The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-09-03 00:00:00

THE HARVEST AND THE WEATHER.

The Magnet in its review of the corn trade for the
Past week, says ;—" More disastrous weather for the
,?arrying on of harvest work than we have had dur-
ing the past week could not have been experienced.
ileavy soaking rains have been general. 'rho cut
grain has become thoroughly soddened, and has fre-
quently sprouted, whilst in the latter districts the
corn has been prevented from ripening. The year will
again prove a bad one to the agricultural interests,
and unless the weather now becomes ecttled, will not
be much of an improvement over 1879. Previous
estimates of the yield will have to be modified, and
a more intimate acouaintance with the crop will
Probably cause it to be seen that the yield is ten per
cent. below the average, and then allowance will
have to bei made for the bad condition in which a
large portion of the grain has been secured. Oats
are put down at 20 per cent, below the average; but
barley, which is the crop of the season, at 10 per
cent. ahoy:, The rains have been very beneficial to
the r0y.,,,0, and with settled weather from now we shall
haVe a fair crop,"

According to the Mark Lane Express, when every
• MD wance has been made for the beneficial influence of
the strong winds and bright sunshine which generally
pbts-ined during Friday, Saturday, and Sunday last
it would be ignoring patent facts and the evidence
Which has been forthcoming from all parts of the country
to regard the past week as having brought other than
general disaster and ruin to the Eritish harvest of 1881.
A series of intermittent storms, which commenced on
Monday, enlminated on Thursday in a thunderstorm
Which included in its area nearly the whole of the
United Kingdom, during which the rainfall was ex-
cessive. To form an adequate estimate of the damage
do.ne by this downpour it will be necessary to bear in
paind that it fell on Crbps which have been outstanding
in sheaf for as considerable length of time, during which
they 11;076
been repeatedly wetted and partially dried,
9:ad on uncut grain which is being literally eaten up by
nifildew. It is difficult to assess the relative amount of
damage as between crops standing in sheaf and those
Which have not yet been cut even with advices daily to
hand from all parts of the kingdom. In the former
+category are included the bulk of the grain crops
In the eastern, southern, and south-eastern mid-
land counties of England, and in the latter the whole
tenaainder of the United Kingdom. The wheats have
eprouted, more or less, in all the districts in which
tble grain crops are out-standing, in some cases to an
host unprecedented degree; whilst the barleys,
Which are generally too short in the straw to admit
Qf tying, have received damage varying from a state
of rottenness to mere discolouration, which will ma-
terially affect the malting properties and market
value of the crops. In districts in which floods have
,Occurred—the details of which are not yet fully to
nand—the harvest disaster must necessarily be corn-
Plete,

le Times of Tuesday had a leader on the harvest pros-
ete as influenced by the recent unfavourable weather.
e make the following extracts therefrom :
The farmers are losing hope, as well they may, in
the prospect of gathering in a short supply of wheat,
and that wet and mildewed, and, as one of their journals
VaPhically puts it, "more like muck than corn."
t,ast week's markets tell a tale that will bring no
Satisfaction to the buyer of quartern loaves, but that
theY offer a spice of comfort to the grower. At Mark-
lane, indeed, on Friday the sudden change to brighter
(skies kept back the advance of price; but on Satur-
ilde,l all over the country we find a decided rise. At
lverpool, the prices paid for iini,o; t,,d grain were
ILtilnulated by the bad week at home, and rose four-
,.._"hetl per cental. At Bristol, wheat was 3s. to ss.
quarter higher; at Leith, 2s. to 2s. 6d. ; at York
and at Winchester, 3s. to 4s. • and at Reading it
reached the great price of 6.4 s per quarter, the
quality even then being described as " not of
the highest." Only at Norwich was there any
ZeePtiCal to the general advance; for Norfolk
l'ae this year been a favoured county, and the
4i Vest has been secured without much loss.
'32 general a rise in price speaks volumes for the effect
a week's rough weather at this critical time. Still,
be farmers must admit that the much higher prices
r° this autumn go far to make things easier for them.
f they can save even two-thirds of their corn, not to
ePeak of other agricultural produce which as yet has
1),1115, been helped and not injured by the rain,
'Ley will find themselves in a tolerable position,
after all. It must be remembered that the
high prices are based not only on the poor pro-
"
Deets of the home harvest, but on the known re-
eults of the harvest in America and elsewhere. As
*we showed a few days ago the crop in the United
States is decidedly shorter than it was last year; and
...11e returns of the French harvest, which are now
'flown, show a similar decline. France, instead of
Porting, will have to import nearly a fourth of her
!rtlr this-