Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-02-23

Bradstreet's for last week saws |;
Following the long continued cold
wave and heavy snowstorms through
out the country come reports uf re-
viving spring trade, and of efforts to
ascertain the extent to which material
interests have suffered. All things
considered, the damage so far indi-
Gated, while serious in some sections,
has proved less than might have been
expected, in view of the severity Of the
visitation. AS the result of special in
quiry this week, Bradstreet's is en-
abled to make some definite statements
regarding the effects Of the severe
weather. The consensus Of opinion
seems to be- that the damage caused
in the North,y East, West and North
west has been less than expected, and
was, in fact, more in the nature of
temporary check rather than of per-
manent impairment of underlying
favorable conditions. Exception is,
of course, made in the case of the
winter wheat crop, from which trust
worthy reports as to damage are not
forthcoming at this early period of the
year. From the South, however, come
reports of moro serious damage, par
ticularly to the growing fruit and
vegetable crops Even here, however,
permanent damage, aside from the re-
ported loss of the unpicked cotton,
seems to be centred in the States Of
Georgia, Florida and Louisiana. From
the Southwest and from the range
country between the Mississippi and
the Rocky Mountains conflicting esti.
mates of damage to the cattle industry
are received. The evolution in cattle
raising methods of late years, however,
seems likely to operate, except possibly
in the State of Texas, to prevent the
damage mounting up, as it would IN
the early days of the industry, the
modern system OF feeding cattle having
prevented much injury, which in
former times caused the losses on the
Western ranges to reach high figures,
From Georgia come reports of heavy
damage to the peach trees, while from
Florida advices are that growing vege-
tables in the northern part of the State
have oil been killed, and that the
orange industry has sustained losses
only second to those inflicted in the
great freeze some years ago. Louisiana
reports are of a total loss in the orange
industry, Of vegetable crops destroyed
and of heavy damage to the sugar cane
that State of which there is any record.
A beneficial feature is the practical
elimination of any damage from yellow
fever next summer as result of old
infection. An important item of
Southern news is the number of re-
ports Of damage TO the oat crop, while
it is conceded that wheat quite
generally escaped. In the northern
part of the Southern States, partieu-
larry in Maryland, Virginia and North
Carolina, there is a tendency to mini
mize the damage, reports being that
vegetation was not sufficiently ad-
vanced to be injured by the cold"
Dun's Review for last week says
No fictitious demand has caused the
rise in grain, for the exports continue
SO heavy in wheat and corn that the
advance of 314c in wheat is abundantly
justified, and the rise of 36c in corn
seems scarcely enough for the occasion.
Atlantic exports have been retarded by
the blizzard, but have been 1896 us
bushels, flour included against 3, 142,-
057 last year, and for the crop year
thus far the exports, including -four,
have been 1856, 1877, TAO bushels, against
143, ia, 142 last year. When it is re-
membered that the exports of corn are
almost as large as the largest ever
known. there is reason for astonish-
ment at the continued foreign demand.
That it persists in spite of the strong
advance in prices here since Septem-
bel LIST, is most encouraging. 1t is
obviously impossible to judge how far
it NAV co.