Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1901-08-23
CLIMATE AND CROP SERVICE.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURR.
Report OF Condition OF Crops Throughout
Maryland For The Week Ending
August Goth,

| August 2Oth.
Although the beginning of the week
was rather cool, the average temperature
| for the entire period was somewhat above
| the normal, maximum temperatures OF
| ooo being reached at many places on
Friday and Saturday.
Throughout the week the skies were
| largely covered with clouds. the atmos.
| phere continued humid. and showers
were of frequent occurrence The distri.
button of rainfall was IRE egular, some dis
tricts receiving nearly three inches, others
less than an inch. The week as whole
was not favorable for the prosecution OF
farm work. owing to the prevalence OF
| rains, and the excess OF moisture has, in
most cases, become a deuiment rather
help to the growing crops.
Wheat threshing is not yet finished,
and only slight progress was made dur
| ing the week, owing TO the continued
damp and rainy weather. Reports OF
| sprou,ing in the shock are again being
received from the districts where the
wheat remains in the fields. AS hereto
fore, the yields are mostly poor where
| thTeshing has disclosed results. Some
rye is still in shock. The hay harvest is
| practically finished, and some second
| crop clover was cut for seed during the
week. The young clover and grass are
| doing well in all localities, and pastures
are also generally fine throughout the
| entire section.
Fall blowing has been finished in a
| few districts and is now well under way
in most places, although operations have
| been much delayed by the saturated state
| of the soil where the rainfall has been
| heavy. Corn still promises most ex-
cellent yield throughout the section.-
Temperature and moisture conditions
have been highly favorable for quite a
| lengthy period. but local damage by high
winds is reported for the past week, and
in some of the eastern counties the rains
added to the injury by badly washing
the fields. On the whole, however, the
losses have been of minor nature. -
Generally the ears are filling well, and
| from present prospects the yield OF fodder
will be unusually large.
Reports regarding the tobacco crop
state that the weather has been gener-
ally unfavorable. Although the outlook
is quite good in some places, there has
been too much rain for the best develop
ment of the crop, especially for that
grown on light lands. The humid
weather has interfered with curing, in
some places to serious degree. Peaches
have continued TO suffer from the rains,
which has caused increased rotting of the
| fruit. The We stern counties are begin
ming to ship to the markets, while the
season in the eastern counties is well
under way. The damp and cloudy
weather has caused the fruit to ripen
more slowly than it would under the in
fuence of hot sunshine. Apples are gen
orally scarce and poorly developed. only
few sections reporting good yields in
| prospect. Plums are plentiful and OF
good quality. Pears are fair to abund-
ant in the northern-central and in the
western counties.
Potatoes are being dug, and in some
cases fairly good yields are reported,
though there is tendency to large vines
and small tubers. The rainy weather
has delayed digging somewhat. and has
caused some roiting. Tomatoes are gen.
orally scarce, and in the northern count.
les are almost a failure, although the
vines look healthy. In parts Of the
southeastern counties some damage has
been done by flooding rains. while in
other parts of the same counties injury
was prevented by ditchirg. Melons have
suffered in the western counties from
blight and aphis, some fields being prac-
tically ruined; the prospects are more
promising in the southern and eastern
counties where they are being shipped to
market. They are being shipped in
smaller quantities from the northern and
western counties. Sweet corn is OF good
quality. Garden truck is plentiful and
of good quality. except that cab bage ha:
been injured to some extent by worms
Celery is nearly ready for market. Swee
potatoes are growing rapidly.