The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-08-27 00:00:00

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I4je3tourbrikge Obsercur

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1887.

THE HARVEST.

WE are well advanced now, taking the
country through, with the ingathering of the
corn ; and estimates of the yield, of a more
or lees relieble and carefully worked-oat
character, are appearing in the agricultural
and other papers. The upshot of a laberious
collation of reports leads us to come to the
conclusion that on the whole— while things
are by no means as bad as they might have
been—the harvest of 1887 will not do much
to materially improve the farmer's position,
or enable him to recoup the losses which
continuous depressions in trade, bad weather,
and other causes have brought about in some
recent years. The phenominal drought has
done away with any hope that might have
existed earlier on of big profits on the year's
agriculture. The wonder is that such a long
parching summer has not wrought even
more havoc than it has; and that, tropical
heat and cloudless skies notwithstanding,
the wheat crop at least is net likely to be
below the average. With a grateful inter-
mingling of rain with the hot sunshine,
wheat and corn of all kinds would have been
much thicker on the ground, longer in the
straw, and bigger in the ear. Wheat can
stand thirst much better than oats or barley
but.refreshing showers in June and July
always wonderfully improve it in every way
when they come. It is quite an error, as any
practical farmer knows, to think that a rain-
less summer is absolutely beneficial to the
wheat crop. It is a vigorous plant whose
seed gives us bread, and will grow on strong
land without the wet which the more delicate
cereals cannot dispense with; but all the
wheats thrive better when showers come in
to break the sun's fierceness. This year we
have had a good deal of premature ripening;
and though, as has been said, the yield will
be an average one, we are not at all likely to
repeat the gratifying experience of 1885
when the mean official estimate was as high
as 31'24 bushels per acre, taking the United
Kingdom through. Those who make a study
of forecasting agricultural affairs generally
and cornyields in particular point to an all
round average wheat crop of about 30 bush.
per acre, which will be two bushels more
than ordinary. On the whole the farmer
who have no right to grumble at that, but
prices are the biggest bugbear; and wheat
cultivation is never an extraordinary profit-
able section of farming. Then the rest of
the crops will prove very thin and light in-
deed, excepting perhaps the mangle wurzle,
which is making good headway and giving
fair promise since the refreshing rains have
fallen. Barley is generally poor, though
there are nice fields here and there where
the land is heavy and good, or in highly
farmed mixed moil. Oats have turned out in
most places very unsatisfactory. There are
not many good crops of beans and peas, and
the maggot has been at work in most neigh-
bourhoods; while pulse has been burnt up
or prevented reaching maturity. Potatoes
are not so bad, as dryness does not bring to
the tubers the dangers which come with
continuous rain; but nice soaking showers
would have immensely swelled the size and
increased the number of potatoes found at
each root. Turnips want more wet ; but
where the sun did not kill off the young
plants before they got well established they
are now looking much better than they did
a month back. When the corn is all safely
gathered in the farmers will hope for a fur-
ther pluvial favour, as pastures and all root
crops would thereby be much benefited.
They have by no means yet recovered from
the scorching which they received a few
weeks ago. Looking back to haytime we
have ti remember regretfully that a super-
abundance of sunshine rendered the grass
yield al e° very nnsatiefactory. Hay was
small in quantity, usually of poor quality,
and coeseqnently unprofitable. It seems
that (Alnr countries are as bad as we are in
hareeet particulars on the whole, and
woree in many; so that there is comfort for
the British farmer in the reflection that
there is a likelihood of his produce improv-
ing ere long greatly in value In the abstract
a searcity is not usually matter for gratula-
ties, bat moderate yie!ds always bring better
prices than glut does; and if foreign com-
petition ie red need by climatic considerations
our agriculturists cannot fail to be the ,
geiners. Should this be the case, we shall
have rotne compensation for the drop in
values in dairy produce and stock resulting
from scarcity of good pasturage earlier on,
and the necessity whieh has arisen of feed-
ing with cake, which is happily now cheap
It Is Utltielp tte•c!, :it :tee rate, that oats and
barley of good sample will fetch better prices
Cad long, tor they here done badly in the
ITn ted States as well as on the Continent.
Taose ferarers, therefore who are having
go 1d crops of these cereeis will do well, if
they Can afford to held, to keep what they
ar; harvesting in their possession until the
expected rise gives them an opportunity of
realising a profit. Unfortunately the Agri-
oelture! Returns which were issued a week
heck speak all too plainly of the staghant
state of British farmin4. Though there has
le_en a little more land under wheat this
_year than last, the impmement is but a
qua ter of the decadence from 1885,; and
the sires of oat and barley fields of 1887 is a.
good deqsmaller than Not year's. Corn
land has gone to grass, but with this there
is no increase of stock; so the disappointed
field farmer is not turning his energies to
dairying. We have less cattle by three per
Gent. than t year back; even pigs are very
considerably fewer in number, and to take a
comprehensive period, there are, roundly,
jou mid, a-half millions of sheep less in
*Aga Wig *lb 100141 this Bober