Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1855-08-08


There is no little excitement throughout
this and adjoining States about the damage
done by the rain to the harvested and un1ar-
vested crops Of grain and hay. II is not at
all surprising that every farmer should meas
ure his own and his neighbor,s crops in the
same half -bQshel, and Whenever the sprouts
have appeared, not only think himself totally
ruined. but also believe famine to be inevita-
bic.
Let us look at the prospect fairly. There
is no disputing the fact that in all the wheat
region north Of lat. AZ the wheat, either cut
or uncut, is badly sprouted4s How great the
damage is it is difficult toi1ctermine, as many
farmers have no precedent to Judge by, not
having had such . season for several years
Indeed, We Remember only one--it wax in the
year 1896. though the worst Of the wet wealth
er came somewhat later.
That year the wheat was mostly cut, and in
shocks in the field or in the stacks In the
great wheat regions of Ohio. Indiana, and H.
| linois the farmers quite generally declared
| it did look So for when It was uncut the yel-
/ low heads assumed green shade, and the
shocks and stacks became green on the surface
as the adjoining pastures. Undue time. how
ever, the raining period was over, the sprorfs
died, the standing grain was cut, the shocks
stacked or thrashed, the stacks lost their bright
| yellow hue and stood rusty looking mass of
dry, weather-beaten straw and -lyet-mark
the resuit-thc wheat inside was as bright
and sound as ever So slight was the injury
that it was hardly pcrceptibIe in the final re-
suit The shocks and standing grain were
Imore injured, but not ten per cent. of the
grain was destroyed.
When wheat is sprouted, good winnow-
| ing-machine will remove most of the injured
kernels, which make excellent feed for ami
mails If there be apredominance of sprouted
grains in the grist that goes to mill, it is not
spoiled for food; it is only spoiled for light
bread The dough- instead of rising by the
| ordinary process, has tendency TO liquify
and spread out and form sticking mass that
will not be kneaded into loaves. 1t makes
good unleayened bread. and is quite nutritious.
with . swectish taste. By many persons
bread made of sprouted wheat is preferred,
but in market the least appearance of grown
kerneles will injure the sale Some millers
even contend that one per cent. of such kerr
nels will injure the quality of the whole. 1t
is therefore important to the farmer that he
should be very careful to keep the sprouted
sheaves separate from the sound, and should
also separate the sound from the ansound grain
In xihnowfhgs as fas as possible. e :.
The injury Of ram upon wheat it quite over
rated In this country, because we are not well
used to it--our harvest weather being usually
so fine that the straw retains its golden bright
ness till it has been thrashed. Not SO in
England There the rains are ufteu 50 In
cessant that sprouted wheat Is very common,
and the business of shocking or stacking the
sheaves is an art that commands higher wa
ges than rearing. There the stacks are al
ways thatched to preserve them from sproutine
on the outside, and often built hcllos 10 dry
them on the inside In this country we are
much more careless Our wheat is often ex-
posed to complete soakings. Much of that
grown in the West is thrnshed on the ground
and often lies in a pile through long rain
and if o warm one, some of the outside grains
are sprouted, bat the inside of the pile is un-
injured.
The Dahnbian wheat-boats are withou
roofs the grain is piled up in pile rounded
on top, and exposed to all the rains that fall
during a long voyage If the weather b,
warm, the outside grows and mats together
some inches deep, and that protects the re
mainder. The worst of the sprouted part il
only fit for beasts, while that but slightly
sprouted sells as food for man and that below
the wetted crust is fit for shipment TO Franc.
or England.
We have no doubt that the grain is injured
by the present wet spell, some accounts o
which we continue to give; but it is not g ut
terly ruinous.D We may doubt whether
farmers do not gain more in other crops thar
they will lose in wheat by the rains. Mean
time let us console ourselves that we are no
likely to be destitute of wheat. A trustwor
thy writer makes an estimate g that Ohio vii
yield the present season twenty-five million,
Of bushels, Illinois eighteen millions. Wis
consin ten millions, Michigan eight millions
and Pennsylvania twenty millions" There
is no prospect of a famine.-N. y. Tribune.
Tragedy in Texas.
The Austin State Times has the following
account of bloody transaction in that city.
The victim, Mrs Malone, was the mother Of
ten children s-On Sunday morning last Ger
man named Frederick, visited the house of q
Mr. Malone, living about twenty miles from
this city on the Colorado river, and asked fol
some buttermilk Mr.. Malone. nho had MOI
yet risen, got up, and let the man in, and
then started to the milk -house to accommodate
his guest. While be was gone, Frederick
walked deliberately to the bed where Mrs
Malone was sleeping, and sheathed broad
knife in her breast, killing her Instantly. II
is said that no previous misunderstanding ex,
listed between the parties, and that Frederick
had frequently been at the house before the
day of the murder On the return of Mr.
Malone with the milk, and his discovery oI
bc