The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-10-10
Crops AND WEATHER.
The Past Week ard the R,co.ds Of the
Agricultural Bureeu


port of Weather Observer Bauer and it
is unusually full and intereIting:
During the week ending October l,
the temperature ranged between SO and
4S degrees, the former was recorded on
September 30 and October /, and the
latter at LoOper's, Plckens county, ann
at Reid, Greenviile county, on the
25th AID Goth respectively. The first
Of the week was much cooler than
usual while the latter portion was very
warm.
The two last days were the only ones
comparatively clear. The sunshine
averaged about 30 per cent. Of the
possible.
Rain began On the 23th In portions
of the State and was general and heavy
on the 23;h and 18th, ended gradually
on the 29.h, and there were light scat
tering showers, with generally clearing
weather on the och.
The beginning and ending of the raj
ny weather marked the duration Of
West Indian hurricane, whose centre
skirted the South Carolina Coast on
the 26th and 9th, with gales over the
entire State, but most severe along the
coast and second tier Of counties,
where the rainfall was extraordinarily
heavy, ranging from eight inches at
PiihopooiIiis pooIis 20 !eascc !leesc g. - cunts to|erd the
interior, and about I'D inch III the
Northwest counties. Very few streams
oyertloWed their banks, but heavy dam
age resulted from the combined force
of the rain and high winds which
reached an extreme velocity of sixty
miles per hour at Charleston and prob
ably greater rate at Statesburg. Cot
ton and late corn, peas, rice and grass.
rs were beaten TO the ground, and In
Richland and Orangeburg counties 1t
is reported that trees were uprooted oy
the violence of the wind. Rlca suffer
ed most severely, having been some.
what damaged by high tides and by
fresh water. Much Of it was in stacks
which were more or less scattered end
saturated, entailing a great deal of
labor to dry the grain to prevent
sprouting.
The aggregate damage from this
storm, is however, much less thai that
caused by the historic storm of August,
1893. This years a.orm was less severe,
the tides were not as high, and, owing
to having occurred later in the season,
smaller percentage of the crops re-
mained in the fields ungathered.
The following rainfall measurements,
made during the storm, Will illustrate
| the gradual decrease from the coast to.
wards the North western counties, (tn
inches and hundredths3 Pinopoiis 800,
Charleston 7. 45, Georgetown 30. Trial
SAT, Beaufort 6.l5, Con way 508, Che
raw 498, Society Hill 4.93, Barn well
county 4.62, Port RDyai 4.27, Etfing'
ham 4 o., Trenton 3.49, Chesterfield
100, B!ackv'lle 80, Tliler's Ferry 3 OF ,
Stetesourg 2S5. Lexington 3 80, AIKEN
county 20. L)ngshore 2.12., Looper's
185, Little Mountain las. Ssntuc .33,
Laurens I.22, Mccormick 122, Wins.
boro 10, Columbia 1.l8, GreenVille
90, Watts 0.S4. Ella 0.75
The force Of the Wini did not de-
crease 20 the same extent as did the
rainfall from the crasS toWari5 tae
North thwester1 Counties and coase
quently the d@mag- to corn and peas,
Uu5 more particularly to c)Cto1, was
almcss general over .h3 eutice Safe.
The percentage Of damage to cotton In
the fields is Variousiy estimated from 3
to 20 per cent, al average Of all the
estimates making s0m4Wla5 uader 10
per cent.
Green b)lls were broken eff very
freely. May, if noG the greater por'
ton, OF the open D)liS we're more Or less
stained and Whera the stalks remains
green the dam p,cloldy weather caused
an Increase in rust aud b3li worms
which late in the week again appeared
IN injurious nu nbers in some counties.
Picking was greatly hind4red by the
untavorable weather, but Will :, push.
ed rapidly from now on, as the weather
permits, as the bolls are opening very
fast, some, it is though. prematuraIy.
Sea Island cotton suffered more from
the storm than the snort staple varle.
ties.
The rain was beneficial in the North
central aad Western Counties for late
root crops, such a5 turnlp5 aud late
sweet potatoes. and also for gardens,
and kept grass green and growing for
pasturage.
Some oats being sogn, but oats seed.
ing has not become general yet; it is
generally too wet to prepare the
ground.
Truck farmers suffered severely from
the heavy rains along the coast as the
vet soil lntefteres with the cultivation
and marketing Of fall crops.
TO the request made for estimates Of
the percentage of cotton ungathered
on October l, replies were received
from all but six counties, some OF
which raise but little c)ttcn and there
fore would have but little effect on the
percentage for the State. a very good
indication Of the accuracy Of the differ
ent reports is that ia counties from
which two, or more reports were re-
ceived they did not differ more than
10 per cent, and that Can readily be as.
cribed to varying conditions according
to locality.
The estimates by regions and ex.
pressed Ia averages, are as follows:
Alpine region s. per cent. ungathered,
Piedmont 81, Red Hill and Upper Pine
Belt AZ, Lower Pine and Coast regions
80. BY assigning to each region value
in proportion to its cotton acrerge the
average percentage OF ungathered cot
ton for the State, on OCTOBER !, is 81 per
cent.
Counties grouped according to per
centages, the results are as follows:
Above 80 per cent. Laurens, OcOnee,
Pickens; between 10 aad 80 per cent
Anderson, Greenville, Spartanburg; be-
tween 60 and 20 per cent. Fairfield:
Richland, York, AbbeVilIe, Union; be-
tween so ant 60 per ent.-B9aufort,
Berkeley, Florence, Williamsburg. Ian.
caster, Sumter; between DO and 80 per
cent. -HamDton, Aiken, Chesterfield,
Darlington, kersnaw, Lexington, Edge
field; between 30 and 40 per cent
Clarendon, Barn well % aageDurg, New
berry; below 80 per c4nt.-M41lOoro.
In the statement that 81 pec cent. re-
NAMED ungathered, allowance was
also made for the probable damage
that resulted from the storm, n other
words, the numbar Of bales already
gathered will likely, be more than
doubled by the end OF the season.
J. w. BAUER, Director.