Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-06-24

the faithful contemporary chronicjer
whose records have been closely fol-
lowed, sit was month OF melancholy
forebodings. and it seemed az IL the
sun bad lost its warm and cheering in
fiuences"
Well might such be the case. Frosty
nights succeeded one another with great
regularity. The Indian corn was chilled
and withered on the stock tho grass,
that hardy and vigorous plant which
boldly pushes out early in the season
long before the frosts are out OF the
ground or the SHOWS have ceased TO fall,
was SO greatly injured by repeated frosts
and ice that it contained little or no sus-
tenancc, while its erstwhilo emerald hue
was chsnged to dull brown. Grazing
cattle would scarcely cat it. OF fruit
and flower and "brjery vine" not one
was left to toll the tale. The foliage of
orchard and forest vas dead and wither-
ed too, or hung asccid and coorIess to
the branch. Eortherly winds whistled
through the dry grass and mosned around
the sspless trees. An overcoat and leaden
sky often added to the dreariness OF the
landscape. In midsummer
"Ths trees to the blast bad surrendered their
The beauties Of summer had fed,
The warblers departed for SUMMER cliFnes,
The heritage is withsred and dead"
To arrive at q proper understanding
of the effects Of these strange conditions
one must take into consideration the
state of our country, as regards size,
population, mode Of life, and other do
tails at that time.
THEN AND NOW.
A sparsoly-sot!led country, with only
eleven cities against two hundred and
eigbty-six now, that hardly reached the
Mississippi on the west, and Florida,
Spanish possession, end Texas, Mexican
territory, on the south, constituted the
bounds Of the inhabited United States at
that time. Barely seven and half mil
lions Of people were scattered over the
broad tract extending from Maine TO
Louisiana, from the Atlantic to the Ohio
and the Mississippi. Itwaspredominantly
arursl population. depending for living
on the direct produce OF the soil. Not
quito five ont OF every one hundred in
babitants were residents in cities,
while the proportion of residents
in cities to-day is nearly il not fully
twenty-five out Of every one hundred OIL
our population. Steam and electricity
were then unknown agents of motive
and other kinds OF power, and
travel was on horseback or in vehicles
over rude roads, often impossible
a great portion Of the year.
The journey from New York TO Boston.
which is now easily madein day, would
then have requires foil week under the
most favorable circumstances. Freight
was slowly conveyed from one portion OF
tho country to another by means OF slow
sailing vessels, ever dancing attendance
upon wind aud tide, or the still slower
but surer canal boat, and in long lines OF
covered wagon trains, winding i'll pic
turcsque curves over mountains and
through forests. Freight rates were
fesriuily high the conveyance Of goods
limited in kind; while the carriage Of
perishablo food products was an absolute
DISTRESS AND SUFFERING.
Consequently the distress caused by
the total failure Of all crops north of the
Potomac-a failure and q distress inten-
sifed by the greater dependence at that
time of almost the whole population of
the country on the direct produce of the
soil-could get no relief from the ship
ment of food products from the South,
where, though similar weather had been
felt, vet from climatic reasons 1t had not
been SO severe.
No great cities with teeming popu-
lation had given the impetus to the truck
ing interests in the South. and no rail-
roads with refrigerator cars were there
to transport fruits and vegetables even il
raised. 4 year without summer in
this age Of steam and electricity
would find US better prepared TO meet 1t
with our extended and diversified coun-
try, but even in this case the scarcity,
the inferior quality, and the necessary
high price of provisions would entail great
suffering, especially upon the poor. The
late blizzard, which isolated for few
DAYS the great cities of New York and
Boston aud threatened a famine iii few
of the articles OF necessary consump-
tomas milk. eggs, &c.--helps us TO
arrive at the condition of our ancestors
in 1916, when midsummer had como
without any summer weather. There
was neither fruit nor vegetable, and all
cereal crops-as wheat, corn, 6c.-were
seriously injured and short OF corn,
in fact, very little ever came to Perfec-
ton north of the Potomsc, and seed
corn sold in New England the next
spring at 81 per bushel. Grass and corn
make milk, butter, cheese, beef, NUT
ton, and pork. As consequence there
was a scarcity in these necessary arti-
Giles of food, and the quality Of what
was produced was inferior and lacking in
palatsble and nutritious qualities. There
was no supply of canned goods to be
carried over, for the canning industry
was then unknown and Impractical save
by the thrifty housewife on very
Limited scale.
LOST HER WAY.
The earth appeared to have wandered
from its orbit around the sun, and seem
ed fast losing itself in the cold vacuum
Of space. Or were the fires Of its vast
furnace dying out and our world
cooling off and rapidly becoming dead