The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-09-22
Eson, the Nese York Tribune 81 che u2S<h--
-Deffcfencv Of the Harvest.

Esons the Sess- York Tribune sef che 1Gta.-.ss
Deficiency OF the Harvest.
We have recently Travelled thousand
miles Westward, from this csty to lndianap-
oils, which may be regarded;aS the present
centre of the corn growing and perhaps also
of the wheat-growing portion OF, our Union.
Observations fully confirmed the worst ac-
counts we had received of the deficiency of
the harvest We were, of course, obliged
to take testimony of others with regard to
the wheat and oats, but we had the evidence
of our own eyes as 10 the deplorable mea-
.gerneSs OF the corn crop. In W estern New
York, in Central aud Southwestern Ohio
in Eastern and Central Indiana, we saw
more corn that will yield less than over fif-
teen bushels per acre, while a great deal
growing on rich mellow soil will fall below
even FIVE bushels Prom all parts of Ohio,
Indiana and Illinois, except a very narrow
belt Of dry, warm sod on the shore OF Lake
Erie, our accounts indicate similar def
cheney. Iowa had but third of wheat
crop, no oats at all, and is likely to have
not moe than half corn crop. Michigan
and Wisconsin send better accounts; butonly
from Minnesota and Kansas have we assu-
rance of full harvest, and even in Mime
sofa the oats are deficient. The slave States
participate but slightly in the general disas-
ter, while New England, Eastern New York,
New Jersey and Pennsylvania have nearly
or quite average crops. Very little of the
corn we have seen is yet fiji to cut up, and a
frost within the next week would damage it
most seriously, while warm growing fort
night would greatly improve il. We con-
slider every days general exemption from
frost henceforth, as worth, at least, one mill
ion dollars to the country. And making
full allowance for the fact that while fail
ures and disasters are blazoned, good aver
age yields attract no attention and provoke
no comment, we are confident of being
within the truth in estimating the wheat
and corn crops of the whole country as
twenty-five per cent. below the average,
while the oat crop is deficient by thirty to
forty per cent.
The census for 1910 and that for 1850
show the following aggregate production of
each of these staples:
1910, bushels. 1850, bushels
Wheat, ........ s4,S23,272 100, 4S5, 944
Oats ......... .l23, ,34l l46,5S4, l79
Indian Corn, 377 ,53l,S7 592,O7l, lO4
OF course these are but rough approxima-
tons to the true aggregates; but the pro-
portion maintained between the returns of
1910 and those of 1850 prove that they are
within the neghborhood of the true amounts
Assuming their general accuracy, the follow
ing table indicate the ma gnitude of the pres
ent deficiency:
Av'ge yield. 1853. Actual yield.
Wheat, hush, l2O,O0O,OO0 90,OOO,OOO
Oats, bush, l7O,0OO,O00 100000
Corn, bush. 750,OOO,OOO $4,000, 900
In other words, our total harvest of wheat
oats and corn for tine current year will fall
below what might have been reasonably ex-
pected, as follows:
Wheat ......... ........... 10000, 900 bush.
Oats ........ ........ .,...,... GO, 900 BUSH
Indian Corn zoe, 600, 900 BUSH
Now the value of these amounts to the
growers may not exceed one hundred mil
lions of dollars, but their value to the coun-
try is at least double that sum. Our rail-
roads, canals, forwarders, shippers, &C., are
deprived of business which they were pre-
pared to do, ana in default of which their
earnings and profits for the next year must
suffer deplorably. We consider the country
ut least two hundred millions poorer than il
would have been if our crops had proved
good.
This deficiency is likely to exert bale
full influence on not only our domestic but
our already depressed foreign trade. The
official statements show that we exported
in the years ending on the lSt of July, 1856,
and 1857, respectively, (those up to last July
not having vet been pxOmulgatedl as fol-
lows: