The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-06-01
Heat Marks Expected to
ToppIe as Temperature
Goes on Climbing.
FARM LANDS IN PERIL
Vegetation Is Burning Up,
Says Expert; Hope for
Rain Slight.

Record breaking tempera-
lures and a serious deficiency
in rainfall today threatened
Indiana crops with virtual
destruction.
The crops, already harmed greatly
by the drought, we're imperiled even
further as the sum-. beaming with
mid-August intensity, boosted the
mercury early this afternoon to
equal the all-tine June l record of
95, set in 1895. The record was ex-
pected to toppl~ later in the day.
AS Indianapolis sweltered in the
unaccustoned heat, seeking shady
spots and cooling drinks, j. H. ARM
ington, local meterologist, gave little
hope of relief in the next thirty
six hours.
Crops Face Destruction
Although increasing cloudiness
and possibly unsettled conditions
we're forecast for tomorrow, no rain
and little possibility of lower ter1-
peratures we're seen for tomorrow.
If the drought continues very
long, all crops in the state will be
burned up, according to E. G. Faust.
Indiana Farm Bureau official and
editor of the Hoosier Farmer.
The deficiency in precipitation in
May equaled that of the great
drought two years ago. Only go
inches was the average rainfall in
the state. Veedersburg reported
only 20 inches.
"A friend of mine who just has
returned from the northern part of
the state tells me that this section
looks like a paradise beside the
north" Mr.. Faust said. ut has
rained there even less than it has
here.
THE southern part of the state. is
little better off. They have had
two pretty good rains there recently
and got two inches of rain along the
Ohio not so long ago."
Pastures to Be Ruined
The pastures in the Indianapolis
vicinity will be ruined if the
drought continues three or four
more days, Carl Hedges of the
Indiana Dairy and Poultry Pro-
ducers Exchange said today.
The milk supply here is beginning
to fall off and if the sun continues
unbroken by rains, indications point
to a shortage in supply and rise in
milk prices, Mr.. Hedges said. Butter
prices already have been raised on
the Chicago market.
Mr. Hedges estimated the general
damage of the drought in the
indianapolis area as more than
S1,OOO,OOO.
The monotony of languid skies
infuriates farmers who stand by
helplessly as the sun continues to
wither and devastate their crops.
There seems to be little possibility
of saving the hay crop, he said.
Last Rain on April Is
The total amount of deficiency in
precipitation in this area to date
Is 9.86 inches, an alarming sign of
the drought The last good rain
was April Is, forty-fve days ago.
Since that time the rainfall has
been brief and offered only slight
temporary relief. A frost last week
damaged crops to some extent, the
weather bureau reports.
Mr.. Faust declared that, in this
section of the state, oats has been
most severely injured with grass,
wheat and corn next in that order.
THE oats crop is almost a total
loss" he said. though a good rain
might help some. Corn is. the best
off of any of the crops. It was
planted early and seems to have
gotten and held moisture. Wheat
has been hurt considerably in the
north, but not badly-yet-here."
He explained, however, that
wheat now is in the filling state, its
kernels swelling, and that it needed
rain for proper development.
1.-The hay crop is short" he re-
ported, "and I believe it's past the
stage where rain will help it a lot.
There's about a half crop of alfalfa
and clover and timothy have been
hurt"
Mr.. Faust's fears and predictions.
echoed for other sections of the
middle west by agricultural experts
in other cities, were intensified by
the weather bureaus dolefui proph-
ecy of continued heat.