The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-27 00:00:00

The Crops in Yorkshire.

The hay harvest in this county is now nearly corn•
pleted, and on the whole has been remarkably well
won, in many cases the grass having been mown
one day and gathered off the ground the nest. The
produce varies widely in different quarters of the
county. In the dales of the North Riding the
unusual heat of May caused an early spring vegeta-
tion, which the frosts and succeeding cold of June
cut down. The hill sides are not yet quite brown
from the effects of frost. The absence of rain in
June, followed by a very long drought, has ren-
dered the meadows very short of grass, and the con-
sequence is that the hay crop is only about half the
average per acre. Pastures are very poor for want
of rain, and, on the whole, present prospects for
grazing and for winter fodder are anything but sa-
tisfactory upon the dairy farms. Further south,
and in the East Riding, the drought has been less
felt, but crops are below the average yield. This is
causing buyers of hay to look after old stacks,
where they are to be found, and prices are on the
rise, with a prospect of higher figures as winter
approaches. The shortness of the crop, how-
ever, is in some measure compensated by the splen-
did condition in which all the hay has been won,
no rain having fallen worth mention for several
weeks. The corn crops, on the whole, are looking
well, but are much below the standard of last har-
vest, although farmers mostly admit there is about
an average of promise. The want of rain has caused
the straw, especially of spring corn, to be short,
tending to give the crops a lighter appearance on
the land than is really the case. Should the present
hot weather continue there will be a rapid ripening,
and harvest may be looked for in about three weeks
in the forwardest parts. The pee, bean, and other
crops are generally good. The turnip crop varies
very much. In many places the fly did great injury
to the first sowing, and there are very few early
sown flats really good. The second crops got away
pretty well, but the cold of Juno and the small rain-
fall of July have kept Chem back, and the crops as
a whole will be late, but, with a flue autumn, pretty
good. The June frost caused a general destruction
of the potato foliage, and as the succeeding weather
has been trying, the produce is yet small in size.
The crops, however, look healthy, and so far no
complaint of disease has been heard. The old crop
was never sold off, and many hundreds of bushels
have been pulped for the cattle and pigs, and have
helped out the shortness of grass in places. It is
the opinion that this year's crop will prove sound
but not heavy, and prices have mended considerably
—2s 6d per bushel being given by dealers in the
field, and the retail price being 3s to 4s, The gene-
r4 I
re • desire is for rain, which has been much under
the average—indeed, in some of the wold districts
very iittee rain has fallen this year.

DYEING EttATn:uts.—An important branch of
the tinctorial art, tlia: which comprises the dyeing
of feathers intended for dreo, has just been considerably
improved in consequence of tie discovery of the colours
made with aniline. Feathers, beWre being dyed, are sub-
eted to a process of ablution and bleaehing,,, in order to
carry off all fatty or colouring matter. For this purpose,
after the feathers have been properly sorted, they are
treated with a lukewarm solution of about llb of soap in
two of water. The feathers are left in this solution
until the soap has produced its effect, and they are then
put into a second bath similar to the former. They
are then carefully raised several times, and after-
wards bleached by exposing them to the 9Ct:on of sulphurous
acid, obtained by the combustion of sulphui ; after which
they are washed once more and dried. The dyeng process
new begins : they are dyed black by boiling them to a solu-
don of alum and Campeachy wood, to which the sulpht, tee of
iron and copper are added ; lilac is obtained by herb-archel
or chinney- weed, carmine extracted from indigo and alum;
yellow of various shades by acetate of lead and chromato of
potash, or else by annotto and a solution of potash ; green,
by a solution of indigo and picric acid ; blue, by a solution of
indigo and alum, or else by nitrate of iron and the yellow
prussiate of potash ; and lastly, red by cochineal of Brazil
wood. But much finer results are obtained in red, violet,
or blue by employing the colours obtained from aniline,
which adhere to feathers with as much tenacity as they do
to cotton or wool, and give them a peculiar brilliancy. The
only precaution to be observed is, to clean the feathers well
bet ore dipping them into the warm bath containing colours
the
of
aniline, and to leave them in long enough to allow
colours to penetrate. As the colours of aniline are now
prepared in a dry form, the bath way consist of water,
into which an alcholic solution of the colouring
must be moderate,
matter is
poured. The temperature of the bath aerate,
otherwise the feathers would be spoi.
SALMON FISHING IN THE NESS.—TEe Salrinn
fishing in the Ness is improving, but as
t We
have not heard of a single fish being taken with the rod.
The river is very low, and anglers know that, under these
circumstances, the rod and line are out of the question.
The high tides of the past week have brought up an
number of grilse. On Tuesday, about mid -day, im-
mense
gv d
e e, headed, a
as
u large passing under the Suspension
Bby one of the largest of their
shoalus a
l,
cumber. Grilse now weighbrsiedr as high as S lb., and salmon
from 20 to 26 lb. Dochfour Station is yielding very little
aow,.but on the whole there is no reason to complain. Sea
trout are fast making their appearance, and in many in-
, 4tances they have exceeded thy grilse in sirs,--inverness
Coo kr.

SECOND EDMO

SUN OFFICE, HALF-PAST 4 O'CLOCK.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,—This Day,

GOODWOOD RACES—Tins DAY.
(BY ELECTRICI(TELEGRAPH,)
DRAWING ROOM STARES.
Knight of Snowdon ..
Glendusk
Harkformard

Four ran.
£5O HANDICAP PLATE.

Crytheia
Voluptas
St Vincent
Seven ran. Dead heat for second place.
SWEEPSTAKES OF 2.00 SOY'S.

Idler
Aseham
Gownsman

SWEEPSTAKES OF 300 SOVS.
Sister to Drake;...
2
Auricula
Procella .....
3

Five ran.
GOODWOOD DERBY.

Young Rapid • w.o.
GOODWOOD STAKES.

Blondin
Guerilla .......................................... 2
Thaleatris

Seven ran.
Claxton scratched at 12.30.

LA.TEST BETTING.

GOODWOOD CUP.
4to l agst Little Stag (taken)

THIRD EDITION

SUN OFFICE, SEVEN O'CLOCK.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS.—This Evening.

Lord REDECDALE, in the absence of the Lord Chancel-
lor, took his seat on the woolsack at two o'clock.
POOR RELIEF METROPOLIS BILL.

Lord WODEHOUSE moved the second reading of this
bill, the object of which is to provide for the wayfaring
wandering poor.
The Earl of POWIS did not approve of the method
proposed to be adopted for the collection of the money to
be expended in the relief of the casual poor.
Earl FORTESCUE condemned the delay that had
taken place in introducing a measure of the nature then
before the house. Ho was, however, thankful that a bill
had been brought forward, and although he did not ap-
prove of the machinery for carry.ag it into effect, he
should give it his support.
Lord REDESDALE said the Poor Law Board was very
blameable in delaying the introduction of such a bill until
the last day or two of the session. The measure was a
very crude one, and there was no time for amendment. He
thought it injudicious to accede to the passing of the measure
during the present session, and unfair to ask Parliament to
do so. He moved that the bill be read a second time that
day three months.
After a short discussion, the amendment was negatived
without a division, and the bill was read a second time.
THIRD READINGS.

The following bills were read a third time and passed :
Harwich Harbour Act Amendment—Portsmouth Dock-
yard (Acquisition of Lands)—Local Government Supple-
mental (No. 2)—Criminal Justice Act (1855) Eaten•.
sion—Armagh Archiepiscopal Revenues—Consolidated
Fund (Appropriation)—New Zealand (Guarantee of
Loan Public Works (Manufacturing Districts
Poor Removal—Pier and Harbour Ordecs Confirmation—
Sheriffs Substitute (Scotland)—Drainage and Improvement
of Lands (Ireland) Supplemental—West Indian Encum-
bered Estates Acts Amendment—Fortifications (Provision
for Expenses).