The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-26 00:00:00

The Crops in Yorkshire.

The hay harvest in this county is now nearly corns
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 next. 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 pea, bean, and other
crops are generally good. The turnip crop varies
very much. In many places the fly did great injury
Ito the first sowing, and there are very few early
sown flats really good. The second crops got away
pretty well, but the cold of June and the small rain-
fall of July have kept them back, and the crops as
a whole will be late, bat, 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
L'ielped 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 6,3 ;per bushel being given by dealers in the
field, and 'he retail price being 3s to 4s. The gene.
sal desire is ,fer rain, which has been much under
the aversge,.._.fodeed, in some of the wold districts
very little rain hao fallen this year.

.............
....

DYEING FEATHE'RS.,--An important branch of
the tinetorial art, that which comprises the dyeing
has just been considerably
of feathers intended for chest,
improved in consequence of 1:11,.' discovery of the colours
,e being dyed, aro sub-
made with aniline. Feathers, belb.
jtcted to a process of ablution and 2) leaching, in order to
.
so.-ted, they are
carry off all fatty or colouring matter. For this purpose,
after the feathers have been properly
treated with a lukewarm solution of about 1:13 of soap in
two of water. The feathers are left in this solution
until the soap has produced its effect, and they 11:e 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 action of sulphurous
acid, obtained by the combustion of sulphur ; after which
they are washed, once morn and dried. The dyeing process
now begins : they aro dyed black by boiling them in a solu-
tion of alum and Campeachy wood, to which the sulphates of
iron and copper are added ; lilac is obtained by herb-archel
or chinney- weed, carmine extracted from indigo and alum;
yellow of varioas shades by acetate of lead and chromate of
potash, or else by annotto and a solution of potash ; green,
by a solution of indigo and picric avid ; bine, 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 aro 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 bs observed is, to clean the feathers well
before dipping them into the warm bath containing colours of
aniline, and to leave them in long enough to allow the
colours to penetrate. As the colours of aniline are now
prepared in a dry form, the bath may consist of water:,
into which an alcholic solution of the colouring 'natter ls
poured. The temperature of the bath must be moderate,
otherwise the feathers would be spoi*.t.
SALMON FISHING IN THE NEss.—Tbe salmon
takutwBit n 8 h .
y theet e
w rod
fishing in the Ness is improving,b
have not heard of a single fish being
The river is very low,
and anglers know e
that, under these
circumstances, the rod and lull; arehave brought
of the question.
The high tides of the past wee
ave up an im-
,
mBo be nrsiedrsgveeel:duhmeaabdlecardr g,oef
ass uosaul passing ender the Suspension
grilse. On Tuesday, about raid-day, we
a
by one of the largest of their
number. Grilse now weigh as high as 8 lb., and salmon
from 20 to 26 lb. Dochfour Station is yielding very little
now, but on the whole there is no reason to complain. Sea
trout are fast making their g appearance, and in many in-
stances they have exceeded the grilse in Siz3,—invOrness
CoNrier.

IMPERIAL PA. LIAXECTT

HOUSE OP COMMONS.—This Day.
The SrEAKER, owing to the difficulty of obtaining an
attendance of 40 members, did not take the chair till nail.
past 1.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The Lords' amendments to the following bills were con-
sidered and agreed to :—Metropolitan and Saint John's
Wood Railway—Alton, Alresford, and Winchester Rail-
way---Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway (New
Lines)—Dublin Improvement—North Staffordshire Rail-
way (New Works)—North Staffordshire Railway (Silver-
dale, Madeley, and Drayton)—Great Western Eailway--
North Devon aad Somerset Railway—Peterbfield and
Bishops Waltham Railway—South Eastern Railway (No.
4).

The following bills were read a third time and passed
Kilkenny Junction Railway—Much Wenlock and Severn.
Junction and Wenlock Railway Cumpanies—Aldborougb.
Pier and Railway—Earl of Abergavenny's Estates—Far-
sontown and Portumna Bridge Railway.
NAVAL DISCIPLINE BILL.
This bill, containing 95 clauses, passed through com-
mittee without a single remark.

POOR RELIEF (M.ETROPOLIS) BILL.
The amendments to this bill were considered and agreed
to, and on the motion that the bill b 3 read a third time,
Mr J. V. MILLER expressed a hope that the President
of the Poor IJ-tw Board would not allow the principle of
this bill to be drawn into a precedent for future legisla-
tion.

After a few words from Mr VILLIERS the motion was
read a third time and agreed to, and the bill passed.

SALMON FISHERIES (SCOTLAND) BILL.
This bill was ret.d a third time and passed.
BLEACHING AND DYEING WORKS ACT
AMENDMENT BILL.
The Lords' amendments to this bill were considered and
agreed to.

SALE OF GAS (SCOTLAND) BILL
The Lords' amendnitnts to this bill were considered and
agreed to.

The Lords' amendments to the following bills were also
considered and agreed to :—Burials Registration, Accidents
Compensation Act Amendment, Poisoned Flesh Prohibi-
tion, and Justices Proceeding Confirmation (Sussex),
The sitting was then suspended until six o'clock.