The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-08-05
The Harvest and the Prospect.

For the first forty. days of summer it
was constantly dry, and the grain and
hay were starved down to half, or, at
most, three-quarters of crop; and then
came the rain, too late to help the crop,
but Just in time to prevent the posi-
bility of harvesting in good condition
even what there was of it. From the
consequences of this departure from the
happy order Of nature half Europe sees
before it in the near future the calamity
of dear bread; and we ourselves have
had such an experience of this perver-
sity of the elements as will impress the
lesson deeply in the economical tables,
though, fortunately, our experience is
not that of Europe. Our hay crop has,
perhaps, suffered most; for, though
there is good crop on all the low
meadows, the loss by thinness and poor
quality at all points where rains in May
and early June are necessary to give
good result, will reduce the yield to
fifth or sixth less than is obtained in q
good year. Our farmers are, therefore,
poorer by at least one hundred million
dollars, or, may be, one hundred and
fifty million dollars, on this one count.
Perhaps the first estimate is more near
ly accurate, for the higher price that is
of course the immediate consequence of
the short crop will establish the equi-
ibrium against whatever is lost in excess
of that sum. All the loss by grasshop.
pers and potato bugs will not equal the
loss of hay but with these losses added
to that the sum represents an enormous
addition to theregular burdens of the ag-
ricultural interest, though, by the same
machinery of the adaptation of prices,
the burden will be distributed more or
less evenly over all classes.
But though we have not altogether
escaped the evil consequences of the
disastrously exceptional weather of the
year, we have reason to congratulate
ourselves on happy escape by compari-
| son with what has happened in the East
ern hemisphere, and on the advantageous
position in which we stand with regard
to the markets with our grain crops. All
over Europe the weather has been bad,
| but worst in France. There is little
precise knowledge of what has happened
in the great grain districts of the Black
sea county, but the general reports in
dicate that the yield will be less than
usual and the quality poor. All the
valley of the Danube has suffered by the
weather. In France more is due to the
general bad weather than to the destruc-
| tive inundations, but the foundations
themselves seriously disturb the balance
of supplies in that country.
| The fact that always produced famine
and pestilence in the valley of the Ga
rome down to the fifteenth century now
moves the current of supplies toward
not cd, ,ioff ~ DC, oe
But what is the condition of the crops in
the places upon which that current must
draw In the center Of France, in the
southeast, in the west and the north, the
cereals are in bad state. Though these
countries are not inundated they had
continued dry weather through April
and May, and then for the few weeks be-
fore harvest heavy continuous rains, so
that the crop is small through the
drought and poor in quality from the
bad condition in which it was harvested.
Outside of France the first draught is
upon Algeria, and there also the crop
has been exposed to the same conditions
and is in the same state. France, there
fore, must buy largely. England, as is
already known, must also buy largely,
and Germany and the eastern districts
will, perhaps, esteem themselves fortu-
nate if able to supply fully their own
wants. Thus we shall be without COM
petitors for whatever we have to spare
out of our great grain crops. Undoubt-
edly, the prices to which grain will be
carried by this movement will fall some
what heavily upon poor people here,
whose loaves will be the dearer for the
competition of European hunger; but
this small addition to the peoples ex-
penditure will be more than compensated
by the impulse that will be given to
every branch of industry as conse-
quence of the general activity that this
current of supplies toward Europe will
set in motion. If people get employ
ment at fair wages out of an event that
at the same time adds cent to the price
of every loaf they will scarcely grumble
about that cent.