The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-18 00:00:00

AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS.

malting purposes, and the quality of the new wheat
is much complained of." From Buckinghamshire :
" A\reather is very unsettled still, and corn in the
fields, say oats and barley, very much sprouted."
From Worcestershire : " Continued wet, night and
day, has now done irreparable damage to the
greater portion of the new crops previously unse-
cured, white wheat and barley suffering most from
sprout. In this district there still remains a large
quantity in the fields, while further north a very
small portion only is housed." From Suffolk, near
the coast : " We have had a wet gloomy week, but
yesterday and to-day were fine nearly throughout.
Harvest in this immediate district is almost con-

eluded, but on our heavy lands quite one fourth of

the barley is still abroad." On Friday morning
early the weather was very wet, but from 9 a.m.
until the afternoon it held up, when showers again
fell. Our advices from North Lincolnshire stated :
" Weather is fair; we have neither wind nor sun,
both of which are necessary to put the corn in good
condition. The quality of the wheat is mostly good,
and where stacked before the rain, will come otit, if
allowed time to dry in the stack, a good sample.
That got in now is stained and sprouted. A few
samples of barleyappeared to-day, dark and damp."
In Yorkshire the wheat is much grown in the
sheaves, and from the East Riding it is writte❑ :
" The weather continues most unfavourable for the
harvest operations. Much grain remains iu the
fields, and the qUality and condition must be greatly
deteriorated." From the West Riding : " Since
Tuesday the weather has been somewhat better ;
rather showery, but with more wind, which will do
good if it does not shake out the grain where stand-
ing uncut." Another account from the same quar-
ter says : "With the exception of Wednesday, we
have had another week of most unfavourable wea-

ther, and it is quite clear that unless an immediate
and permanent change takes place, our Yorkshire

crop will be beyond recovery." Saturday was a fine
autumnal morning, clear and breezy up to three

p.m., when it became showery, and from that hour
carting and carrying was suspended for the re-

mainder of the day. On the whole the weather has

not been quite so disastrous during this as last week,

and from the anxiety of the farmers to secure some-
thing or other whenever a few hours of dry weather

occurred, some amount has gone up in poor condi-
tion. This, of course, will have to be kept in the
stack until the frosts of winter or spring winds have
dried it, and rendered the sample fit for the market

and use of the millers.—Mark-lane Express.

The Cotton Crop of America.

With reference to the growing crop of cotton in
America, the circular of Messrs. Neil Brothers and
Co., contains the following :
" Since our last circular we have received from
England a synopsis of the report of Dr. Forbes,
which has, doubtless, been read extensively, and
may have produced some effect on the markets of
Europe. That portion of the public who are in-
terested in the cotton question, must, however, by
this time, have learned to distrust the judgments
of special reporters, coming from a distance, with-
out knowledge either of the country, the plant, or
the people, and will refer to two or three extraor-
dinary sources of information last year which did

_ .
not supply any very reliable forecasts. Yet last
year the facts lay, as it were, on the surface, one
would suppose the bales hatl only to be counted,
and the information in the case of the estimate of
1,300,000 bales, published by the Treasury depart-
ment, was supplied by a vast body of subordinates,
resident in all parts of the South, and instructed
to inquire and report, and, in another case, by a
party who spent mouths in making, what
he called, a census of the cotton bales,'
but only managed to count about half of them. This
year the task is infinitely more difficult, for the
cotton had to be grown, we may almost say, after
Dr. Forbes first came here ; and vicissitudes of
weather in this crop produce such rapid changes,
and so much depends on the date of frost and the
weather in August, September, October, and, in
late crops, even of November and December, that
we do not hesitate to say that perfect weather up
to Christmas, telling over the area then planted,
has, in some former years, added to the crop fully
as much, above its promise in July, as the whole
amount Dr. Forbes now estimates for the whole
country. We mention this merely to show the influ-
ence of the weather in fall and winter on late crops.
Dr. Forbes asserts that in Louisiana, Mississippi,
Arkansas, and Tennessee the desolation from
the war was found to be complete.' We have
before us, however, from a Jackson (Mississippi)
newspaper the report of the ' Cotton-grow-
ing Association' of that place, which has
b the n oergactolinsdedition of for the purpose of learn-
ingand gives the particulars
of affairs 323
.11
planterstha twhoStaertne:
ee
ployed 7,621 hands in 1860, and now employ 3,495
in cotton growing. This report states that, taking
the whole country on the same average as this State
(which Dr. Forbes thinks so desolated), the crop
should be 1,700,000, and that of Mississippi 400,000
bales, leaving only 150,000 bales (according to Dr.
F.) to be grown in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Ten-
ne

;ssee---the absurdity of which estimate necdsno com-
ment. There are complaints of worms from several
counties in Alabama, of a late date, to which wo
alluded last week. Elsewhere the worms do not
spread, and from Texas and Georgia the accounts
are quite flattering. The middle States had been
suffering for want of rain, but our correspondent in
Georgia reports genial showers. We must again
caution our friends against being led away by esti-

mates formed at this time, no matter from what
source or authority they come. A correct estimate
now is totally impossible, and any figures now put
forth cre mere guess work—they may be ever so
honest, but cannot be reliable."

The week opened with a tolerably fine day, but
at night some heavy rain fell, with the wind from
the S.S.E. Monday morning was wet, with showers
in the forenoon, and accounts from the midland and
northern counties were very disastrous as to the
state of the crops. Tuesday was a very showery day,
with strong breezes from the S.W. ; thermometer
58 degrees in the morning, and 62 at mid-day ;
barometer as low as 29.6 inches ; and our ad vices
were most unfavourable. From the West Riding of
Yorkshire it was stated :—" Since Friday, the wea-
ther has been very unsettled, with rain more or
less daily. Sunday and Monday were fine and
beeezy, but with heavy rain in the nights following.
To-day smart showers have fallen ; but there is a
brisk wind. Every wet day is now a very serious
matter to the farmers, and the corn trade seems now
to be good. Let us hope that Providence will soon
favour us with a change, so long desired. No carting
as yet done in this neighbourhood." From Lincoln-
shire :—" The weather in this part of the country
gets worse daily ; and there is no mistake now about
the matter, that serious injury and loss are being
caused by wet. In many fields the barley is grow-
ing at the bands of the sheaves ; and the colour of
the grain is damaged, so much so, that if it is ever
got dry, maltsters will not like the sample. In the
northern part of Lincolnshire, two-thirds of the corn
aro yet in the fields, and on the heavy soil the cart-
ing it away will be a work of difficulty." In Lanca-
shire, all work was suspended :—" Wind S.W., quite
a gale, the barometer being very low." From the
northern part of Suffolk : " The weather continues
most unfavourable for the latter harvest, and a largo
breadth of barley is still unsecured. The crops of
both wheat and barley are badly reported of in the
yield." On Wednesday the weather was fine up
to 1 p.m., but afterwards showery, and no harvest
work could be accomplished. From the west coast
of Scotland it was remarked : " We have again had
much rain, but to-day is more promising." From
Norfolk : " We have much rain this week, with a
small offer of grain." From the East Riding of
Yorkshire : " Weather very wet, and our farmers
complain bitterly of the serious damage-alreadyidone
to the outstanding crops." Thursday was mostly
fine, scarcely any rain falling, and some carrying of
damp grain was proceeded with. From Essex it was
stated :" A great deal of corn carted to-day, and
in better condition than during the last fortnight ;
the barley has lost its colour, and will be unfit for