Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-09-09

The present season having been one of
abundant rains in this immediate section. we
can hardly realize the fact that very wide
area of the country has been and is suffering
from q severe drought. A paragraph sum-
marizing the facts about this drought up to
the end of last week says; In Western New
York the drought is so severe that there are
grave fears for next years crop of winter
wheat. About Rochester the pastures are
drying up and the corn is whitening in the
fields Between Rochester and Buffalo the
fires kindled by locomotives have been very
destructive and they are increasing every day.
bout Buffalo all the small streams and wells
are completely dried and in some places they
are paying ten cents pail for water. New
Jersey has suffered still more. In Orange
and other parts of Essex county there is not
only distress, but positive danger 1t is said
that if fire were to break out in Orange,
scarcely bucketful of water could be got to
put it out. About Trenton there is wide
spread alarm. The pasturage is badly dam
aged, and, except in the lowlands wholly
dried up. On dry uplands the corn has been
ruined, and even copious rains will not save
it. In and near Newton, N. j., no rain of
any consequence has fallen since the middle
of July. The Passaic river, at and above
Paterson, is Dearly dry, and mill owners are
seriously embarrassed by the enforced stop
page of their mills. The same condition Of
things prevails about Philadelphia and in
Washington. Grass lands have turned brown
and the leaves have fallen from the trees. In
Canada West the want of rain is severe, and
immense forest fires have covered the land
with smoke. Lake Ontario and the st. Law
renee have been so shouded with smoke as to
make navigation dangerous. In Southern In
diana the corn crop, it is said, will not be
one-half the average. Late potatoes in many
counties will not be worth the digging; the
tobacco crop is ruined; grass in meadow
lands is burned to crisp farmers are sell
ing their live stock, and the ground is so
hard that blowing is impossible Similar ac-
counts come from many other parts of the
West.
In some sections, especially at the East, in.
Guiding Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the in.
terror of New York, rains within the past
week have somewhat relieved this destructive
and widespread condition of things. The
| losses by forest fires in Cattaraugus coun ~,
| N. Y, will reach $4,000 In Lewis county,
N. Y, the fires have already destroyed over
| 1000 acres of the best timber land in the
state. In northwestern Pennsylvania several
saw-mills and private lumber establishments
along the STRENGTHENING creek have been
| burned.
| OF the Canadian forest fires despatch
says: Bush-fres are still raging about Low.
ell, Ont. ~ barns and their contents have
been burned in the township of Sunnadale
Smoke from the bush-fres near HoIlen and
Listowell caused such darkness that lamps
had to be lit at p. NJ. Twenty-Five families
have been made homeless near Uptergrovt
since Monday. Never has north Ontario
been SO scourged with fire and drouth. Pray
ers were offered in all churches Sunday fol-
! rain.
Dispatches from East Saginaw, Port HUI
ron, Flint, and other places in Northern Mich
igan, give alarming reports of the forest fire.
in that state A number of villages hav,
been destroyed, and others have suffered
greatly. Long stretches of farming countr,
have been dssolated, houses, barns, fence
and crops being all swept away. Not onl,
have cattle been destroyed in many cases, bu
there are reports of loss of human life. Th,
extent of the destruction cannot be known
because the mails are interrupted and the tel
egraph poles burned down.