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

AGRIC UL T URAL PROSPECTS.

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 advises
were most unfavourable. From the West Riding of
Yorkshire it was stated :—" Since Friday, the wea-
ther has been veil, unsettled, with rain more or
less daily. Sunday and Monday were fine and
breezy, but with heavy rain in the nights following.
To-day smart showers have fa"en ; but there is a
brisk wind. Every wet day '4 now a very serious
matter to the farmers, and the corn trade seems now
to be good. Let us hope that Providence wi" 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
are yet in the fields, and on the heavy soil the cart-
ing it away be a work of difficulty." In Lanca-
shire, all work was suspended Wiud 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 large
breadth of barley is still unsecured. The crops of
both wheat and barley are badly reported of in the
y :old." 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 hitve 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 alreadyldone
to the outstanding crops." Thursday was mostly
fine, scarcely any rain falling?, and some can.) ng 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 w ill be unfit for
malting purposes, and the quality of the new wheat
is much complained of." From Buckinghamshire :
•‘ Weather 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 immecl;ate district is almost con-
cluded, but on ou-.. heal f lands quite ono 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 advises 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 out, if
allowed time to dry in the stack, a good sample.
That g 0..: 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 written :
" The weather continues mo,,t unfavourable for the
harvest operations. Much grain remains iu the
fields, and the quality and condition must be greatly
deterioratal." 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 gain 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 immecl'ate
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 horrs 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.