The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1902-04-11
BIG WHEAT
CROP PREDICTED.

| n idTIIltIS ulC tStilIltlStl w INV
seeded last fall p 600, 900 acres Of winter
wheat, 900, 900 acres more than the pre-
vious year This will probably offset the
damage done to the wheat crop by the
long ,irouth.of the fall aud winter, and care
| full inquiry in the wheat producing States
| gives reason to believe that the crop OF
this year will be as large rs the record.
making crop of last year.
| Washinot authorities announced in
December that the condition of winter
| was 500 per cent, and, with 100000
| acreage, this would have meant a crop APP
preaching 45S,OO0,0O0 bushels, against
| 4OO, OOO, 900 to 425 900 goo bushels harvest
ed last year All hope for such a huge
yield has, however, passed. The drouth
of the fall and early winter had even then
damaged the prospects very noticeably.
AS against the sc 20 per cent which rep
| resented the condition then, December,
| 1900, showed OF per cent, and Decem-
| Der, 1899, showed the same figure.
The drouth continued throughout Janu'
airy and February, but was broken in
March and the last four weeks have been
ideal weather in the whole West. A
painstaking survey of the present wheat
situation indicates that nature has made
some amends in these last four weeks fol
the earlier drouth and the imperiled wheat
prospects are, to a great extent, re-
| stored.
| The condition of the whole Pacific
| Coast is excellent, and Missouri, Illinois
and Nebraska promise high yields
| Missouri's acreage has increased by
100000 acres.
Government Crop Expert B. W. Snow
writing of the wheat outlook. says: "Fo
six weeks or more crop complaints have
been numerous and positive from locali
ties in nearly every section of the West
ern belts. At the same time denials o
serious injury have been equally positive
in character, leaving the situation con
fused The truth lies between the two
extremes, yet conditions are such that tn
partisans of each theory have some basi
for their opinion.
''In all the territory east from the Mis-
souri, river there was wide diversity ii
the plant development shown last fall ant
as result, when tie snow disappeared
this spring the fields were uneven and rag
| ged in appearance, presenting an exceed
ingly poor outlook. In many parts of thu
Ohio Valley fields looked bare and CAV
the impression that the plant had beer
| killed out That such is not the case i
now becoming apparent, as reviving tol
growth everywhere shows that the root
are intact.
"The present moisture supply is general
ly sufficient everywhere. There was les
than the usual winter rainfall, and thi:
condition, following a summer marked b,
long, hard drouths, has left only a small
reserve of moisture in the subsoil. Rain
fall during March was sufficient to sup
ply all current needs, leaving the surface
in excellent shape, but not sufficient tt
renew the exhausted reserves of the sub
soil.
"This leaves the wheat crop dependen
to an unusual extent during its period 6
growth upon frequent and copious rains
and it is this necessity for an unusua
amount of moisture pro perly distribute
throughout the next nine weeks that con
stitutes the one real crop menace now il
sight A dry period will this year SER
ously jeopardize the CROP
| SECTIONAL FAVORlTISM.
The most scandalous provision of tn
Shipping Subsidy bill, as amended an
passed by the Senate, says the Baltimor
Sum- is found in Section 10, which gives
bounty to New England fishermen, bu
omits to grant a Ike favor to the equal
meritorious fishermen Of the Chesapeak
BAY and North Carolina coast. Not onl
is bounty of So ton given to New Eng
but 81 a month is added to the wages Q
the crews of vessels engaged in this al
legged "deep sea" fishing. The thing
preposterous. The Government has n
right to pay the wages which shipowner
owe their crews or if it has the right t.
do it the crews of the shipping engage
in fishing all along our coast should b
equally favored. The provision of Sec
ton 10, here referred to, runs as follows
ITO citizen of the United States servin
as member of necessary and prope
crew of a vessel of the United States, doc
umented and engaged in deep sea fisherie
for at least three months during any on
: fiscal year, 81 per month during the tim
necessarily employed in the voyages o
such vessels The excuse for this is tina
the crews OF New England's fishing yes
sells are likely to be available for servic
aboard war vessels in case of need. Tn
deepsea fishing vessels are, it is said,
nursery for the navy. But the tisherie
of Chesapeake bay are equally nurser
for the naval service, as the Spanish Wa
demonstrated. The proposed sectiona
favoritism is outrageous.
The bill was put through the Senat
with unexpected neatness and dispatch
There are indications that it will not hav
smooth passage through the House,
fact, it may not be passed at all. Hor
Joseph Cannon, OF Illinois, is a Republi
J can statesman who generally knows wha
he is talking about. In speech in tn
House on Monday Mr.. Cannon pithily re
marked that "the grants from the treas
ury proposed by that bill were not i
sight" Mr.. Cannon is not a prophet no
the son of a prophet. 1t may well be true
however, that in this case his brief obsel
. walton foreshadows the death in the Hous
of the bill giving shipowners a grab at th
national pork" barrel. Out in the Yves
the ship subsidy idea is no more popula
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