The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-09 00:00:00

SPORTING INTEL' LIGENCE—This Da

LEICESTER $ :ACES—Trus DAY.
(BY ELECTS IC TELEGRAPH)
WELTER. HANDICAP.
Disappointment .... ........... ............... 1
Dean SRift
Overatone
NURSERY HANDICAP.
Chimney Sweep .......................... . I
Sweetness
Vanguard
Punt ran.

The Weather and Harvest in Scotland.

PERTH.— Since the middle of the past week there has been
a very great change in the .weather, and altogether it is now
of a much lower temperatu re. At an early hour on Monday
morning a strong gale sprung up from tha south-west, and
continued till evening, when it fell, sod the wind shifted
to the north-west. During Monday night there was keen
frost, which was succeeded yesterday morning by heavy
rain, which had not abated by 4 o'clock p.m. Owing to
the high wind of Monday, a great deal of ripe wheat and
oats was shaken, and stooks were blown down in the dis-
tricts around Perth, especially to the westward. In the
orchards in the Carse of Gowrie, and in the parish of
Rhynd, on the banks of the Tay and Earn, vast quantities
of half-ripe apples and pears have been blown off the
trees, and there can bo no doubt that the tacksmen of the
orchards will suffer severely in a pecuniary point of view,
Most of the wheat, barley, and oats in the Perth district,
the Carse of Gowrie, and Lower Streathearn, havebeec.n,
but
down. Barley, where thrashed, is more than an average
yield, and is of fine quality. Oats, however, are deficient
both in weight and straw. Harvest has commenced in the
latethe enact districts
p r
oodfutchee
ofo tchhei ficse, r Oe
aolgi
cropseal m ocna
ad
otbe
Collate,
as yet esti-
mated. &
mated. The recent rains have given the potatoes a fresher
look, and they are as yet free from disease. Turnips have
likewise improved, but are somewhat thin on still and clayey
soils. If wet weather continues, pasture and clover grass
may yet give a good bite to cattle and sheep in the fall of
the year.

INNERLEITHEN.—Within the last week the weather has
completely changed. Rain, which was so long earnestly
longed for, has come at last, and is threatening to continue
to come in greater abundance than is at all desirable at thi 4
season. On Wednesday showers began to fall, and during
the rest of last week there was rear, more or rase deny.
showers were always moderate, and cutting was not much
interrupted, but carrying was retarded. Nearly the whole) 0 f
the crop on the low ground has been cut, but very little has
yet been carted to the barnyard, so that a very large nolate
thy of grain stands at present exposed in the stook. The
rain has done it little or no harm as yet ; but, from 'so long
a period of drought having previously prevailed, farmers
are becoming somewhat uneasy about the ingathering of
their crop, as, now that the weather has broken, it is much
to be feared that it may continue 'resettled for a con-
siderable time. A furious gale of wind, which began on
Sunday night, and continued all yesterday, has done con-
siderable damage to the standing crop. A good deal of
grain has been shaken from the ripe portion, and on high
places where the crop is yet green it has been much twisted
and storm-broken. The wind fell this morning, and has
been succeeded by rain, which has fallen heavily all day.
The cut grain, which the wind laid quite flat, must be
thoroughly soaked. The ground is now pretty well satu-
rated, although it has received no superfluous moisture, as
is evidenced ny the rivers having sustained very little rise
—and dry weather is now desirable for the ingathering of
the grain crops. Since the rain came, pastures and other
green crops show signs of reviving.—September 6.
BERIVICL—In this locality the weather for the last
fortnight, with the exception of occasional slight showers,
have been most favourable for harvest work, and farmers
have bean busy in all directions cutting and securing
their crops. The general ripening of the grain, and the
suitable nature of the weather, have allowed great progress
to be made in the way of cutting, more especially in the
neighbourhood of Norhaue and Coldstream, where the great
bulk of the crops is now in stook, and but little remains to
be cut. In many places a great deal of the wheat is stacked
and thatched ; and with another week of dry weather, little
would remain to be done in that way. The crops every-
where appear to be a fair average both in quality and quan-
tity. On Sunday night a strong north-west wind set in,
and continued to blow hard all Monday; but it does not
seem to have done much harm to the standing grain. The
greater portion of the crops in stook, however, has been
blown down, and will cause farmers a good deal of addi-
tional labour setting it up again. Turnips, notwitlastand-
ing the dryness of the season, are everywhere looking well
and with a few more showers may yet not fell far short of
an average crop. On light soils, however, they are thin
and backward. The injurious influence of the long-con-
tinued drought appears most conspicuously on pastures.
Potatoes are generally an abundant crop, but have the ap-
pearance of being largely affected by the disease.
GALASHIELS.-- On all the early farms harvest operations
so far as cutting is concerned, are finished, or nearly so; and
with few exceptions, should the weather prove at all favour-
able, on the later farms cutting will be finished by the end
of the present week. The very fine weather in the last
fortnight of August was alike favourable for ripening and
cutting, and assisted by the general use of the reaping ma-
chines the crops have been cut cheaply and expeditiously.
Oats are generally below an average. Barley is average in
bulk and excellent in quality. The little wheat grown in
the district is reported an average crop ; all the varieties aro
early; the fields whitened this season with astonishing rapi-
dity. On some of the early farms a considerable proportion
of the crops are secured in the stackyard, but in general
fully two-thirds are yet in the fields. With the beginning-
of September the weather altered, from the hot sunshine of
August to alternate shower and breeze, and yesterday the
wind increased to a perfect gale, laying all standing corn
fiat with the ground, and to-day (Tuesday) it is a constant
pouring heavy rain, with every appearance of continuance.
Up till this season it was considered problematical how far
the reaping machine could be beneficially introduced on
farms occupying hilly positions. Most of the farms
in this district are thus situated, and the machine has
been so generally introduced as to finally and satisfactorily
settle the question. We have made special inquiries at
some of the leading farmers in the district, and got the
uniform reply, where the crops are not laid, that the ma-
chine makes better work than either scythe or sickle.
Samuelson's self-delivering is the one mostly used in the
district, and gives general satisfaction. Nearly all the
farms of any extent have had one machine at work this
season. We have reports from Rink, Netherbarns, Holy-
bush, Fairnilee, Newhall, and other places, and all give
testimony to the value and utility of the machine. Mr
Elliott, of Newhall, has cut the whole of his crop this sea-
son with the ordinary farm workers and only one extra man.
Mr Haldane, of Fairnilee, reports that with the crops all
standing the whole harvest work may be got through with
the home workers. In some farms fewer hands are avail-
able for harvest work than on others, but the machine
effects an immense saving of manual labour.