The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-08-04
EXPERTSVIEWS
Prime Says Corn Harvest
Will Be Enormous.
How the Crops Have Been
Affected by the Rains.
Wet Weather Made Generally Poor
Season for Wheat.

and get rid OF the surplus Of the crops OF
previous years. The year 1896 came to the
country with the elevators and the grana-
ries practically bursting with corn, oats and
wheat. Low prices stared us in the face,
and until very recent date this condition
of things continued, until we have scored
the lowest values for grain that tho coun-
try has ever seen. Notwithstanding this
situation, the farmers of the United States
continued, as they have done for the last
few years. TO put In full crop of grain Of
all kinds, with the exception Of the spring
wheat crop.
The season was very favorable for the
sowing and the planting Of grain. Seed
ing progressed, and the final results
showed that the largest 6eroage of corn,
oats and spring wheat ever planted or
sowed In a single season was the result OF
the agricultural campaign Of the spring Of
1896. What we have to do with today arc
results. Prices must and will regulate
themselves by law of supply and demand
irrespective of any other surroundings.
The great bulk of the spring wheat crop
Is made in tho states of Dakota and in
northern Minnesota. Tho Red river val
ley, extending from Fargo to tho Canadian
boundary, generally grows the bulk Of
this crop.
This season all the conditions wero
against getting the crop into the ground
early and In good shape. 1t was pre-emi-
nently wet spring, and this continued
through all the season until very recent
date. The consequence has been that the
grain which has been harvested, not SO
much in this district as In the areas con-
tiguous to IL, has been very unsatisfactory
both In quantity and quality. In many
sections of the Dakotas and Minnesota
hot weather and rust have proved very
injurious and practically fatal to full
yield
According TO the agricultural report,
Minnesota and North and South Dakota
made, in 1895, 1875, 900, 600 bushels OF
spring wheat. This season the yield in
those states promises to fall off between
75, 900, 900 and so, 900, 900 bushels.
In southern Minnesota wheat now is
generally In tho shock. Good progress has
been made with harvesting In South Da-
kota, but the harvest In North Dakota has
not as yet fairly commenced. 1t IL gener-
ally conceded that the free movement OF
the wheat from these states during the last
90 days has cleaned UP very thoroughly
the reserves of former years. The prospects
arc that the Great Northern and the
Northern Pacific roads will not handle
more than one-third as much wheat as
they did in 1895. The $500" Milwaukee
and ST. Paul and Chicago and Northwest
ern will move about two-thirds as much
and the Minneapolis and st. Louis prob
ably about the same as last year.
No crop except oats has turned out so
unsatisfactory in yield and quality as the
winter wheat The harvest of this crop,
L.. .t. e.,..l. nd pIftl h
ern areas of the surplus grain growing
states of the country as we'll es extending
northward into tho lower lake regions, Is
now all cut, partially thrashod and very
large percentage of 1t standing In tho
shock, exposed more or less to the heavy
rains which have beon tho marked feature
Of the month of July. Probably, with the
exception of the states OF Kansas and
Michigan, no state in tho winter wheat belt
this season has produced an average crop
In quantity ard quality OF winter wheat.
The weather has been such In the winter
wheat belt during the last II days that the
thrashing OF tho crop has been simply out
Of the question, and = very large percent
ago OF II has been moro or less damaged,
and, In fact, ruined by the excessive rains
which have fallen during this period.
Practically VIC have so far had no movo-
ment of tho rev crop. Thorc he's been u
great demand from winter wheat millers
for now wheat 10 grind. and IL seems In
credible, but nevertheless fact, that the
state OF Illinois has already hcen sending
away for wheat for milling purposes.
There Is no question In my mind that
there will DO scarclty--in fast, 10 already
exists--for good wheat for milling pur.
poses With tho damage to winter wheat
since harvest and tho thrashing returns SO
far received, everything points to very
poor crop Of winter wheat, both in quan
tity and quality, even smaller than tie
crop made I'm 1895.
No crop that We havc grown this season
has turned out 80 dlSa9ro'ntlr.ly, both IN
yield and quality, as tho oGt crop of 1896
The acreage WAS an unusually largo one,
and until within SO DAYS Of harvest all the
conditions were flvorallc for crop fully
as large as IL not l.,rgcr than tho crop Of
1895 In tlct season the country made
| over 500, 0OO, 600 bushels Of oats From
| the date of harvest OF 1898 until a worry re.
| cent date, owing to tho wonderful changes
| In locomotion, the rrico cf oats fell to the
| lowest point on record for many years.
When our prospects for 1896 were the
| brightest, it was very serious question II
oats would pay for harvesting. Thirty
days before the oat crop all over tho coun-
try was struck by rust and blight and the
results NJ harvest were N decidedly light
| yield and quality far below that Of the
| previous year. Since harvest all over the
| most important areas OF the cat belt con-
tinuous and heavy rains havc fallen, 50
much so that n very large percentage OF
the crop has already been seriously dom.
aged, and the grade OF tho crop ns n whole
PROMISES to bc lowered The present week
particularly has been against the shocked
oats drying out
Tho conditions at this iptc DO nos favor
better outlook. The shortage IA tho oat
crop Is estimated at from 1900, 200 u