The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1883-02-23
CONDITION OF CROPS.

CONDITION OF CROPS.
| We are indebted to warehousemar
T. J. Blair, of this place, for the fol-
lowing facts Showing. condition Of the
crops of :hc United States as gather
ed by the Chicago Chamber of Com
merce:
/ Our speculative markets show
much greater strength than at any
previous date since the opening OF the
year. Our grain receipts have been
small. The poor outlook for crops in
Europe the coming season, the fact
that war is not among the impossi-
bilities abroad at any moment, and
the uncertainty of the outcome Of the
growing wheat, are all factors which
have combined to bring about these
results. Again, it is becoming daily
more and more apparent that the
worlds surplus of wheat from the
crop of 1882 was very largely over
estimated. Our California mail ad-
vices are as late as January 18th,
when Grain was greatly needed for
the growing wheat crop"
Had it not been for the fine cover
ing of snow which now protects the
winter wheat very largely north of
the OHIO, this extreme cold term
could not have been but disastrous,
and while we put the present outcome
as reasonably, favorable for a good
crop there are many contingencies to
arise which may completely upset all
present prospects for an average com
ing crop. South of the Ohio, Ten
nessee and Kentucky are far behind
in general prospects for an average
yield in 1888, as compared with this
date in 1882. Freezing and thawine
and with the absence of snow and a
late sown crop, with serious loss from
the work of the Hessian Fly, are the
causes which have brought about
these results. The following report
from Woodford county, January 90,
is fair sample OF our recent letters
from Kentucky: "Wheat does not
Look as well as a year ago. Ground
is bare and tops are killed by freezing
but it is green at the base. Thin on
the ground and early sown injured
by fly, reserves are sold. Nothing
more than stock enough for local
millcre."
The Tennessee reports run about
rs follows: "Wheat is bare and con-
dition not as good as in 1881" In
Southern Illinois, Ohio and Indiana
we find more snow and a reasonable
fair prospect for the wheat. In Mich,
igan the four southern tiers of counties
have been fairly protected in Decem-
ber, but in the eastern and central
counties we find more snow. The
depth Of sno W has heen from one to
five inches in the winter wheat coun-
ties of this State. The Michigan
Crop report for January estimates
that there was more than. II 100000
bushels of wheat badly damaged in
August and much of it worthless
and of but little value except for
feed. In Missouri and Kansas the
snow fall has been very light and
the crop has been moret or less ex-
posed all winter to freezing and
thawing.
Corn has been selling higher this
month than at any time since Jan
uary l, 1875. We have been draw
ing from Kansas, Missouri and Ne
braska for corn supplies both to feed
il Illinois and Iowa, to say nothing
about the corn that has gone east
from those States. The Stock Yards
of Chicago now get their corn sup
plies from Kansas. There is no ques.
tion that the high prices for corn in
the above States has caused farmers
to sell much closer than usual, and
we doubt not in many cases more
than they ought to.