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THE FARMEll'S MAGAZINE, 



wretched condition, and what time the wheats will take, 

 and when they will be fit to grind, is difficult to say. 

 Where the thrashing machine has tested the yield of wheat 

 the farmers grumble sadly, and all say it is wanting of 

 quantity and quality. There needs no hesitation in saying 

 that the wheat crop is below the average of years. Still 

 there is a bright side to this otherwise gloomy picture. The 

 weather has been cold, and prevented the sprouting of grain, 

 so that the whole will be capable, sooner or later, of supply- 

 ing the wants of the human family. This indeed is cause 

 for great gratitude, for had the weather been warmer and 

 sprouting consequently general, it would indeed have been 

 disastrous to the farmer and country at large. We, too, 

 have an abundance of old wheats on hand — the surplus of 

 two bountiful years. In addition we have heavy supplies 

 of foreign wheats, so that hitherto there has been no great 

 temptation for the millers to make use of the new ; and as 

 the period of the year is so far advanced, we may fairly 

 reckon that only ten months' supply is needed for the 

 coming year, reckoning from harvest to harvest. The spring 

 corn crops on all dry soils have been gathered bulky ones, 

 on cold wet ones the reverse. A good many beans are still 

 outstanding, and will be wanting in quality. Our pastures 

 are scantily supplied with grass, and the aftermath very 

 indifferent. The turnip and mangel crops are very light 

 ones, and will afford little food for a winter's supply. The 

 potato crop is sadly diseased ; to what extent it is difficult 

 to say, but enough to raise the value of them to a very high 

 figure. Our cattle markets are completely glutted. The 

 needy farmer is apparently obliged to bring stock to mar- 

 ket in lieu of corn, to raise money to meet the autumnal de- 

 mand. This is our interpretation of the great change, for 

 we cannot see why a plenty should so soon become apparent 

 with the immense consumption going on of animal food, 

 Who will say that in a few months there may not be a 

 strong zeaction, and that prices may not again be as high 

 as ever.' Our corn markets are well supplied, but the new 

 wheats are unfit for use without a heavy mixture of old, 

 home or foreign. Barleys are complained of as malting 

 badly, and several have desisted from doing so until the 

 frost shall have seasoned the grain. Our labour market, if 

 so we may designate it, as an article regulated by demand 

 and supply, has been more abundant, and the protracted 

 harvest has given the farmer the advantage in the bargain. 

 The appointed days for the hiring of servants for the coming 

 year is at hand, and we prophesy, if allowed to do so, that 

 wages will be lower. — Oct, 24. 



SUTTON BRIDGE, near Wisbech, Lincolnshire, Oct. 

 24. — We have been compelled to defer our harvest report 

 nearly a month later than usual, from the backwardness of 

 the season ; and even now there are some wheat and oats 

 and nearly all the bean crops yet in the fields. The wheat 

 crop planted well, and even up to the blooming time we had 

 strong hopes of a favourable result ; but by the latter end 

 of July it was seen, and then reported on by us, that most 

 serious injury had commenced, arising from a general blight- 

 ing and mildewing ; this, a want of sun, and continued cold 

 rains, led to a most protracted and unfavourable ripening ; 

 the result is that our apparently abundant crop is much 

 damaged as to quality, weight, condition, and quantity, 

 and we conclude that the food-producing value of this crop 

 is one-fourth below an average. This crop never was — 

 except in 1816 — got in stack so unfit for thrashing, and it 

 mustbe months yet before we can get our usual supply fit 

 to grind. Variation as to quality and weight, and conse- 

 quently money value, never so great — say weight from 53 

 to 621bs- per bushel, and value 42s. to 62s. per qr. Of 

 barley the little grown is a good crop. Oats are very 

 abundant as to straw; but being much laid and injured 

 by the continued bad weather, became "thorough grown," 

 and ripened most unkindly ; quality and weight poor, but 

 yield good. The pea crop came up well, and promised most 

 favourably ; but want of warmth and drier weather, with 

 great injury from the green-fly, caused this crop to be half 

 destroyed, so that yield and quality are sadly deficient. 

 The bean crop never looked more luxuriant— some of the 

 stalks measuring over eight feet, and are well podded ; but 

 as they are still out in the fields, we cannot say what the 

 result may be. Potatoes were well put in and came up 



well ; but much rain and a want of sun have caused them 

 to be more diseased, and the produce less weight per acre 

 than was ever known — about four tons per acre, and not 

 over one-third fit lor human food. Turnip, mangold, and 

 coleseed crops were got in verjr late and badly, and so in- 

 jured and backened by the continued unfavourable weather, 

 that they are of very inferior feeding quality, and very short 

 of an average weight per acre. The !clover and hay crops 

 are a good bulk, but being gathered very unfavourably, 

 feeding quality is much deteriorated. Eddishes and grais- 

 keeping favourable as to quantity, yet wanting in quality. 

 We consider stocks of old English wheat /ery small, indeed 

 nearly exhausted ; but American and other foreign supplies 

 at present seem to meet all demands for mixing with our 

 damp new. Spkncer Skelton & Sons. 



HARVEST REPORT.— Plymouth, Oct. 25.— Although 

 the harvest in the late^istricts is not yet completed, there 

 can be unfortunately no doubt as to the nature of our report 

 respecting the yield of corn this year. Since our last report, 

 dated the 5tli of October, 1859, the weather has been un- 

 ceasingly unfavourable to the wheat crop, with the exception 

 of about a fortnight in June. The registers show a very un- 

 usually low temperature throughout the year, accompanied by 

 a large quantity of moisture except during about seven weeks 

 in April and M8y,when the weather was too dry and cold to be 

 very favourable. The harvest itself has been most disas- 

 trous, the cutting and carting of wheat having been effected in 

 haste during a few hours' sunshine, followed by rain^aud wind 

 of the most damaging description. There were about ten 

 days early in August, and about a week in September, only, 

 when some corn may have been carried in fair condition, 

 though then, perhaps, too hastily. We have, therefore, come 

 to the conclusion that the wheat crop is a veiy inferior crop 

 in quality, chiefly in consequence of its wretchedly damp 

 condition. The quantity also we estimate considerably be- 

 lovp an average, although it has been exaggerated by many 

 who have been misled by samples in which the berry has ap- 

 peared to be large, and full, in consequence of the moisture 

 with which it is soaked. The barley crop : this plant being 

 more hardy than that of wheat, would have been decidedly a 

 good crop had it been well secured, but it is very much in- 

 jured by the wet weather in liarvesting. The oat crop has 

 been rather favoured by the wet weather in this district, and 

 is a large crop ; but we believe it is partially ruined by the 

 wet harvest, and a great portion of it merely fit to take the 

 place of turnips. The crop of hay is badly saved, Jand 

 hardly fit for cattle, except about a third of it, which was cut 

 early, Potatoes are said to be the worst crop since 1846. 

 Turnips are yet very small, and almost a failure. Mangold 

 are a little better, but by no means good. It [would, there- 

 fore, appear that the produce of this country this year is a 

 very low one, and there is certainly a large deficiency to be 

 supplied by a foreign trade. — Collier Beoxhees. 



ABERDEEN, Oct. 25. — I can now speak more decidedly 

 about the wheat crop, having thrashed some, as I required 

 thatch. As near as I can calculate I should say that two- 

 fifths of the grain was shaken by the hurricane of the 3rd 

 of this month ; and from all»I can learn, I am confident I 

 do not overstate the loss of all the wheat that was uncut 

 that day, north of the Forth ; indeed, I know of several 

 much worse cases. But this is not all the loss : the best of 

 the wheat is gone, and what is left will not bring within 6s. 

 or 8s. per quarter of the price of fair quality of grain. My 

 nearest neighbour has ploughed up a field sown out with 

 grass, with the view.of taking another crop of wheat with 

 the shaken seeds. As I mentioned before, we have a very 

 fine crop of oats both as to quantity and quality ; of course 

 this only applies to what was cut before the 3rd. Barley 

 does not improve as we go on, but we have had no weather 

 to bring it into condition]: the bad colour is unalterable. It . 

 is only in the lower districts of this and the neighbouring 

 counties that harvest is finished : in many places, about the 

 top of Dee and Don, cutting has not commenced yet ; but 

 indeed we need not be surprised at this, when we see how 

 late some parts of England have been. I had a letter from 

 Lincolnshire a few days ago, which states that two of my 

 friends there had 550 acres of crop still standing in the fields, 

 and of course they are not singular. 



