The Mankato free press., 1903-08-14
RUST AND WET WEATHER
Both Have Injured Wheat and Barley
Along The Line.
Harvesting Is Now About Completed
in Southern Minnesota.
Corn Needs Badly the Benign Infu.
ence of Old Sol.
Hail Storm Story From Wiscoy That
Takes the "Bun"
From Wednesdays Daily.

The crop report for the territory along
the line of the North Western road west
of Winona for the past week shows lit.
tie change from the previous report
The greatest change is in Minnesota
where rust and wet weather has injured
the quality of the wheat. The wet wea
ther has also injured the quality of the
barley over the entire division from one
to two grades.
All the harvesting is completed along
this division with the exception of
wheat, flax and corn. Tt is expected that
the wheat harvest will be completed
within a week, fax will be harvested
within two weeks, but the corn harvest
will not be well under way inside of
forty days.
Good, clear, warm weather is needed
throughout the entire section for the
completion of harvest so that the grain
may be got in without damage. 1t is
also necessary that there be good wea-
ther so that the threshing may pro-
ceed without interruption. Threshing is
now general throughout southern Mime
sofa, and the machines will be kept busy
until snow flies.
Reports from country correspondents
are to the effect that since threshing
is well started it develops that the yield
is not so large as was expected. Wheat
averages along about twenty bushels
to the acre and barley from twenty-five
to thirty bushels. Much of the barley
is discolored so that the grade will not
be as high as was expected. While the
crop this year is not record breaker, as
was expected the whole situation may
be summed up as being good average
rather than poor average.
Good weather is absolutely necessary
for the corn crop. There must be con-
tinuous warm weather to bring it TO
maturity before the early fall frosts. As
the crop is fully two weeks behind under
ordinary conditions it would Just pull
through before the cold weather, but as
this season has been unusually cool there
is every reason to believe that frost will
come earlier than usual, in which event
the yield in this section will be badly
damaged
the corn crop outlook. Because of the
cool uanlp weather IHe SrOWIH OF Ule
stalks and leaves has been very rank.
This means that the amount of fodder
will be very large if the corn itself is
a failure. But it must be harvested
properly before it loses the greater part
of it's nutriment.
A correspondent in the e Wis
coy writes of a very severe nan storm
in that section on last Saturday. The
letter says that because of this storm
the corn and other standing crops are in
shreds. The hail fell in such quantities
that the daughter of ]. Clark gathered
a sufficient amount to make ice cream.
The cream froze splendidly and being left
in the freezer it remained solid until the
following day when it was used for re-
freshments for number of guests who
had assembled.
This storm must have covered only a
small section as no other reports of
damage caused by it have reached this
office, and letters from many of the cor
respondents in this county have since
been received -Winona Republican.