The Donaldsonville chief., 1879-09-20
Letters from Europe.

ACtttIb IIOUN .Lt1IOpt.-
LONDON, August q, 1879.
EDITOR CHIEF:
Heavy rains and foods .stiA con
tinue IN England. In the Windso
district, the Thames has risen .severa
inches above the level of the previous
evening. During Tuesday night th,
rising water entered the gardens O
the houses on the north side of Ar.
thur road, Windsor. These are stu.
ated about 4 quarter Of mile from
the river channel, the inundation
reaching the back doors. There is
now an unbroken stretch of water ex-
tending north wards of Windsor across
the }rocas to Elton College, the lake
thus formed being quite mile in
length, and covering acres of pasture
land. Windsor race course is very
extensively flooded, and the Grand
Stand is almost isolated, most of the
Clever Rays, upon which this favorite
meeting is held, being submerged.
Eton and the College are nearly sur
rounded. Eastward of Windsor and
Eton the river is leaving it's usual
course, and flooding the pastures and
farms. Abont Datchet, Horton and
Wraysbury, and at various places
along the Thames Valley hay and
corn crops are being seriously dam
aged. Harvesting had been com
menced upon the Prince Consort's
farm in the Great Park and elsewhere
in Berks, Bucks, Surry and Middle
sex, but the inclemency Of the weather
has put stop to the operations, and
the cessation of work is causing great
distress among the poor people seek
ing employment in the harvest fields,
and who, in consequence of this alb
sence of work, now find themselves
without means of support. At Old
Windsor and Staines the hoods are
also out in various localities, and the
country in the. Thames Valley, viewed
from the battlements of the Round
Tower Of Windsor Castle, looks like
a chain of lakes extending eastward
and westward of the Royal borough
for many miles. Hay and grain lie
rotting in places in swamps formed
by the overfowing of the river and
it's tributaries, and the prospect of
farmers are dismal enough. They
can not now escape without loss even
should the fine weather set in at once.
while a continuance of rain for an
other week or two must entirely ruin
the chance Of harvesting their crops
in fit and marketable condition.
In Chester farmers are about dis
posing of all their store stock because
their hay has been washed away by
the floods. The state Of agriculture
'n Cheshire is worse than serious.
The season has been simply disas-
trous, and farmers have nothing but
ruin to face. In the low-lying ports
Of Fhutslire and Denbighs6fr6 things
are, if possible, still worse. Turnips,
mangolds and hay, good proportion
OF wheat acreage is to be looked to !;
but in the counties enumeration the
'oots and corn crops are all buried in
water, and when the water subsidies
,be desperate aglicultnrists will be
presented With cast-up sea of mud
seed, manure, labor, all buried in the
'orrib1e;quagmire. On Tuesday some
Cheshire formers commenced cutting
White oats, but the dense rain of to-
lay will not only stay operation, but
t will effectnaliy prevent corn, which
8. s.already fully month behind, ripen-
Dg. With hundreds Of acres of land
lnder water, hay washed away, corn
oft in the ear and beaten to the
round, with barley promising only
alf an average yield, with quite half
he potato crop deceased, and with
title promise of fair supply of
oots, the prospects of the farmers in
his quarter are dismal indeed.
At the meeting of the Board of
Guardians at Sittingbourne yesterday
ne effects of the disastrous weather
'ere shown by statistics presented BY
he workhouse master, from viii ch it
ppears that during the last week no
sss than 23l persons had been ad-
'ltted into the casual wards. This
umber is an increase of 129 over the
corresponding week Of last year, and
the highest ever known since the
of the workhouse. The
81 persons were made up of 137 men,
fly three women and forty lone child
70. Many Of tAeap have apparently
'me to the neighborl.ood for the
arvesting AND hepping, but in con-
'quence of the continued wet much