red-brown had the plain gathered skirt and short
upper drapery bordered with moss-green Material and
edged with two rows of mixed braid. At the back of
the skirt were two long pointed ends, one of brown
lined with green, the other of green lined with brown,
which were caught up and fastened immediately
beneath the basque of the bodice by a large metal
buckle of the two colours, and tassels of loops of
mixed braids. The close-fitting jacket had a narrow
waistcoat front of the green material, sewn across
with short rows of mixed braid, each one finished with
a metal button and a cluster of small hanging loops.
Another, of fawn-coloured tweed, was trimmed in the
same way with crimson, the band at the edge of the
skirt being covered with a " zigzag " pattern of fawn
braid mixed with gold and metal threads.
The front of the skirt has a full short
apron spreading in fan-like folds, at the back
was a long hanging end, lined with crimson, which
was caught up at one corner, and fastened on the hip
by a 9nacarma of braid and fawn, and gold bullion
tassels. The narrow crimson waistcoat was braided,
matching the bank on this skirt, and the jacket was
cut up at the back of the basque, and filled ia with
crimson knife plaits. The sleeves were quite plain,
but fastened from the wrist to the elbow with a row
of " practicable " buttons, a capital plain for a
travelling dress with no laces or frills to get crumpled
and soiled when hurriedly washing one's hands at a
station or roadside inn.

Fox yachting costumes, navy blue has up to the
present been everywhere freely displayed, and the real
navy serge as much used as ever for mornings spent
solely abroad. Cream serge is largely adopted for all
smart occasions on shore.' Braiding in plain straight
lines, or in patterns of scroll-work or leaves', is again
the distinctive feature of all gowns expressly
intended for everyday wear "aboard skip ;".4while
thoser-that are not so adorned have trimmings of
bands of bright serge, in strong contrast with
that of which the costume is composed. A
full-kilted skirt of deep navy-blue serge, worn by
one of our leaders of fashion, had a band of cream
serge at the edge ; the long square tunic, cut up
at one side to the ,waist, and bordered alike with
cream serge, and th 4 opening laced across with blue
silk cords and tassels. The bodice was of the
.Zouave form, short, round,' and loose in front,
while fitting the figure tie the back. It was edged
with-a band of, ereatn herge, and was laced in front
with a blue silk cord, • beneath which was , a
cream plaited vest. A.coignpanying this -stylish gown,
was a small regulation cdat of 'a rough, useful m 1 o 3
blue serge; it- was single-breasted, and had turn-down
collar, pockets; and cuffs Pf the cream serge ds used
on the dress. 1 It was easily donned, having loosely-
cut fronts and a lining throughout or soft silk, and
the back showed the lines of a well-moulded figure in
a manner that showed the tailor's art to perfection.
A smart yachting gown wtis of cretuny *hitt) serge,
the skirt composed of fine plaits, and the drapery
looped at the back. The upper part of the skirt was
artistically folded and edged with fine cream and gold
braid. This was of quite a new make: the cream
running straight down a centre, and a gold single
twist at each edge. The bodice was pointed, the
waistcoat was braided and buttoned down on each
side, the, cuffs were of braid of a simple design to
- achlrtralith the tunic and vest.

SFIEIR /34,011 T.--The barveat.—Ftintw Folks.