The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1897-10-16
A Period of Drought.

From Philadelphia (Pa) Ledger October s.
The weather records kept by Forecaster
Dey in the Postoffice building show an al
most unexampled condition of drought over
the entire country There has been very
little rain during the past six weeks or
more, and there is no immediate prospect
of relief in copious rain storms In the
farming communities, with wells, springs
and creeks failing or dried out, the farmers
are compelled to go great distances for
water.
The existing dry spell is similar to that
of July and August, 1876, when a severe
drought prevailed from Maine to Virginia,
and affected this State as never before
known. The crops were seriously dam
aged, wells and streams became dry, and
industrial establishments were compelled to
shut down because of the lack of water to
run them The present drought is not so
damaging as the ones of the years 1876,
1881 and 1887, as it comes after the crops
have been harvested, but it is interfering
with the sowing of the winter wheat, and,
if it should continue until cold weather
sets in, heavy loss will result
The drought of July, August and Sep
tember, 1881, perhaps leads the record.
1t was extensive, prolonged and disastrous
in the Mississippi Valley, and affected this
section only in minor degree. Wells,
cisterns and springs that had never before
been known to go dry were exhausted, and
nearly all the rivers of the country were at
the lowest ebb ever known The Schuyl-
kill appeared like mere thread Pastures
were parched and burned out, and New
York city was compelled to draw upon the
upper reservoirs in Putnam county and the
storage reservoirs at Lake Mahopac
Forecaster Dey said yesterday that the
present drought is exceptional, in that no
part of the United States was free from its
effects. Every State and Territory shared
in the dry SPELL While the week ending
September q was practically rainless over
much the greater part of the country, the
weeks since then have been made up of dry
weather that has held widespread sway.
The Weather Bureau of this city, where
the records are standard and have been so
regarded for number of years, gives
retrospect for the crop season from March
to September 27, in which there is some
encouragement. The official bulletin re-
ports an excessive seasonal rainfall in New
England, Eastern New York, New Jersey
and the Florida peninsula. There was,
however, marked deficiency Of rain in the
Central and Gulf States where the actual
rainfall during the season of 1897 ranged
from 55 to so per cent. of the seasonal
average.
As yet there is no sure promise of de-
cided and general breakup of the present
dry spell in the interior of the country,
which seriously interferes with the farm
work of fallowmg and seeding. If more
moist weather does not set in shortly farm
ers will have difficulty in completing their
autumn sowing of grain.
AS an indication of the extent of the
drought in the State report from Lebanon,
the manufacturing centre of the Lebanon
Valley, states that that town is without
water supply, the reservoirs on South
Mountain having given out and the State
Board of Health having refused to allow
sanction to the Water Board there to use
the waters of the Quitapahilla Creek, which
flows through the city, on the ground of
impurity In former periods this stream
has been freely used in dry spell The
records also show that in the counties Of
Berks, Lebanon, Lehigh, Schuylkill, Car
bon, Montgomery and Chester the streams
are very low, and in some sections there is
already water famine.
1.-The storm central on Lake Huron
brought light rains in that section today,
said Forecaster Dey last evening, causing
the cloudy conditions in our own section,
but fair and dry weather continues to rule
over the country and the outlook is for fair
weather for the remainder of the week.
The winds are shifting to the northwest,
and this is the cooler weather that is com
ing this way. There is no rain, however,
in the country, and no immediate pros
meets