The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-25 00:00:00

The Harvest.

Should the weather continue fine the harvest in
this district (Newmarket) will be ne..rly, if not
quite, finished during the week. Some farmers,
even in the heavy soil neighbourhood, have already
finished, and the crops have been gathered in fine
condition. Formerly the harvest on heavy land
farms was from a fortnight to three weeks later
than that on light and medium soils, but now it
is almost as early, owing to the beneficial effects
of good draining. The wheat is reported to be of
an excellent quality, and rather above the ordinary
average. Barley is an unusually heavy crop, but
in many instances is of a bad selling colour. Some
have deferred the carting of it for a few days, in
the hope of getting some rain, which, it is thought,
would considerably improve it in appearance, and,
of course, enhance its value. The oats are heavy,
and of a fine quality, but tae bean crop is inferior
to that of last year.
Should there be another ten days of dry weather
the harvest will be nearly to an end for this year,
and grain of all descriptions will have been housed
in the primest condition for thrashing. At the
time we write, however, there has been some
steady rain, of which the root crops stood sorely in
need—at least in this neighbourhood. We have
ocoasionally heard of storms elsewhere, but around
Salisbury there has not been sufficient rain to
penetrate the soil to any depth since the begin-
ning of June. The pastures are completely
parched, and there is but little grass in the
water meadows. Dairy produce has, consequently,
advanced in price, and the prospects for
the coming winter and early spring are
anything but encouraging, seeing that the swede,
turnip, and mangold crops ;Till be far below the
average. In some places farmers have already had
to give their cattle hay, and those who have a super-
abundant supply of this description of provender
will doubtless remise high prices for the same dur.•
ing the winter. There has been a good breadth of
wheat carried, and, lcoking at the character of the
season, not ranch fault can be found with the yield.
Of course it will be far below that of last year, but
there being a pretty good stock in hand, nothing
but war or other unforeseen circumstances will en-
able the farmer to obtain anything like remunera-
tive prices. With the high rents paid for most farms
we fear that even Mr lluxtable himself would not
increase the balance at his bankers by growing
wheat at ss. a bushel. It has had to be done, it is
true, but the last three years have been most trying
and anxious ones to the holders of arable farms.
About the usual number of acres have been sown to
barley, but owing to the long continued drought
the crop is light and thin, with of course very little
straw. The early sown will prove the best for malt.
ing purposes. The oat crop is unusually light, and
excepting in strong, -retentive soils, beans are a
general failure. We have seen only two or three
good samples, and the yield will bo unprecedent-
edly small, owiug to the excessive blight which has
prevailed, Good beans are likely to fetch high prices.
Similar observations are applicable to the pea
crop, which, owing to the parched state of the
ground, is very deficient. Here, again, the
advantage of early sowing has been rendered
strikingly apparent. Less flax is grown in this
neighbourhood than in North Wilts and in some
parts of Dorsetshire, but most of the accounts are
favourable, and we are surprised that farmers do not
devote more attention to this orop, for which there
is now a more remunerative market than has been
the case for many years. Most of the late planted
potatoes will hardly repay the cost attending them,
but there is very little disease, and the tubers,
though small, are of good quality for the table.
The season has been a capital one for the destruction
of weeds, and every advantage has been taken of
the opportunity.—Wiltshire Mirror.
_ _

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.—Since last week the wea-
ther has been broken. On Sunday morning we
had a heavy thunderstorm, and several hours of
refreshing rain followed. Since then there have
been several showers, which must prove very bene-
ficial to the pastures and root crops. In many parts
of the county farmers have secured the whole of their
corn crops, and on good heavy lands the yield of
wheat will be nearly an average: On the loose sand
soils the crops are very light, and there will be a
considerable deficiency. Barley is the best crop of
the season. Generally the plant has done well, and
the yield will reach a fall average. Oats are
variedly spoken of, but altogether the yield is very
light. Beans are thin. Peas are a fair crop. In the
southern part of the county wheat is a good crop on
the marsh and subsoils, and the quality of the grain
is fine; on the light lands it is uneven. Barley pro-
mises exceedingly well. Oats and beans are short in
straw, and the yield is indifferent. Potatoes aro
sound and of good quality, but small in size. Turnips
have mostly proved a favour—the early Swedes
promise the best, Mangolds are a very poor crop.
THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS IN THE NORTH
OF ENGLAND.—In Lancashire the crops generally
aro looking admirable, both grass and rows, which
have nearer London suffered eo much horn drought,
being at least up to the average. This is certain to
render 1861 a profitable year for Northern farmers,
hay and other holder rapidly rising in cable owing
to the short yield in other localities. Good hay,
which a few weeks ago was selling at GI per stone
of 141 b., now realises 91., and many dealers expect
that in spring it will reach the maximum attained
during the Crimean w...r-1(1. per lb. In anticipa,
Con of this state of matters, vast herds of cattle are
being sent from Berkshire and neighbouring coun-
ties to the Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Wakes
field markets, instructions to dealers being to dispose
of them at anything approaching reasonable prices
in preference to their having to be kept on southern
estates during tile coming winter. Here they can
be fattened to a profit, there being no lack of
nourishing vegetation, the country presenting a
completely diff‘irent aspect tc that on the Luudot

CRIEFF.—The dry warm weather which .has prey
toin weihthicehr garalainr
wailed since the beginning of Aug-ast has hastencd
the ripening of the grain with astonishing rapidity.
Numerous fields of barley have been reaped near the
town during the past week, and in the course of a
few days
harvest will be general in the district.
The yield of oats upon the whole will not be bulky
and
depo soon. Barley,
will be the moat bulky yield we have had 'Zor
the
goer
breadtha trawforofingrmouannyd
hinassta bneecaes
frosty mornings
dir
voted, excessive
t
however, he dap
have ripened the
e
aneudLber of years, and the quality of the glmin
generally will be very due.
Oa the farm of -Farr
district and Milnab several stacks of barley have been cis rted
to the stackyard, and by the end
of x
hadw wonderful
or four
days twwilele in
ct the
greater part of the crop in this
stook and stack. Tho want of rain is severely felt.
Potatoes and-turnips are suffering from it ; while
pastures are completely browned and bare, and the
flocks in many places are on short allowance.
CLACKMANNANSIIIRE AND VALE OF DEVON. Tho
fine wartmweeatihneng of lastrinexperiencd week for three
wek a ond
effect on the growing crops in this locality, mellow
ing the colour and filling the ears. Warm, howeve
as it was during the day, a sharp pinch of frost lola
been felt at night, or rather early in the morn;,r,g,
and fears were entertained that the whitening pro-
cesa was being obtained at the expense of a full ear.
This, it is hoped, will be counteracted by the hieavy
showers that have fallen since. The weight o f the
oat crop in general cannot be spoken of at present,
as the heads are as yet in some places rather light,
but it is hoped it will turn out a very fair avesago.
Wheat is generally very fair, and barley particu-
larly good. This latter crop is almost all ripe,
and its cutting is either finished or has commenced
on various farms. The harvest is almost gene-
ral round about Alloa and the lands sloping
down to the Forth, but will be fully a fort •
night later in the eastern and upper parts of tl le
county. In the strath of Devon the harvest is
about to commence. The state of the root crop, is
highly favourable. The potato was thrown about
three weeks back by the frost that blackened the
haulms, but there is no word of disease making its
appearance, and the tubers in the field, though not
dry, as they would be if ripe, are plentiful and
full-sized. The turnip crop is fully three weeks
earlier than usual, and is throughout, with few
exceptions, very good. There have been a few•
sales of growing oats throughout the county, !At
which the prices realised have averaged from four
to five guineas an acre, The weather towards the
end of last week was much broken, and heavy
showers of rain, mingled with bail, have been fre-
(pent, and the wind easterly; Monday was fair,
but somewhat cold.