The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-08-19 00:00:00

isles, the dependance of the farmer upon
atmospheric conditions is often brought home to
him with unpleasant force. No two summers,
for instance, could have been in greater contrast
'kin the pres,nt one and its immediate pre-
dec. ssor. In 1875 the rains descended and the
floods came with a pitiless persistency that laid
vast tracts of arabla and pasture land under
water, converted smiling valleys into inland
seas, and changed the mountain rill into a
rapid rushing torrent. More rain fell in our
latitudes than could possibly have been evapora-
ted from the waters which they contain, and it
was not as though we were receiving that share
of moisture which properly belonged to otln r
counts ies, for how France was devastated we all
know ; and from the shores of the Pacific as
well as from those of the Atlantic, came the
story of storm and inundation. A damp atmos-
phere overhung the land throughout the
autumn, and in October and November came
fresh accaunts from all quarters of the ruin and
destruction wl ought by the enormous quantity
of rain. What is the tale of the present year?
One of long continued drought. of parching
days, and of stifling nights. The grass has
withered, the flowtrs have faded, and the short-
lived areenery of the trees has become prc•
maturely old and languid under the fierce heat.
The cloudless sky has not been less pitiless than I
were the menacing clouds of twelve mouths ago.
A protracted course of rain is likely enough to
give rise to feelings of gloom and depreab 1 1
and we generally associate sunshine with bright-
ness and gaiety. But when the sunlight beats
down upon a thirsty land day after day, week
after week, its rays untempered by cleud, and
the over-heated earth afforded no chance of
relief by a hearty fall of rain, even too much
sunshine is apt to pall upon the vision, more
especially when it is accompanied by physical
prostration and mental exhaustion. How differ-
ently is rain regarded under such varying cir-
sucustauces as those to which we have alluded !
One year people join in their places of worship
in prayer to the Almighty that He, in his Great
wisdom, might stay " the plague of waters"
being poured upon the earth in a way which
recalled the illustrations of the opening of the
windows of Heaven; and the very next the
great fissures which seam the ground and the
drooping condition of all vegetation speak as
eloquently as human language of the water '
famine which has prevailed, and tell how wel-
come would be some of that rain which ran to
so much waste and was regarded with such
apprehension only a few months ago. But in
these two years of striking contrast, we see
another proof of the fact that although there
may be an excess at one time and a falling off
at another, a certain law of average exists which
in the end must be obeyed. The heavy calls
made upon the condensing powers of the air last
year have produced exhaustion this ; and if
human agencies could have their way no doubt
a somewhat more equable distribution of the
forces of Nature would take place. But let us
console ourselves with the reflection that if a
dry season is bad for time root crops it is good
for wheat, and this will gladden many a harvest
field in the present autumn. By the time the
crops are all in-gathered and the last of the
gleaners have taken care that not even a single
ear shall be lost, the tillers of the soil inay be
enabled to sing with united heart and voice—
" We toil and sow for harvest the seed upon the land,
The yield and growth depending upon a Higher Hand:
He sends us genial showers: He makes the sun to
shine,
From Him comes every blessing—from God the Lord
Divine.
All that is excellent proceeds from God the Lord;
Then give Him hearty thanks and trust ye in His
word."