Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-09-26
IrImf he Elch'lOIH NUT-'I
TIE DROUGHT, CROPS, iCf N''

To the Edtors Of he .Nrr York ih'"'d; ,.
have read with much substitution your clrcuiai !.
ter. askin" for information III rcrhih 10 inc "t"1"''
,.rnns. a., Althourh not specially nddrcsSci, l con,
slider myself iTclddcdi in your Srn'tn' - y" 49,
shall proceed 10 give You sii'h i'''" .'H'n" "r = l",
scss on n subject, at this time :" .h,"L :, j. d..;rsbl,
the whole tru,h should be known. have ncrn iarge'
liz ,uua,ed in Grain growing for more Than tllr1!
wears; have been Il close observer I'll every cl'.'n'
stance affecting crops and prices '"rilE ina Peri"n'
aud have read attentive! Me",5 ~, '' "mI a. $500"
ihnnr,,pIs. My interest ~ n farmer II at course pro-
iinn,cd bv hish prices. This, r"ni"r requires me l"
,,u,e, vii tru.t am incapable" al desiring I" "h,
vance my OWL interest III w" 'Ai''7e 'e '"''
PROSPERITY o. The country. -.
sru,u; II short time this Summer ut one OF the 'ir-
GINA Watering places, ana returned L" liz" i""'i
t.uuu,rv during the first week oil ihis month. Durlig
absence from here, coh'ctSc" "ltia Sle"t''n"!
intcllir,m, gentlemen from various parts III the couu-
trv. and had an opportunity 10 observe, critically. inc
condition Of tho crops i'll II large portion Of Maryland
and Virciniu. The result of my observations niln IN
ouiries is, TINT the estimate of III" crops "t irsihia'
contained in the letter of Col. q. w. Munturd, Is III
the mnin correct. From the falls III tho rivers L" the
scaluuri, there is much corn that Is good, some ina
!. very heavy, and II vast deal that Will pc sc"tC.i:
worth gathering. The crops III me me Fhiie!' " nv
Rappahaunock asd Potomac until within 3o miles u,
th, Chrsupcake bay, may be said 10 be II failure ana
from thai Quarter, which usually exports m'EciH,
there will he little or none I" sinLc' Aoo.u ~ - r
Of the rivers the drought was si!il in"re l"'"'. ~.
the comfy of Albemarlc IL the Potomac anu non
IN. head ni tid. 10 tho Allegheny MOUNTAINS the crop
!. entirely Insufficient to supply the domestic con,
.umnt;on In the valley Of Virginia, one OF INC mes,
agricultural regions in the world where ial'ds sG'
from thirty 10 sixty dollars al acrc' 'ne "s' sAl.iir
nnond farmers assured mo that the average producer OF
CORN would no, exceed a barrel - hushels) 10 the acre.
Wills, many fields would %produr" absolutely n0thlre'
Nv own observation IN tho spot cniihrineu the COR
RICHNESS OF their opinions. Inc same T'"'" u InlHEs
'-,1l .l,s,Sy1 in th. lTITll
counties of Washington and Frederick, MnrylaiId.-
Beyond the Allegheny mounihiiIs, J have ~" accurate
information, but that portion "i the State 10 'i'"y
engaged in grazing, and very lille gram 10 '"ero
grown for market. w..
siuia, | heard much from gentlemen who h"d seen
them, and am satisfied tia; the press "i Tie country
is misleading tho public, IN the effort now 70 general.
to produce the impression i;a, u" rt"ps ). wv S''"'
corn growing States approximate al average.
A Great error prevails in tn country ~ regnrus iIe
b;cb y,jcr Of grain. Considering the circumstances
affecting prices, existing III our country ana thfo"Sn-
nui the world, the present price 81 gram Is very '""'
Let lis advert 10 some al these circumstances.
The cos, of production. However much price,. OF
NAV be affected from time To time by
supply and demand, il cannot he doubted 'hat II! inc
run the cost of production Will regulate prices
The cost "f wheat to The pr"d'r" Is the REM Oh hnn'
fine wages Of labor. and the rroit, Of capital nccessn-
r 'IiI t" r pr wheat i" in New !" Y3rF ss been "ver ore dollar
n bu.h.l. The wheat untiIof late years was grown
un urw lands. requiring II" manure, and by labor de-
mnndinr lcs- than hall the present rate OF wages
Now il ia grown 10 a great extent on exhausted lands,
recurring II heavy outlny IN iT'an", lime aud other tx
ucrsivr mauurrs. In hurvcsi, thr"c dollars are often
for a days labor, whilst fnrncriy olc dollar
was the highest price paid. so scarce and dear ID ID
bnr, Tint crops in tho West nc lett to rot upon the
Ground, because Of the impossibility of saving them.
In VIRGINIA, and other Southern grain growing States,
the price of labor has, within n few years, more than
doubled. Such laborcrs ns sold 4 Ie@ years ago for
four or five hundred dollars. now readily c%on,E:and n
Thousand end such u hired Tor sixty dollars, are now
in demand in the factories, aud public improvements,
Al one hundred and fifty dollars n ycar. Medical bills
and life insurance being nis" paid by the lirert.-
Mules that sold for fifty o.. sixty dollars, now bring
from one hundred and icnio one hundred and any dol
hrs, and lands also have advanced more thus 100 Imr
cent. Il il wonderful thai, whore all the eleiRcGts Of
prices have more than doubled, that tie price of grain
should advance! | repeat, 1t l. extremely low, and
but for the money pressure, occasioIicd by over.t!a.
ding and traululen, stock spCCulntinns, wheat would
be to-day $3.50 per bushcl in tho principal markets OF
the United Suites. This general rise of prices il not
speculative or trunsitGrv, but permanent and progress.
sivc. Hume. in his essay un money, has described
this subject with much Grcnter cicarncss Than ~ exhi-
bited in the more elaborate articles published during
the last wear or two iu the foreign periodicals. lie
ssvs. that ut the end Of tie century iron, Ito discovery
Of the Spanish mines III South America, prices hIt.
advanced more than four hundred per cent. and
would have advanced still more bn, for the increased
for money. arising from the new impulse IN
ocrasiuucd by The influx Of the precious
metais. If the opening Of thosc irIn6s, chiefly ct SUI
Yer, produced slcl! hi effect upon pi!ccs. IgriuP III"
Inst century, what may We no' expect during the Icit
from the vast treasures in gold continually pouring III
from the mines ri CALIFORNIA and Australia Alan.
kind s.eln Ia forget that gold il but The measure and
not the standard Of value, and TINT II tiIciuhtcs quite
rs much in price n. other commodities: its value IT,
o. 80 - -. a l-.. =.
the next century should exceed twn dollars and fifty
cents u busLel. This cause operating on prices is II
permanent one, only Ia he checked by the failure of
the gold mines. There are other causes affecting
prices OF grain. more or less temporary that require
notice.
The price OF grain is not regulated by tie quantity
of land IN the country, or even by the quap;ity IN &C.
tial cultivation, but by IN" labor and capital that can
be employed in nlaHGriHT the lnnd, and producing the
crops. No greater error can exist, than that il is pos
sible naturally TO incrcnsr Cr"p5 by increasing the
breadth at land -own, without Il corresponding III
crease OF labor ana capital. The ccnsls reveals
some strikin. facts on this subject, which il is well In
The tendency Of orr population is to the ci.
;ies and towns: i.arfully increasing the number of can
sumcrS without n corresponding increase OF pr0d'ccrS.
From among many others, take these examples: The
increase Of population IN the State OF New l"rk,
from 1910 TO 1850, was G6s.i.5; "f this increase the
city of New York hud about 9EIl,S31. and Brook yn,
Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Troy. and tticn, hnd to-
gcther IL, 25u; making in 'ir aggregate al increase
in these seven cities of 33I.hG' being acre than one.
half the entire increase of the S,ntr. II the eGGLiry
were pursued through NIL the towns and Villages Of
tn" State, il would probably appear, that whilst IN
this great Sfqrr there is n fearful increase oi mouths
to be led, the rural poppIa'ion-the only Producers
have in fact been IiniiuIst"d. III" increase ni pop
utlatinn during the decade, III PENNSYLVANIA, was
js7 ,7j3: of this increase the rit; Of Phiiudelphi
alone had ll9,G2!. In plnvrh"ldlng Maryland the
same state "f things T." some extent prcvails-though
for the inhabitants and the welfare OF the
country at large, the general tendency of the slave
holding States is 10 Il diffusion Of the population over
the rural di4tricts. The lncIrns" i'll Maryland was
1905; of which the city OF Baltimore alone had
j6,7ll. 1t will thus be seen that whilst the producers
Of food, in some of the States 81. lcnst, remain sta.
ionury, the consumers have Increased nj n fearful
-ute. 1t requires no profound knowledge OF arithmc.
tic or political economy TO perceive that This state OF
:hings mus, have its effect OF prices.
III. The EFFECTS or THE WAR IL Europe.
TlIat lurc, fleets aud armies must require supplies,
is most obvious, and however ggiltlcss they may be
IF slicddin. each others blood, the effect nj the war
rpou prices il not the less certain. Brs,dcd disturb
ny The natural course Of industry in Inc countries
become the theatres of war, prndu' crs are taken
rom the fields of agriculture Ia the Gallo, and Income
the most wasteiul consumers, thus diminishing the
and greatly increasing the den md for bread,
". SHORT Crop.
| have already spoken OF tn" corn crop. ] think
YOU arc greatly mistaken in supposin1 the last crop
nf wheat to linvc been mn average one. In what
State was it IL full crop, Not in Oh;NNcw York,
Maryland, or even i'll lrnnsj nin, a. far
rs ! am informed. OF the crops in III { West |
know nothing, but always receive ii! Ipcr cs,i-
mates with many grains Of nllowun:". Virginia
the crop is certainly very deficient. boil quantity
aud quality. When the quality nf wlp : indiiTcr.
rnt. the quality is invariably short. TN Executive
Committee Of the Agricultural Society 1VAlaryland,
after full inquiry, came 10 the conclu>i'n, that the
wheat crop OF that STATE did not exceed half mi nyc-
rage. The smnr lnny also bc snid at the crop of Nir-
;inia. | have passed through the Baltimore corn c-
change several times during the summer, mud exam
ned the samples of wheat, and / have never seen
hem so poor. | sent wheat. the lust season, 10 l5alti.
more, tina, weighed upwards uf IS lbs. tn The bushel.
have examined the sales book oi one of the largest
commission houses this season, and the weight of the