The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-06-22
MUST HAVE RAIN.
Cumberland County Crops are Suffer.
ing.

Little More Than Half Crop of Straw.
berries-Hay and Peas Have Suffere d
Why the Strawberry Market Was Sc
Short Yesterday.
The long period of dry hot weather has
been disastrous to the early crops OF
Cumberland county. There has only been
little shower or two since the latter part
of May, and if the drouth continues
much longer its effect will be very
serious. Inquiry at Hannaford Bros.
and Morrill, & Co. S, wholesale dealers in
produce reveal the fact that the farmers
report that everything is fearfully dry
and the early crops are suffering
On the high ground the hay crop is
practically failure. The ground is SO
dry that it crumbles under the feet. The
hot W Gather has ripened the grass on the
high ground SO that it will have to be cut
next week. One Scarboro man said yes
terday that he'd begin haying next Mon
day. The strawberry crop is very badly
and less numerous than usual. One
man said that there wouldn't be half a
crop. Another said that there wouldn't
be more than two-thirds of an average
crop at the lest.
The most of the strawberries are raised
by the farmers, who have no facilities for
Mastering their great beds. 1t would be
almost impossible to carry enough water
on to an acre of strawberries, to do any
good. 1t would cost more than it would
be worth. The market gardeners who
have windmills and hose do not raise
many strawberries. They are occupied in
forcing early vegetables under glass.
Strawberries require a good deal of
ground, and much care. There may be
some few strawberry raisers, who have
facilities for sprinkling, but the majority
do not.
Early peas are also badly affected by
the dry weather They have been ripened
by the hot SUI quicker than is natural.
but are smaller than usual. Unless there
is rain soon, the string beans and early
potatoes will suffer.
The winter cabbages on Cape Elizabeth
were planted about the first of June.
There hasn't been a good rain since and
the seeds are not coming up as they
ought to. Many haven leone up at all.
However, if we have rain soon there is
time enough for the cabbage to recover,
but if the dry weather lasts much longer,
they will suffer badly
Inquiry at Jordan Brothers, wholesale
produce dealers, in regard to the effect of
the dry weather upon crops on the Cape,
elected the response that it was burning
the life right out of them. ;" The hay
crop in particular is suffering. The
strawberries on the Cape haven't ripened
yet and it is hardly time Not more than
twenty five crates of Strawberries came
into Portland yesterday, and there should
have been two hundred crates to supply
the market. This was indirectly due to
the drouth. The hot sun had SO forced
the strawberries on the side hills back in
the country towns, that they ripened a
week earlier than usual and came into
this market. This prevented our dealers
from ordering as usual from Boston, be-
cause they expected an influx of native
berries. But the influx did not come be-
cause along the coast and on the Cape
the berries have not ripened yet. The re-
fore there were only about twenty five
crates arrived yesterday.
The effect of the drouth on the straw
berries will be felt on the last end rather
than the first. There will be two or three
good pickings, and next week there will
be plenty of strawberries in Portland at
ten cents box. But the supply will not
hold out as usual and there will be not
much more than half a CROP