THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



371 



tbem up. A third farmer hns plou^^iied up a cousiderable 

 part of his crop of swedes, and there are many similar cases. 

 All unite in deacribinp; the promise for mangolds and swedes 

 very bad. We fancy the plants look fresher during tliis 

 showery weather, but the season is too advanced to bring the 

 root crops up to nearly an average weight. This untoward 

 season must operate seriously against small farmers, and any 

 whose necessities comix;! them to bring their corn to market 

 early. Wheat luusst be sold at a considerable sacrifice, to 

 allow for kiln-drying; and the only barley tit to thrash be- 

 fore Christmas will be that which was carted previous 

 to the 15th, and tliilcheii or otherwise protected at 

 once. Grass-keepiag is abundant, but the damp season 

 makes the grass washy, and the stock does not thrive well. 



; Tiie mortality in lambj continues. The bad promise for winter 

 food causes store sheep to be lower in price than for some time 

 I past. All kinds of store beasts are also easier to buy. Many 

 i ingenious plans are sug^cested by writers in the Times for arti- 

 ficially drying corn in wet seasons, but unfortunati:ly they will 

 not pay to adopt. If by incurring additional expense we felt 

 ' certain of a proportionate price for our wheat, we might be 

 • tempted to try some of the experiments suggested ; but when 

 ' we know that the harvest in the United States has been the 

 I finest ever kno*n, well gathered, and that wheat can be 

 j poured into England from America for 45s. per qr., it would 

 be folly for us to incur expenses for aitificially drying our 

 I wheat at a probable cost to us, including the growth, of 603. 

 ^ to 70a. per qr.— Sept. 22. 



REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE 



DURING THE PAST MONTH. 



The opening of the past month was all that could 

 be desired, and for a full fortnight harvest work 

 proceeded at a rapid rate, the welcome sunshine re- 

 viving everybody's hopes, and hastening the ma- 

 turity of the yet unripened pieces of corn ; but in 

 the third week the weather became broken, and 

 closed with heavy rains and furious storms. The 

 farmers' anxieties were thus renewed — partly in the 

 southern and midland counties for the yet un- 

 secured sheaves and second crop of grass, but more 

 seriously in the northern counties, where the bulk 

 of the harvest remained in the field ; but again we 

 hope a favouring Providence will intervene, and 

 dissipate our fears. The samples of wheat yet to 

 hand, though better than might have been expected, 

 fall short of an average quality, and in many places 

 the yield is equally bad ; but no fair estimate can 

 be made till this lingering season is brought to its 

 termination. Potatoes in this country have not 

 improved. Mangold is scarcely half grown ; but 

 the quantity of grass, consequent upon the rain, 

 though of poor quality, may help farmers to get 

 their live stock well through winter. Ireland, as 

 we feared, has found the potato crop miserable, and 

 maize has consequently risen fully 5s. per qr., and 

 the demand must increase with the failure of the 

 potatoes ; while the corn crops there yet outstand- 

 ing are in jeopardy. 



During the fine weather, prices of wheat were 

 rapidly receding, the value of old lessening 

 them about 6s. per qr. ; but half this has since 

 been recovered by the return of wet. By the 

 weekly avenges the reverse would appear ; but as 

 at all times they may be made up two or three weeks 

 after the real business done, so in cases of great 

 and sudden fluctuations they do not indicate the 

 sensitiveness of markets or their actual position. 

 One thing is certain, that our stock of old English 

 wheat is at the lowest point, the last weekly sales 

 showing only 49,184 qrs. against 112,236 qrs. this 

 time last year, when the inducement to send to 

 market was 21s. per qr. more, and much of this 

 small quantity reported was of the new crop. We 

 must, therefore, be greatly dependent on foreign 

 stores for mixing with the new wheat, which in its 

 best samples only makes an inferior 'quality of 

 flour. Weights, as yet, have greatly varied, some 



parcels not being over 50lbs. per bushel, others 

 reaching to 62lbs., and occasionally to 63lbs. ; but 

 till the bulk gets drier in stack, we take the ave- 

 rage will rule between 571bs. and 58lbs. per bushel. 

 In Northern Germany the crops are mostly gathered; 

 the yield is considered fair, but the weight and con- 

 dition bad. It is the same in Belgium and Hol- 

 land ; but France shows great differences, from the 

 extent of the country, being like ourselves, in the 

 north, as to quality, but superior in the south, and 

 heavy. Neither Italy nor Spain have any excess ; 

 but Southern Russia has both quality and quantity, 

 as well as the United States ; so our own deficiencies 

 seem likely to be provided for ; but we entertain 

 no such views as some — that America could alone 

 send 9,000,000 qrs. This would require 3,000 

 ships, of 600 tons each, to bring it ; but it is possi- 

 ble we may, if prices suit, get one-third this quan- 

 tity during the season. Egypt, too, is well off this 

 year; but the quality of that country is more fit for 

 Ireland than for England, as to the manufacture of 

 flour. Great differences of value must therefore 

 obtain for some time between new and old samples 

 both here and abroad, and foreign factors have 

 therefore been very firm in their demands for 

 granaried samples, knowing that every quarter will 

 soon come into use. 



Prices abroad have been unsettled both by the 

 fluctuations here and the state of the weather in the 

 several countries ; but the general tendency through 

 Germany, as well as in Russia, has been towards 

 decline ; and though the United States till lately 

 have had excited markets, the last European 

 advices influenced some decline. 



The following quotations are the most recent 

 from the places named : — At Paris old wheat was,, 

 for good quality, 52s. to j5s., new to 52s.; red at 

 Nantes 50s. to 51s. ; red at Groningen, 61 to 

 62lbs., 60s. to 61s. per qr., new irregular. Baltic 

 wheat at Antwerp, 6ls. 6d.; old at Louvain, to 

 64s., new to 58s.; fine Brunswick at Bremen, 59s. 

 6d. per qr. ; new at Hambro', 52 to 57lbs., 39s. 

 to 55s. jier 304lbs. ; fine old Saale and Holstein, 

 62lbs,, to 65s. per (jr. Wheat at Stettin was quoted 

 49s. to 56s. 6d. ; at Dantzic, 57s. 6d. to 60s. 6d., new 

 to 55s. per qr. Courish wheat at Riga was quoted 

 56s. 6d.; new Ghirka at Odessa, 62lbs., 43s. 6d, 



