Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-09-02
THE DROUGHT AND THE CROPS.

THE DROUGHT AND THE CROPS
TnoM THE BOSTON JOURNAL OF MONDAY.
The drought has been experienced with the most in
tense severity, far We judge from the newspa
per accounts in the New England Middle, and Western
States South Of the latitude Of Charleston Is. c. there
have been copous rains except in limited localities,
and from Canada New Brunswick, and the eastern part
Of Maine We hear Of no complaints.
1t be denied that the effects Of the drought upon
the crops in the ground will be very disastrous The
CROP which second in importance only to the crop
Of wheat, win be materially reduced The crop Of pota
toes if may Judge from the accounts and from per-
sonal observation win be almost complete failure. In
places the farmers win hardly get back their seed
Other crops have also suffered: These facts point
to Of scarcity and high prices though it is pro-
babe that spectators viii for time take advantage Of
the panic which will be created to initiate prices beyond
what the stock and supplies will warrant There will
undoubtedly be scarcity Of provisions though not Of
breadstus generally, but there will be nothing like
famine and nothing which will warrant the imposition Of
famine prices
The crop Of wheat the most important staple Of bread
stus got in before the drought had done much in
jury and full average CROP In the growing
counties Of Western New York the harvest perhaps
smaller than usual but the deficiency compensated
for by the increased yield in the wheat regions of the
Western and Northwestern States. The wheat crop Of
the United States exceeds annual average of hum
dred millions Of bushels, of which about nine ten mil
lion bushels are exported in ordinary The pro-
duct Of this staple alone secured in the granares of
the West allowing that the quantity is exported
during the rnsuas year in would give
least four bushels to every man. woman, and child in the
United States Besides wheat there have been fair crops
rye of which the product is fifteen million bushels year
y and also of barley The product of Indian In the
United States according to the Of 1850 for
that year 612 bushels This crop may be reduced
quarter by the drought We do not believe the def
cheney will be greater for Indian thriving long
after other vegetation began to suffer. Now it is not
saying much remark that this great deficiency
may in part be made up by increased economyin the
sumption. Millions Of bushels annually wasted by
the Western farmers which would be saved under the
stimulus of high prices.
There two other important elements to be taken
into account in calculating the supply of breadstus
One is that the crops in Europe have been very abund
ant and there will be less export demand, especially if
prices rule high at present. the other is that
Canada has large surplus Of wheat which, thanks to
the reciprocity will in free Of duty will tend to
equalize prices Canada produces yearly sixteen
million bushels Of wheat two million bushels Of corn
and about three million bushels Of other grans Of which
may be safely estimated that least oneenh is avail
able for export.
From these and other facts which might be cited we
conclude that the pinch will not be felt much in the
market for breadstus in the provision markets. Pork
beef poultry butter and cheese and in short every thing
which is directly remotely dependant upon cheap
and upon abundant feed in the pastures win probably be
and high, and the necessity for economy in the
consumption Of these articles cannot be too strongly i'm
pressed not upon the poor for that will not be
ry but upon the wealthy and those who afford to
indulge their appetites usual 1t is with provisions
as with ooal any thing which reduces the consumption
by checking waseful consumption tends to keep down
prices, and thus directly favors the poor
The Baltimore American, descanting on the eff.
fects Of the drought, after somewhat sombre pic
ture, also cheers up with the following reflections
" It is douby unfortunate that this scarcity should
have occurred at time when the country needed all its
meet stringent money market at home and
heavy specie drain from abroad But though all these
circumstances present unavorabe aspect we doubt
not that the anticipation will prove than the reality
and that We come to pass through the hard times
ahead some alienation will arise from causes which we
do mot anticipate or properly appreciate. Our
country is wonderful and prolific in its and
extremely hard to ruin fact which has been incon
tesbly proved in times past not to stand in good
stead now"