The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-29 00:00:00

THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS.

The temperature during the past week has been much
lower in the north of England. Only in exceptional cases,
however, has the quantity of rain being sufficient to afford-
any permanent benefit to the crops, the land being still
parched on some soils ; cracks fully one inch and an inch
and a half are seen spreading all over the surface of the
land, amongst the corn, showing the extreme dryness.
The wheat, which is now in ear, looks very favourable
on lands which are not light or gravelly, and is maturing
fast, but in the less favoured localities the crop must be
light. Spring corn is also suffering greatly. The hay
crop is being gathered rapidly in the counties of Durham,
North Yorkshire, Westmoreland, and South Northum-
berland, to which this report relates, but it will be
very light. Rain fell in some parts of the district on
Saturday afternoon, though not to any great extent. The
past week has again been characterised by great drought
in the eastern counties, although copious rains fell on
Sunday and Monday. Upon the whole the wheats look
well, although they would be benefited by more rain•
Barleys are spoken of in gloomy terms. In the fens there
will be light crops of spring corn, kohlrabi, and mari-
gold ; but, except on the sharpest and shortest gravels,
the wheat crop looks strong and hopeful. The oat crop
is short and light ; beans, too, are short, but appear to
have *podded fairly. Peas look pretty well : the whole
vast fen district would, however, be greatly benefited by
rain. The hay harvest is extremely light, but it has been
secured in fine condition. The appearance of the hop
grounds in Kent, especially the eastern division, has
not for many years been so favourable for a large,
growth as at present. The bine is unusually forward,
and the lateral or Midsummer shoots have made
rapid growth, favoured by the intensely hot sun arid warm
nights. There is an almost total absence of vermin, and
in some of the grounds around the favoured district of
Canterbury burr has already made its appearance. Gene-
rally speaking the grounds are now as forward as they
were in the middle of July last year, and this is consi-
dered favourable to the growth of a large crop, unless
blight makes its appearance earlier in the season that
usual.

CORN HARVESTING IN WET WEATHER,

---+-

The present season is suggestive of anything but wet
corn sheaves ; but an experiment which has been tried
at Gilwell Park, near London, depends in no way upon a
rainy sky on a given day for its importance. It is in the
times of peace that war experiments are rife. It
seems that Mr. G. Gibbs, who resides at Gilwell Park,
has just succeeded, amongst twenty competitors, in
winning the prize offered by the Society of Arts for the
best practical essay on the question how to harvest corn
in wet seasons ; and on the occasion referred to he invited
a party, including Mr. Wren Hoskyns, Mr. Sewell Read,
111. P., Mr. Laird, Mr. Arthur Helps, Mr. Hall Dare, Mr.
Brandreth Gibbs, the Duke of Sutherland, the Hon. E.
Coke, Sir T. Fowell Buxton, and several others, to witness
the apparatus at work. The contrivance is said to be simply
and economically adapted to the purpose intended. We are
indebted to the Gardeners' Chronicle for an outline of it.
The hot breath of a steam-engine diverted from its
ordinary exit is driven, by means of a blower, into the
cavity underneath an artifical floor of sheet-iron, which
floor is crocketed (as an architect would say) with hollow
upright cones or funnels, open at the apex, and placed at
such intervals as to allow the wet sheaves to be stooked
upon them, as close as may be, to receive the drying
blast up through their centres, from the funnels on
which they stand. Of course the chamber is closed
as soon as the sheaves are thus disposed within it ;
and the heat inside is soon considerable, ab-
sorbing every particle of moisture, and allowing the
stooking process to be quickly repeated upon another
waggon or cart load of sheaves—that is, wet—fresh from
the field. For the treatment of damp, or half-made hay a
simpler plan is adopted, the hay being merely shaken
before the drying blast from the engine, the effect of which
in rapidly driving off every particle of moisture caused
some surprise among those present. Our experienced con-
temporary speaks cautiously of the invention, but does
not hesitate to say that this steam-blast must lead to some
surprising result. That a pressure of only 71b. or 81b.,
when employed for nothing else, could generate such a
hurricane, was in itself like a new accomplishment of the
steam-engine, which for the time became, it says, a perfect
Cave of 2Eolus.

ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE AND CIRCUS,
HOLBORN.
AZ gLLA., the Female Leotari, Every Evening.
"The swift and graceful evolutions of the daring Madlle.
Azella excite equal astonishment and admiration."—Daily Tele-
graph, June 25.

ROY AL AMPHITHEATRE AND CIRCUS.
The Summer resort for an evening's entertainment. The
greatest juvenile holiday attraction in the metropolis. First ap-
pearance of Mr Samwells and his trained Dogs, the most highly
e•iacated canine stud in the world. Scenes in the Area. M.
Agouste's novel, pleasing. and surprising entertainment. The
new spectacular piece of diversion, " THE CHIN P; ,E FAIR" a
brilliant success, supported by nearly two hundred artistes, and
introducing a host of amusements characteristic of an Eastern
festival, in which both stage and ring are brought into requisi-
tion.

"These varied performances, enacted simultaneously, are
crowned by a brilliant display of fireworks: it may be readily
concluded that a picture is presented likely to leave an enduring
mpression on the mind "—Daily Telegraph, June 20.
Open at Half-past Seven ; commence at Eight. Grand Morn-
ing Performance, Wednesday and Saturday. at Half-past Two.
Same programme as at evening representation.