The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-04 00:00:00

TILE HARVEST IN ITALY:

TURIN, OCT. 30.
The fluctuation of prices in the Turin markets in the
course of last week has been considerable. Wheat sold at
24f. 870. the hec., and rye at 16f. 95e., a rise of 37c. for the
first article and 30c. for the latter over the quotations of
last week. By way of compensation, there has been a fall
of 20c. on barley (12f. 50c.), of 23c. on oats (11f. 50c.), and
of 47c. on rice (26f. 67c). Maize, which sold last., week
.Overage price) at 18f., ha/risen to 18f. 506.

r The price of bread has kept pace with that of grain.
there is axis:tone. on fano), bread (56c. per kilo.); of sc.
on fine bread (47c.), and of 2c. on household _ bread (37c.)
The price of meat is the same, with exception of lea' (the
best meat inlNorth Italy) which sells at 97c., and' in the
shops under municipal management even as low as 90c.
The price last week was lf. for common veal, and lf. 25c.
for prime veal.

The best quality of wine sells at 59f. per hectolitre,
making a fall of 3f. ; butter is firm ; poultry and fish some-
what cheaper, and a slight fall was experienced in fruit and
vegetables. There is a trifling rise in the price of wood, but
hardly any change in hay and straw.

As apprehensions were entertained that the present year
was to be one of great scarcity and trial to the poor, it may
be worth while to glance backward at the movement of the
same markets during the last three years. The average
price of wheat, which is now, as we have seen, 24f. 87c.,
was 18f. 44c. for the year 1858, 19f. 75c. in 1859, and 21f.
17c. in 1860. It was 17f 90 during the latter quarter of
1858, 18f 76c in the same period of 1859, 22f 81c in the
same period of 1860. Bread, which is now 56c, 47c, and 37c
per kilogramme (according to quality), was 47c, 36c, and
30c in 1848 ; 48c, 37c, and 30e in 1859 ; and 50c, 39c, and
32c in 1860. The rise has been gradual from year to year,
and the prices of this year have not greatly exceeded the usual
march in the scale. There has been hardly any movement in
the price of rice, the price of which for the last three years
was 25f. 25c.; 25f. 11c. ; and 25f. 96c. ; and is now, as
shown above, 26f. 67c. The only notable difference is in
maize, a produce which has suffered this year from the al-
most unprecedented drought, and which from its average
price of Ilf. 12c. in 1858, of 10f. 86c. in 1859, and 121. 66c.
in 1860, has now risen to 18f. 50e.

You are aware that the vintages have been for the last 10
or 12 years very poor throughout Italy ; some parts of
Piedmont, however, especially the provinces of Asti and
Montferrat, have either escaped the grape disease altoge-
ther, or have had it of a milder character, and recovered
from it an earlier epoch. The consequence of this has been
not only to enrich the wine growers of those districts to
such an extent that their lands have risen to twice and
thrice their former value, but also to supply the whole of
Piedmont with their produce, and to do away with the im-
portation of French ordinary wines, which had been very
considerable from the year 1854 to 1856. The best quality
of wines sold in Turin at 48f. 76c. in 1858 ; it rose to
52f. 71e. in 1859, and again to 62f. 4c. in 1860. The prices
of the lower qualities evinced a proportionate increase. This
year, as we have seen, the vintage has been a very good one,
and the prices for the first quality have fallen to 59f. The
fall has not been as great as we had reason to expect, partly
in consequence of the almost universal rise in the price of
provisions in general, partly also owing to the demands of
wine all over the country, to replenish the cellars which
long scarcity had almost entirely exhausted. The free cir-
culation of wine throughout those Lombard and other pro-
vinces which were hitherto either closed against Piedmon-
tese commerce, or where the grape disease has not yet en-
tirely disappeared, must also account for the steadiness of
the market prices.

Notwithstanding the scarcity of fuel all over the country,
wood, which had risen to perfectly terrific prices from 1851
to 1857, suffered a gradual abatement during the last three
years. The best quality, oak, sold at 44c. per Illyriagratmitu
in ISSS; at 41c. in 1859 ; at 39c. in 1860. Its price is again
rising, and we pay for it now 45c. Forage has risen very hitih
in consequence of the late drought; you are aware that in
the .2Emilia cattle are being slaughtered very freely from
the impossibility of feeding it through the winter. The
distress is not so very great in these Sub-Alpine countries ;
yet the price of hay, which was 94c per myriagramme in
1858, 82c in 1858, and 76c in 1860, is now if 15e; and
straw has risen to 65c instead of 58c, 55c, and 51c, the re-
spective prices of the last three years.
The quantity of wheat sold in the Turin market in 1858
was 29,298 hectolitres; it rose in 1859 to 56,032 hectolitres,
and in 1850 to 173,557. If we reckon the average quantity
sold this year at 4,000 hectolitres weekly, we shall have fur
the whole year 208,000 hectolitres—an increase which in
1859 might be partly ascribed to the consumption of troops
during the Lombard war, but the continued progress of
which can only be explained by the rapid growth of
this city and the developing importance of its markets.
The quantity of all grains has kept pace with that of
wheat. Of maize, for instance, 17,762 hectolitres were sold
in 1858; 74,960 in 1859; 144,891 in 1860. The average
weekly sale in October of this year, in spite of the scarcity,
is 7,000.

Of wine there were sold 104,410 hectolitres in 1858 ;
93,190 in 1859; 93,530 in 1860. The average weekly sale
this month has been about 3,000 hectolitres. There has
been hardly any perceptible difference in the quantity of
butter sold in Turin, varying from 84,000 to 83,000 kilo-
grammes a year for the last three years, and being some •
thing about 2,100 kilogrammes weekly during the present
month. The same amount of poultry, fish, vegetables,
fruit, &c., or very nearly, has also been sold every year for
the last three years; though almost all these commodities
have been slowly and steadily rising in price. It seems evi-
dent that, while the sato of objects of first necessity, such as
bread and wino (in Italy), is doubled and trebled regardless
of price, articles of comparative luxury, fowls, fruits, &e.,
are sold in less quantity in proportion as price renders
them inaccessible to the poorer classes in the community.
On the whole, although this year's harvest has been con-
siderecl as somewhat below the average; and the
scanty crop of maize, especially, must needs cause great
distress among the lowest classes, especially of the rural
population, it does not seem that prices have been rising at
a much more rapid or alarming rate than they have been
doing for the last few years. If the maize has been
burnt up by the drought, the wheat and rye and other
grain crops have, on the whole, been pretty fair, and
that of rice very plentiful. The vintage has been such
as Italy has scarcely witnessed since the year 1819, and the
quality makes up for any deficiency in quantity. Chestnuts
have not been scarce; we have the best news from the olive
districts ; and fruit has been generously ripened by the un-
clouded sun, so that, although
created
thr itu sellsthrough
th
every
countryhigli ,
bythe
owing t
the great demand
re-
moval of frontier barriers, and the increased facility of
traffic, whatever is to be found at the markets is of a re-
markably good description.

THE REPRESENTATION OF CARLISLE.— Mr. Ed-
ward James, Q.C., of the Northern Circuit, has issued an
address to the electors of Carlisle, in which he states that on
Saturday last, when ho received intelligence of the death of
Sir James Graham, he at once resolved, acting on the ad-
vice of several of his friends, to become a candidate for the
vacant seat. Respect for the memory of the distinguished
statesman and for the feelings of his relatives and friends,
induced him to defer addressing the electors until the earth
had closed over the remains of Sir James. But he now
learned he had been anticipated, and, to prevent even an ap-
pearance of division in the Liberal party,
from offering himself as a candidate. Should,
another opportunity arise, he will offer his services. a
GREAT YARMOUTH, Thursday.—Two
brig and a schooner both colliers belonging to Whitthbey,week.
he
ewilhl however,
during the
Havre,
The brig was the Gauntlet, from
been totally lost on the sands off this coast cisutrlto
Newcastle
on the Le-
coal-laden, which struck during rou,ghno
Sunday morning.
Le-
man and Ower sands, at half-
Pastbmoade water so rapidly
vessels,have
She continued to beat heavily, andt in the hold. At 10 a.m.
that in an hour there was six
hadfeeto take to the boat, leaving
board which they were received,
made for
andthe
whence Leman t lightship,h e y
o observedn
everythingthe crew
o f
behind,seven
the brig go they were taken off by a Yarmouth
Wednesday d
in g
havingni.nlanded here thismorning were received
down within an our after quitting her. On
ahnadn hands
lugger, aSnailors' Home. The value of the vessel and cargo
winats°£thl,46o, the ship being insured. The schooner was the
Bing-fisher, also coal-laden, from the same port for Lowe-
stoft. Having been rendered unmanageable from being
watcrlogcted, she was carried on the Barber sands on Mon-
day night, and became a total wreck. The crew left her in
their boat, and landed at Scratby the same night, whence
they were forwarded to the saitort3' Home next morning.