The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-30 00:00:00

I

DUBLIN, JULY 29.
HARVEST PROSPECTS.

Some of the. country journals received this morn-
ing f oar the southern and midland districts state
that the greatest anxiety begins to prevail willt
regard i o the safetyof the potat-) crop. According to
one of th-se authorities (the Kilkenny Moderator)
—generally no unn cessary alarmist), there can be
no doubt that the nays'erious diceaso has partially
manifested itself Lut it is not yet by any means
universal, aid it' is alleged that there is, as usual,
too great a t,.ndency to. create fears in the public
mind. The Kilkenny pap?r publishes two reports,
Tire first comes from the Gowran district. The
writer in Ireland takes a very gloomy view of tie
fanners' prospects as far as the potAto is concerned,
whileiu other respects his anicipations are most

cheering :
" So far as the cereal crops and green crops generally
go this year, the farmers are not likely to have cause of
complaint. The wheat, I think, is past all danger, ex-
cept that it is partially laid by the recent heavy rain ;
but it is likely to prove a good average crop as to pro-
duce, while a larger breadth of land than usual has been
placed under it. But the potato, I fear, is doomed for this
year. The old disease is visible in all the early sown of
every kind. The late sown potatoes have still a blooming,
healthy appearance, but I apprehend that when they
come to a certain ago—that is, approach maturity, they
too will be likely to be largely cut away. I hope I may
prove a bad prophet, but the experience of past years con-
firms me in this opinion. If we are blessed with very fine
weather it may tend considerably to stop the progress of
t' e disease, but if wet weather set in I think we must,
calculate:on thegreater portion of the crop beiug destroyed.
Oats, barley, meado wing (both old and new), and turnips
are doing well, and, in feet; the only drawback in our
anticit ations of an abundant season is the potato, the
danger of which is a serious consideration for the farmer.
There was already a field of winter-sown oats cut down
last week in the neighbourhood of Gowran, and farmers
here think the harvest will be general about the 15. h of
Auguit.
The next report is from a Graigue correspondent..
Helloes not take quite so dark a view of the pro-
spects of the potato crop :
"I travel each week over a wide range of this side of
the county, observing as I proceed the state of the crops.
I am sorry to say that I have not observed one single
garden of early potatoes the stalks of which are not ex-
tensively affected by the blight. If the mischief ex-
tended no further than the stalk, what harm I hut I
have, in several places, where I saw men digging out,
the tubers, alighted to examine, and have invariably
found the potatoes partially diseased. I have been
using my own early potatoes fur the last fortnight.
They are the kinds primroses' and pink-eyes."
Both kinds are as good as were ever laid to a
table at this time of the year, but each is diseased to the
extent, I should say, of about 1 in 20. Thetis not much,
and if others be not worse off there will not be so much
cause to complain of. It is the same description of pota-
toes which I see in every place affected. But I have,
been only speaking of the early crop. As to the general
crop throughout the country, which are principally
Scotch down',' they look admirably, and I have no
doubt but that there will be an abundant crop, even
. allowing for a partial failure, which I am almost certain
will occur. As regards the cereal crops, the prospect of
quantil and. quality was never more cheering. Wheat
and oats, the two principal crops, are approaching matu-
rity in many places, and, wi h favourable weather, I
should expect to see the sickle applied to some early
wheat before the 10th Aug. The turnip crop bids fair to
he a good one, although generally isown late this year,
but the crop was not anything like so largely grown in
this as in former years, while there were more potatoes
planted than in any other year since the blight first mani-
fested itself."
From the adjacent county of Waterford the last
accounts are much more favourable than could be
expect: d from the tone of the aclvic:s at the close of
the past week. The blight does not seem to have
incr,,asel, and the crop is looking better than it
did some days back. In the neighbourhood. of
Dublin yesterday a email field of potatoes was dug
up, ar4 a gentleman present states that at least
ole-half of the produce was hopelessly diseased.
This, however, is an isolated case, for the supplies
brought to the markWs are abundant and of unex-
ceptionable quality. Flom the western province
it is stated that there were rumours relative to the
early potato plantings being slightly affected with
the but it was believei that no injury of
wensany n,tmomentat
allh a dtoalsi
ee take
dt
,a!tizlio Alice.ugT
h th stalkse lie betuwe rs
were
blackened in enclosed and sheltered localitie,.