Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1899-03-16
Kentucky Crop Report.
Condition of Crops and Live
Stock March lst, 1899.

Condition of Crops and Live
Stock March lst, 1899.
Replies were received this month
from l53 3correspondents,r representing
~ counties.
1t may be well to rcstate in this,
the first report of the year, the boun-
daries of the sections into which the
State, for the sake of convenience
and accuracy, is divided and the
reasons for the separation. The ir-
regular contour of the counties makes
it impracticable to divide upon
straight lines in any given course.
Again, it is advisable to separate the
dark tobacco district i'm the western
part of the State from the Burley
district of the central and eastern
portion. Likewise it 10 desirable to
separate the counties in the eastern
and southeastern portion, where the
production Of any crop rarely exceeds
the home demand and where the
percentage of increase or decrease
affects i'm small measure only the
actual production of the State, from
the other sections producing q large
surplus. To meet all these varied
conditions the following divisions
appear to us as the best to be de-
yised:-
The western section composes 80
counties west of an irregular line
drawn from the eastern boundary of
Hardin county on the north to the
eastern boundary Of Allen on the
south, the intervening counties Of
Larue, Hart and Barren being placed
in the western section. The central,
or to be more accurate, the north
central section, embraces 40 counties
lying east Of the above-described
boundary and northeast of an irreg-
ular line drawn from the eastern
boundary Of Lewis county on the
northeast of Larue county in the
southeast. the intervening counties
of Bath, Montgomery, Clark, Madis-
on, Lincoln, Boyle and Marion being
in the central section. The eastern
or southeastern section is composed
Of the remaining 40 counties lying
southeast of the above-described
lines.
WHEAT.
The condition of the wheat crop
December lst, the date of the last re-
port, was 81, compared with average
years. AS set out in that report
there was lengthy interval between
the early sown and the late sown
wheat due to an unusually wet Oc-
tober, wheat sowing being suspend
ed for greater portion of the month.
The early sown wheat attained n |
growth that promised to withstand |
any weather test to which it might
be subjected. This promise has been
realized, and at this date early wheat
is generally reported in excellent
Late sown wheat was
barely above ground at the advent
Of winter, atd the severe weather it
has encountered, both i'm the early
and latter parts of winter, has left it
in a condition that may be aptly de-
scribed as ''blue prospect" Whole
fields now appear without a vestige
Of growth above ground and, while a
few correspondents venture the opin-
ion that the roots are uninjured, 1t
will take some weeks of warm grow
ing weather to develop the full extent
Of damage. AS rule there was an
ample covering of snow during the
extreme cold weather of February,
but, falling as it did on an almost
solid sheet of ice, the benign effects
Of the protection was i'm a measure
lost.
Answers to the question "Has
wheat suffered from any cause dur
ing the winter? If SO, state cause"
resulted in replies from 1l5 corres-
pondents. Of which number 81 state
that wheat suffered from "freeze,"
and ls say it has not been appreciably
damaged during the winter.
Heavy rains, particularly in the
section, is another source of
no inconsiderable damage.
The condition for the State as a
compared with average years,
is so, which is a loss of IA points
since December lst. For the three
years the condition on
March LIST was as follows: 1898, 80;
1897, 80, and 1896, 50.
The three sections separately show
the following average condition as
of this date: Western, 70; central, IS,
and eastern, SO.
The per cent. of crop of 1898 still in
the hands of farmers is estimated at |
26. On March LIST, 1893, 1t was esti-
mated that IL per cent. of crop Of
preceding year was then in the hands
of farmers. On March LIST, 1897, a
similar estimate showed o per cent.
of the old crop in farmers hands.
The price Of wheat March lst aver
ages Csc. On March LIST, 1893, the av-
erage price was soc, and March LIST,
1897, the price was SIC.
CORN.
Estimate on the percentage of corn
crop of 1893 still In farmers hands
give the amount at AZ per cent. On
March 1st, 1898, the per cent. of crop
of preceding year in hands of farmers
was "A.
LIVE STOCK.
The trying effects of the unusually
severe winter on live stock has to
some extent been mitigated by the
abundance of feed. Still, among
young stock and stock unprovided
with shelter, the loss has been heavy
and the suffering intense. The heav-
lest loss has been with lambs and
young pigs. Some correspondents
estimate the loss Of lambs at 331s per