AND METEOItOLOGY OF THE YEAR IlELATIVE TIIEUETO. 305 



iufeiidr in leediiij,' qualities. Tiiiuip cicip biainled well, — iioue re-sown ; 

 weight fully 30 per cent, below average ; <juality fair. Pastures about 

 average growtli, but behind in feeding properties. Potatoes less than half 

 the crop, — early varieties the worst ; Victorias much better than Ivegents, 

 — Champions by far the best crop. The whole not bad with disease, and 

 kept well in pits. The cause of the great deficiency of the crops was 

 un(h)ubtedly the wet and sunless summer, especially the gieat want of siui. 

 In this district the spring was not so bad,— the seed was well put in, and 

 the land was really never very wet until the 13th of July, when such 

 tremendous torrents of rain fell as to drown everything ; and after that, the 

 extreme wet and want of sun continued up till 12th September, when 

 harvest began, after which good harvest weather, and g'rain and straw 

 secured in excellent condition. Potatoes also were stored in 'good order, 

 and have kept well in the pits. 



LiNLiTHciOWSHiRE. — "Wlieat half a crop, and very deficient in quality as 

 regards grain, but straw a fair bulk. Barley one-third deficient, and the 

 quality of the grain very inferior ; straw of average bulk. Oats — grain 

 good in ([Uality ; yield lather deficient ; straw abundant. Harvest a month 

 later. Hay crop average in (pumtity, but deficient in quality. Hay- 

 making season unfavourable. On clay soils turnips were almost a total 

 failure, and even on dry lands only one-third of a crop. A considerable 

 breadth was sown once and twice over again. Grass abundant, but deficient 

 in feeding (juality. Average yield of potato crop about half the average. 

 Disease general, but not to a great extent ; crop very irregular, according to 

 soil. Owing to the wet season weeds plent\'. Chickweed prevailed to a 

 great extent among all the green crops ; wild mustard not so prevalent as 

 usual. Turnip fly very destructive ; no other insect in unusiial numbers. 

 The season was very cold and wet all through, with a. continued want of 

 sunshine, and wheat especially suffered from that cause. Barley has turned 

 out very deficient in malting quality ; oats, on the other hand, are heavier 

 in weight than an average, and the grain of good milling quality. Potatoes 

 and turnips on clay soils were failures ; on dry soils they were better, but 

 still a veiy deficient crop. The harvest, from the crop ripening so slowly, 

 was very protracted, but where the crop was not hurried into the stackyard 

 it was secured in good order. 



Haddingtonshire.— Barley, 24 bushels, of poor quality. Oats, 44 bushels, 

 of good quality. Straw veiy fine, having been cut in a greenish state. 

 Harvest a jnonth later than usual. Meadow hay above average. The 

 turnip crop about a third of an average ; about one-half was twice so^\^l. 

 The seed brairded well, but the young plants were killed by frost and fly. 

 Pastures an average growth, but not good feeding quality. Potatoes about 

 a fourth of a crop ; no disease. 



Berwickshire. — Wlieat, average before 1878, 30 bushels ; in 1878, 

 28 bushels ; and in 1870, 25 bushels. Straw a good crop, but deficient in 

 quality ; grain poor and of bad quality. The want of sun injured the wheat 

 crop very much. Barley — average before 1878, 42 bushels ; in 1878, 33 

 bushels ; and in 1879, 21 liushels. Straw a fair crop, but not up to the 

 average in quality, owing to the wetness of the season and want of sun ; 

 grain of a bad quality owing to same causes. Oats — average before 1878, 

 42 bushels ; in 1878 and 1879, 36 bushels. Straw an excellent crop, and 

 of good quality ; grain of good average quality. The wet season seemed to 

 have suited the oat crop well. Harvest was about a month later than 

 usual, beginning about third week in September. Cutting began, in 1878, 

 about the third week of August ; cutting generally begins about the second. 

 Aveek of August. After harvest did begin, in 1879, the weather kept fine, 

 and the crops were got in in good order as regards dryness. Hay crop, average 

 Lefore 1878^ 1^ tons ; in 1878, Ij tons ; and in 1879 1 ton. The crop in 



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