Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1869-10-13
THE ENGLISH HaRyEsTs.
Effects Of the Rain ON the wheat oi
Great Brttain-Estimated Qusutifx
and Quality "a the Crop.

and Quality or the Crop.
From the Saturday Review.
: The immense Importance to all classe.
:, al the community of accurate and earl,
information as to the produce of the whea
harvest induced Us month ago to put he
fore our readers, alta period somewhat ear
!, iier than our won., the best estimate We
could at that time form Of the results o.
. the wheat harvest then being gathered. -
That opinion was formed Just when the
crop was In greatest jeopardy. Rain had
been falling for rsuany days; great excite
ment prevailed in Mark Lane; and there is
no doubt that, if the rain had continued.
the country would have had to pay for its
imported corn many millions sterling more
than now appears probable. The fine
weather, however, arrived at the very nick
oil time, and the crop has been for the
most part put under cover, comparatively
dry and III good order, but still not nearly
SO dry as in reall, fine seasons: and IL is
Thought that, when the damp foggy days
oi wiIter arrive, the new home crown
wheat will require large proportion of dry
foreign wheat to make it fit to grind. and TO
produce flour thatsw make good bread.
1t Is said to produce "weak" four-that
IS, Hour of quality deficient in gluten.
and, therefore, one that when baked,
makes small loaves of close texture, in
stead OF large loaves of a spcngy formation
and that gives less bread from a certain
l quantity of flour than when the fionr is
strong" that is. rich in gluten. II is also
reported that the wheat produces less flour
than in ordinary years; whether it be from
| greater thickness of skin, or that. from i'm.
perfect drying. the -four adheres more
closely than usual to the coat At any
rate, taking the two points together, skilled
persons assert that not less than five per
cent more weight of the wheat OF the 1869
crop than of that of 1868 must be used to
produce given weight of bread; and five
per cent on the consumption OF the coun-
try Is as nearly as possible million quart
ems, so that, trihing as it seems, this def
cheney of quality will cost the country. AZ
present values, about two millions and
half sterling or twice and a half as much
on wheat alone as the duty RENTED by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer on all sorts
of corn, if that estimate be correct.
But the great question is as
to the yield of the crop in
quantity, and we have reason TO congratu-
late ourselves that, so far as the facts have
been ascertained, they confirm the carly
estimate which We venturad to put forth. |
Ii is, however, even now very difficult |
the matter. The produce of the wheat |
crop Is SO very variable that not only in /
districts perfectly dissimilar one from anoth- |
er, bat even in the same fields, planted at /
the same time, with the same seed, cultiva- 1
ted IN all respects in the same way, one |
part Is found 10 yield abundantly, while in |
another part the crop Is Il complete failure:
and what is very annoying To those who /
like to assign reasons Tor successes or for
failures, is that the cause of these differ
ences cannot be ascertained The quality
of the soil. the state of the DRAINAGE. the
aspect, have all been suggested in vain as
explanations Of the mystery. We confess
we have no solution of the problem to offer.
The wet winter, provsrbissiy bad for grow
ing wheat. would affect all parts of a field
alike; there NAV, however, have been some
differences in u 'rne OF Development of
the plants, and ';ir ats.irost may have af.
fected the plants forward stage, while
those more backward may have escaped But
however this may be there can be no doubt
that in the sum total the country has this
year most irregular crop Of wheat And
1t Is also right to say that the latest ac-
counts are perhaps less promising than the
earlier ones While Mr.. Meen reports an
average OF AZ bushels per acre on his farm
there are multitndes who say that their
threshings have yielded less than twenty
bushels per acre, and some say that they
have not ten bushels The loudest COM
piaints. perhaps, come from the great corn
growing counties, Lircolnshire. Norfolk.
and Suffolk. Mr.. Lawes, of Rothampstoad.
whose experimental fields have been found i
to represent, in most years, the general 7
crop of the country, says: 1.-The peculiar
feature OF the 1869 crop is the remarkable
contrast which is TO be seen in crops grow
ing side by side, and to all appearance cul-
tivated alike. Some fields present mag
nifcent appearance, with height of straw
ana bulk OF produce rarely surpassed,
while others are thin and root-fallen.
These circumstances make it rather diff
cult 10 arrive at a definite figure which
shall most nearly represent the crop of the
country. lie draws the conclusion, from
the consideration of all his experimental ,
threshings, that "the wheat crop of 1869 is
slightly below the average in quality, and {
that 1t will be also deficient in quantity as
estimated 10y the weight per bushel" He
describes all lis wheat crops, however, as
standing up at the time of cutting, and
therefore he does not get into his account /,
The laid or root fallen crops, which have
everywhere turned ont to be the worsti
We consider the estimate too favorable !
MIR. Iawes appears to think that the acre /, /,
age under wheat Is less than last year;
other authorities think the acreage NAV be !,
At least equal, if it be not greater, than last
year. 1t Is an important point, aud one J
hat onght to have been settled for the pub
nc by this time. The returns for Ire
and, taken in June, were issued last week. {
md 1T does appear that there must !
DC great laxness in our Statistical De- I
partment in failing to give at any ,
rate the gross totals of the most i'm !.
portant returns before the middle of Sep
.ember. And If this can be done in Ire
and, there can be no reason why il should
not be done in. Great Britain. Ten per !
'ent. more OF iesss acreage under wheat
means, with an average crop, nearly a mil
ion and a half quarters more or less grown {
It home, and between three or four millions
sterling more or less TO pay for foreign ,
wheat But, whatever the acreage, the tai !
NEE OF testimony goes In favor of an esti-
nate OF the yield bearing proportion to !,
IN average certainly less than AIR. Iawes' =
sstinate, which is as 27 to 2Sl. :
LOVE LITTLE FLIES. A little girl was re- r
,uked by her mother for her fondness for A
Killing flies. The little one had acquired I