Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-05-14
GREAT CROPS
ARE PROMISED

The government crop report OF last
week ought to give the country great
business impetus, and encourage cap
ital to invest, for the outlook is ex-
ceedingIy encouraging. TIE winter
killed wheat is smaller, the area under
cultivation broader, and the condition
higher, and these three conditions at
the same time have never been known
to exist heretofore. We have never
harvested q half billion bushels of
winter wheat, but we shall come quite
close to it this season. There is now
ample moisture to carry the grain to
harvest. now less than three weeks
away in Kansas and Texas. The form
er State indicates ITO, 000. 900 bushels
alone The spring wheat, corn, cot
ton. etc as we'll as fruits give splen-
did promise. and mean great wealth
for the farmer, assures the railroads of
tremendous traffic in freight. and means
an impetus to all business. Good prices
are assured the agrioulturists, as our
domestic consumption grows larger
each year, and there is likely to be
generous foreign demand
The government report places win
ter wheat at 50, compared with 91.3
on April last. SO . on May /. 1907
The figure is above the average for the
past ten years at this season. The acre
age abandoned during the winter was
( somewhat heavier than expected. but
the area left is 1920, 600 acres above
that in winter wheat year ago, and
the indicated yield is some 56 coo 600
| bushels greater. On the whole the re-
| port is satisfactory, showing as it does
! that the crop has passed through a
very critical month without as much
damage as usually occurs, emerging in
good condition to withstand warm
weather, thanks to the rootgrowth pro-
NOTED by the long moist spell.
The average condition of the rye
crop on May l was 9O.3 per cent of a
normal, as compared with S9.1 per
cent on April l, SS per cent on May l,
1907, and 49, 3 per cent. the mean of
the May l averages of the past ten
years. The average condition of mead
ow hay lands on May was 93.5 per
cent of a normal, as compared with
S3.6 on May /, 1907, and SO. 8 the mean
of the average on May 1 of the past
ten years. The average condition of
pastures on May 1 was 92.6 per cent.
of a normal, as compared with 79.6 on
May /, 1907, and ST. 8 as the mean of
the average on May of the past ten
years.
OF spring planting, 54.7 per cent. is
reported as having been completed Oh
May l, compared with A. per cent. on
May /, 1907, and 80. 6 per cent. on May
/, 1906
From last weeks percentage and
acreage the produce exchange statis-
tician figures a crop of 42s, Ala. 00O
bushels, against 410, 10, 900 ON the 1st
of April, according to the new method
of estimating introduced on the ex-
change this year, which takes account
of the five year average course of the
crop between the early government re
ports and harvest. BY the method of
estimating the harvest in force last
year the crop of winter wheat this
season should be 46l, l4l, 600 bushels,
against 4O5, l01, 900 on April l by the
old method.
At this time last year wheat ad-
vanced cents in a single day, and
there was talk of dollar wheat, because
the government report announced the
abandonment of 3, 533. 600 acres of win.
ter killed plant. This year the alb
audoned area is only /, ,3lS, 900 acres,
and the condition is per cent. bet
ter.
As there is considerable unemployed
labor this year, there will not be the
usual trouble to secure help to gather
the crop, the harvesting Of winter
wheat beginning within month, and
with two months, the crop of 1908 will
be garnered.
&c %l,n peaA