The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-07-10
COT TON IMPROVING
*lEs,e ha,~ n -- ILL., par.
Dry Hot Weather of Last
Week Brought It Out.
Early Corn is Tasssling Low, But The Late
Crop Is Better. Cutting and Curing Of
Tobacco lust Beginning.

The Crop Bulletin issued yesterday
by the Weather Bureau here, for the
week lending Monday, July Sth, says the
conditions which prevailed during the
past week appear to have been decid.
eddy favorable for farm work and for
growth of crops in nearly all counties
of the State, except where drought is
now beginning to be felt. The tempera-
ture averaged degrees daily above
the normal; the maximum varied from
80 degrees to 100 degrees every day of
the week, and the nights have beer,
quite warm. The amount of sunshine
was abundant.
Some very beneficial showers occur,
red in the central-northeast section on
Tuesday and Saturday evenings, and a
heavy rain on the End in Halifax and
Northampton counties with slight dam
age to crops. In general, however. the
week has been very dry, and gave
farmers favorable opportunity to kill
grass and place their crops in a better
state of cultivation. In sections where
the rainfall was not excessive during
June, especially in the eastern district,
drought is now beginning to injure
some crops, especially corn and gar
dens, and the ground is becoming dry
and hard over many counties which
hinders blowing and planting field peas
in stubble land.
Farmers have made very good use
of their time this week, in spite of
the scarcity of hands, and grass has
generally been brought under control;
many fields are now we'll cultivated,
and crops thereon have improved very
materially; lowland crops are still in
bad condition and many have been
abandoned.
Cotton has improved considerably
where properly cultivated; plants are
small, but healthy and vigorous and
blooms are more abundant; poorly cul-
tivated fields still show a yellow color.
Corn is being generally laid by; the
crop has rich green color and has
grown rapidly during the week; up
lands need rain and bottomland corn is
very poor; early corn is tasseling low,
but the late crop is better.
Cutting tobacco has just commenced
in a few eastern counties, and some
cures have been made; laying by the
crop has begun in the central district
there is some complaint of the lack of
sufficient moisture in the east.
Except some spring oats yet to be
cut, harvesting the small grain crops
is about over; most of the wheat, rye,
and oats have been housed, and thresh-
ing is underway.
Sweet-potato vines have all been
transplanted and are growing nicely.
Some peanuts have been laid by. FIELD
peas look we'll, and stubble land is be-
ing seeded to cow-peas where not too
hard to pillow.
Fruit is still falling considerably, and
the outlook for grapes is not very good.
Moving has begun is several counties,
with promise of fine yield of hay.
BAD CROP OUTLOOK FOR WAKE.
One of the first farmers in Wake
county, who was in Raleigh yesterday
in answer to a question as to the crops
in Wake, said:
II do not believe that on an average
enough corn will be made in Wake
county this year to last until Christ
mas. The bottom lands have been de-
stroyed by the floods and the upland
corn has been neglected in the effort
to save the cotton crop. The present
prospect does not Indicate over half
crop of cotton if tina much. 1t is abso-
lutely impossible that anything like an
average crop of cotton can under any
circumstances be made this season The
crop conditions are a long ways worse
than ! ever knew them since 1867. when
the farmers made scarcely any crop.
1.-THE expense of making the crop has
been twice as great as usual and the
farmers are in a position that is any
thing but encouraging or hopeful"
IN SOUTHERN WAKE.
Mr.. ]. 7. Judd, a leading farmer of
Southern Wake, who was in Raleigh yes
terday, says: my crop is at least one
third behind. The average is worse than
that. / haven't been troubled with grass
much. | have kept geese for years and
they have KILLED the grass in my crops
SUFFER FROM INTENSE HEAT.