The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-23 00:00:00

The Harvest.

DERBYSHIRE.—During the past week the weat.tier
has been very hot, and the corn has ripened rapidly'.
A gcod deal of rain fell on Sunday morning, and all
descriptions of vegetation have been greatly benee
Med. Labourers are scarce, and additional hands
are wanted to advance the progress of the harvest.
A large breadth of wheat has been cut, and on the
best soils the crops are exceedingly good in quality
and quantity, but those on gravelly lands are irre-
gular. The ears are full in mc3t cases, and the yield
will prove a gcod one. The same remarks apply to
barley. The crops are healthy and good. Oats
vary much, and the crops are scarcely expected to
be an average. The pea crop is good in every
respect, but beans are very light, owing to the long
drought. Turnips will turn out very bad, as also
will mangcl-wurtzel.
Lilac ESTERSHIRE.—We have had suitable harvest
weather since last week, and a great deal of corn
has been secured in splendid condition. In the
neighbourhood of Hinckley farmers are very busy,
and a large breadth of barley and oats has been
safely housed. The wheat crops are falling fast to
the scythe and the sickle. The scarcity of Irish
reapers and the dryness of the season, cause
farmers
.to adopt the plan of mowing their wheat
crops instead of cutting them with the sickle.
This system has been carried out generally, but
opinions vary as to its utility. Around Burbage a
large breadth of grain has been cleared with the
patent reaping-machine, and, in some instances,
farmers have finished and had their harvest supper.
Owing to the long drought the pastures are burnt
ep, and many agriculturists are obliged to fodder
;hell- cattle and take them long distances in order
to obtaia a supply of water. In the Loughborough
'
district the wheat crops are very good, and the
grain is of me:lent quality on the loamy soils. On
crops are inferior both in quan-
the light soils the.
ry little fault can be found
City and quality. Ifa. i the yield will be about
with the barley crops, an.
-.laces are indifferent,
an average. Oats in some cod. Turnips will
k
but the crops on the whole are g
be very scarce.
THE WEATHER AND THE HARVEST It: SCOTLAND.
....Reports from the North of Scotland speak of
singularly changeable weather as having pre,-ailed
there during the last fortnight. For a day or te."°
at a time the cold would be intense, several falls
of snow having in fact taken place in various parts
of Aberdeen and other counties. These wintry
manifestations would be succeeded by a few days
of intensely hot weather. During the last few days,
however, the weather appears more settled, and
the crops as u whole are looking well. Scotland,
like most other parts of the island, has suffered
severely from the drought, but wheat, oats, barley,
turnips, and potatoes are said to be generally in a
satisfactory condition. Harvesting operations have
commenced in various quarters, and will be general
in another week or two.
THE CROPS IN THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES.--The
wheat crop, which has now been almost all har-
vested, though not a large one, is better than was
expected. The quality is generally good. In some
parts barley is still green, and would even now be
considerably benefited by rain. Most of the
accounts agree in representing the yield to be below
the average ; in most cases about 4 qrs. to 41 qrs.
per acre. The quality of the grain differs much in
the various localities. Of beans, peas, and root
crops, with the exception of potatoes, the accounts
are very bad, showing almost a total failure, from
the combined effects of drought, blight, and grub.
worm. The prospects of sheep-keep during the
winter are certainly anything bat cheering. If a
thorough
,rain were to set in, the root crops might
recover to a small extent, but not sufficiently to
make even a middling crop. The effects of wet
weather upon the grass crops, however, cannot be
over-estimated. The warmth of the soil, caused by
she long continuance of heat, 'would force the
Pl' -n lands. The quality of the potatoes is
burnt-a,
good, thou, . _
moisture. It le 7, ,
•Th the bulbs are small for want of
thof
so much has been sa,
\
.e or thy note that flax, of which
-d lately, is the only crop et
have an entl:ely satisfactory re art:
and Winchester 0
'carnal. its, and soon change the appearance of the
• which we

The Correspondencia de Espana contains the fol,
lowing account of the inauguration of the North( rn
of Spain Railway by the King of Spain :
The official inauguration of the Northern Railway
was as brilliant an act as the importance of the
event demanded.

It is not easy to adequately describe the great
event celebrated on the 15th instant with ostenta-
tious splendour by two nations between whom the
s bonds of unity are doilytrengthening. But with-
out indulging in reflections which neither time
nor the scope of our pericdical permits, we shall
proceed to condense as much as poseible in the slight
sketch we propose to give.

A special train, composed of ten first-class car-
riages and two vans, left Madrid on Sunday with
about 300 of the persons invited to the inauguration
whom were persons of all the most distil,:
among
guished social classes of the court. The journey wa,
made without any other contretemps than some
slight showers of rain, which, however, far from
causing annoyance, served to lay the dust on the road.
At a little past 11 p.m. supper was served in the
Valladolid station ; atter which the train proceeded
on its way without further detentions than were
necessary, ariving at its destination at about 10 a.m.
The passengers were much impressed by the gigan-
tic works at the head of the line and the beauty of
the surrounding country.
The brilliant royal train had stopped at Vittoria,
where, as at all other places, especially upon that
bank of the Ebro, the King met with an enthusiastic
reception. The invited guests now occupied them•
selves in changing their dusty travelling costume
for the more elegant dress coat and white cravat.
At half-past 11 the train arrived from Paris, and
at 12.15 the royal train, drawn by the locomotive
Simancas and Adanero. The King was accompanied
by his suite and the Ministers of the Interior and
Public Works, the Bishop of Vittoria, and, among
other persons, by a great part of the board of direc-
tors of the railway, including M. Isaac Pereire, who
had gone to Vittoria to receive his Majesty.
Among other eminent personages the Infant Don
Enrique the Marquises of Duero and Habana, the
Count of Ezpeletet, awl many more difficult to enu-
merate, were expected at Sin Sebastian,

The royal train was driven by the Engineers
Senores Callejo and Ramirez, and Mr Tibau, the
traffic manager.
Salvos of artillery from the castle announced the
arrival of the royal suite, and the cheers of the
immense multitude, mingling with the strains of
music, rent the air with their echoes.

The station was very handsomely decorated. On
the right, coming from Madrid, were several amphi_
theatres of seats elegantly disposed, occupied by
the principal inhabitants of San Sebastian and the
province, and many persons from Madrid. The seats
in the centre were destined for the royal party.
Immediately opposite them was erected an elegant
chapel, a species of temple covered with glazed
cotton, decorated with golden fringe, in which stood
a rich altar adorned with flowers. Here were as-
sembled the Bishop of Vittoria and the assistant
clergy, and here the ritual was intoned, accompa-
nied by an organ and a flue choir of voices.
The King participated from his tribune in this
act after having retired for a short time to a pavi-
lion covered in silk and elegantly furnished, which
had been prepared for him. The religious ceremony
finished, the compony passed to the immense dining
saloon, which accommodated more than 650 persons.
The table at the upper end of the hall. to which the
other tables stood at right angles, was occupied by
the King, Don Enrique, the high functionaries of
Spain and France, and the authorities. The King
addressed some words to the assembly. The Mar-
quis of Duero and Senator Aldamar also spoke.
At half-past 2 the king quitted his seat, at 3
o'clock continued his journey amid prolonged and
enthusiaotic cheering—the vivas of the French
guests being by no means the faintest. A depen.
dent of the company approached the royal train,
and gave a hearty " Viva el Rey" on behalf of his
fellow servants.

The Ministers accompanied the King as far as
Hendaya, and then returned for the night.

1 At 6o'clock the other guests departed, some to
Madrid, others to Paris. During the repast regattas
were held on the river. In the evening there were
iltUminations and fireworks. The town wore an air
of general festivity, and the greatest enthusiasm
prevailed.

Dreadful Scene on the North-East Coast.

Yesterday afternoon, about four o'clock, the greatest ex-
citement was caused at Tynemouth by a fearful case of
drowning, which occurred on the Long Sands, and which
was witnessed by many hundreds of persons. The wind
was from the eastward, and there was about five feet sea
on, with a nasty back sweep ; and at the hour mentioned a
strong current was setting from the shore southwards. Mr.
Robert Fedconar, O. 1..0, :Newcastle, awl
Brilman'e Village, was spending the day with his wife and
family at his mother's, who is lodging in Percy-street,
Tynemouth, and shortly before four o'clock he and his
wife and mother, and, it is said, three of his children,
went down upon the Long Sands. Mr. Falconer
then left his wife and family setting on the tea banks,
telling them that he would go to the machines and have
a bathe, He engaged a machine belonging to Hind-
marsh, but before the lad put the horse to it to draw it into
the water Mr Falconer asked Hindmarsh if it was safe to
take a dive into the sea. The machine proprietor replied
" By no means," and he cautioned him above all things
not to venture too far out, as there was a strong off-set. The
machine was drawn into the water, and Mr Falconer strip-
ped and went into the sea; and being a swimmer he ven-
tured, unfortunately, where the waves were breaking
heavily. There were three other men in the water at the
same time, and they fleeing him going out commenced to
follow him. The machine men, seeing the danger they were
all in, shouted lustily to them to come in, and a gentleman
upon horseback rode into the water up to the horse's girths
and called to them also. They all came in but poor Mr
Falconer. The men knowing the imminent peril
he was in got out the boats and lifebuoys ; but before
they could render any assistance to him a heavy sea struck
him, and he was seen to hold up his hands. A second large
sea immediately followed, and seemed to drive him heels
over head, and those in the boat saw him no more. The
people on the banks, however, saw him struggling, as they
imagined, a few minutes longer, and then disappear alto-
gether. This awful spectacle was witnessed by hundreds
of people, including the poor gentleman's wife and family.
A scene of the wildest excitement followed. Hie wife,
mother, and children hastened down to the shore, and when
the macL:ine was brought out of the water the mother iden-
tified the clo: hes left in it as her son's. The poor wife fell
on the sand as C.ne!lead, and she had to be removed to her
Tier's lodgings w,,rking in convulsions ; and she iereported
1130,
be
ex!reinely F, om the high sea, nothing could be
L° ue the body, N.,-hich has been washed out to sea.
tdone to rese,
: the sands yesterday evening
Many commen.s were made o
as to what had beb.n done and NV: at had not been done to
save Mr. Falconer's iife. We readb a careful inquiry into
the matter, and wa are convinced thatindmarshf Nixon,
and the other men did all they could coroisi,antlY with their
own safety to save the unfortunate gentlemaer. But the fact
is a boat is of little use upon the coast in such a se; as that
lest
of yesterday, as the time spent in " dodging" the Kea,
the boat should broach to and drown them, prevents
watermen from getting near to where the man is drowning
in the water until all is over. What is needed is this, that
the authorities should absolutely prohibit bathing on these
sands while the sea is ep strong, and the danger to bathers,
especially swimmers, is so great as it was yesterday.—New
castle Chronicle.

FATAL ACCIDENT TO A MANCHESTER GENTLE-
MAN AT LLANDUDNO.—A melancholy and fatal ac-
cident happened on Friday to a young gentleman named
Leisler, who with his parents and other members of his
family, was on a visit to Llandudno, North Wales. The
young gentleman was about 22 years age, and was the only
son of Mr John Leisler, of Park. road, Victoria-park, and
a member of the firm of Du Fay and Co., merchants, 32,
Booth-street, On Friday young Mr Leisier went out in
a boat on Llandudno Bay, in company with a gentle-
man named Hook, one of the sons of the Dean of
Chicester. hir. Leisler hsd his gun with him, and at
the request of a friend shot at 'a gull which was
hovering neer the Orme's Head. The bird was struck by
the shot, and fell upon the face of the rock at a considerable
height from the shore. Mr Leisler landed, scaled the rock,
and secured the bird, which he threw down to his friend.
In descending he caught hold of a tuft of grass which was
growing from the rock. The hold was insecure and treach-
erous ; the grass gave way, and the unfortunate young man
fall frcm a terrible height to the ground. lie gasped, and
died directly in the arms of hie friend. The sad affair has
cast a deep gloom over the whole neighbourhood, and i•
much deplored by the large circlo of Manchester friends
with whom the deceased and his family were connected,—
llasichoter Courier.

---............1N11M1
SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,--This D ay,