249 



of that month, replanting, drought, and slow germination. In Lee, plant- 

 ing was not over on the first of June; in Marion planting was still in 

 progress; so in many other countries. In Wilkinson, from January 1 

 to May 1, there were fifty-five days of rain, four of snow, and only two 

 absolutely fair days. In Clark 16.7 inches of rain fell in April. The crop 

 made very little show above ground until late in May, and chopping out 

 was correspondingly delayed. As soon as showers came, and plowing 

 and chopping out were finished, a new impetus was given to growth. 



In Louisiana the overflow of the Mississippi overbore all other calam- 

 ities. An immense area was submerged, and the crops totally destroyed. 

 Some of the parishes were mostly under water. Our Madison corres- 

 pondent reports " where the water left the land, it is so hard that it is 

 impossible to plow." In fche eastern part of State the overflow of the 

 Pearl and Bogue Chitto Rivers caused much injury to plantations. In 

 Saint Mary, two-thirds of the area was submerged ; in Terre Bonne, more 

 than one-half; in Eichland, one-third. In the latter parish the rain-fall 

 reported for April is 20 inches. The rain was so heavy in Iberia as to 

 prostrate the plants and strip them of their leaves. The weather was 

 very dry for a month subsequent to the 25th of April. 



The crop is in better condition in Texas than elsewhere. The^stand 

 is more uniform, and the vicissitudes of the season less injurious. In 

 some counties there is complaint of injury by wet weather. The growth 

 is less advanced than usual, but the plant is generally healthy and the 

 fields clean. Our correspondent in Austin says cotton is a surplus 

 crop, supplies of other products being grown at home. The area planted 

 is fuUy equal to last year, as might be expected from the constant im- 

 migration received from other Statep. 



Arkansas has suffered much from the overflow of the Mississippi and 

 tributary rivers. The rains in April and drought in May injured the 

 crop in the uplands. Recent showers and sunshine have conspired to 

 give new vigor to the plant, and the prospects are brightening. 



The season has been very unpropitious for cotton in Tennessee. Little 

 was planted till May, and in some places not a row had been worked 

 on the 1st of June. There is much complaint of poor stands and un- 

 promising appearance. Over 17 inches of rain in April fell in Knox- 

 ville. 



FEUITS. * 



The bloom of all orchard-fruits has been generally abundant. The 

 frosts of April, especially those of the 29th and 30th, were not too early 

 in the Southern States to be harmless. They proved exceedingly de- 

 structive to fruit-prospects throughout the entire region south of the 

 thirty -ninth parallel and the Ohio River. There are exceptions in the 

 vicinity of rivers and in other protected locations, but they are very few. 

 Scarcely a southern county makes so positive a statement as Boone, Ar- 

 kansas. "Almost every tree is loaded. Thousands of bushels of apples 

 and peaches will doubtless rot in the orchards." A reduced yield is the 

 nearly universal expectation, and many reports indicate less than a 

 fourth of an average crop, and some scarcely a tenth. In cases where 

 the germ escaped destruction by frost the young fruit is rapidly wither- 

 ing and falling off to a very discouraging extent. 



In the Eastern States the bloom is generally quite full, but the 

 fruit was not developed sufficiently to make a report of condition 

 satisfactory. Reports from the fruit regions of Western New York, 

 Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and California are variable, 

 but of fully average promise. In Pennsylvania the prospect for fruit is 



