294 



phan : Condition excellent, but in some places poor seed has made a thin stand. Franklin 

 Every day hundreds of acres are destroyed by chinches ; a field within 20 rods of a wheat- 

 field stands no chance ; most of the corn-fields, however, are too far from the wheat to be 

 seriously injured. Jackson : Chinches at work. Lyon : Chinches in corn ; no rain since 

 May 19. Linn : Damaged by chinches. Montgomery : Will suffer severely from chinches. 

 Morris : Threatened by chinches. Sumner : Threatened by chinches. Butler : Chinches 

 after the corn. Greenwood: Threatened by chinches. Osage: Suffering from chinches. 

 Wabaunsee : With ten days more of drought the crop will be a failure. Republic : More 

 than half sod-corn ; a very uncertain crop. Wilson: Cut down by chinches. Atchison: 

 Greatly damaged by chinches. Neosho: Stalks black with chinches; much will be de- 

 stroyed. Rice : Suffering from drought. 



Nebraska. — Lincoln: Backward, but looking well. Antelope: Magnificent. Adams : 

 Kemarkably good. Burt : Retarded by rain and hail. Cass : Looks fair, but needs rain . 



California. — Sacramento : Affected injuriously by the unnsuaily cold and backward 

 season. 



Oregon. — Clackamas: Injured by excessive rains ; difficult to keep down weeds. 



Utah. — Saw Pete : Prospect good. 



WHEAT. 



The average coudition of winter- wheat for the whole country is 104. 

 The most favorable conditions of growth were found in several of the 

 States in which other crops suffered most severely. Arkansas the raaxi- 

 inum, 144; Tennessee, 119 ; West Virginia, 118; Kentucky, 117. In these 

 States a severe and destructive drought, commencing shortly before 

 wheat-harvest, gave to tliis grain a fine opportunity for ripening tho- 

 roughly, but told fearfully upon all spring and summer crops. In the 

 Middle States the crop was generally above average, and in the States 

 north of the Ohio nearly or quite average. Ohio, where drought has most 

 prevailed, shows the highest average, 105. West of the Mississippi 

 the crop was generally very good, and above average, except where late 

 sowings were caught by cliinch-bugs, which, with other causes, reduced 

 the average of Kansas to 90. This plague was also felt in a few locali- 

 ties in Virginia and Xorth Carolina, but the crop in the southern wheat 

 States generally showed a considerable margin above average, though 

 Texas reached only 84. In i^ew England the small acreage of winter- 

 wheat was somewhat injured by winter-killing. The Fultz wheat, from 

 seed furnished by the Department, is favorably reported in Chester, 

 Pennsylvania, but rusted badly and yielded lightly in Talbot and Calvert, 

 Maryland. In Buckingham, Virginia, it excelled all other varieties ; in 

 Augusta it ripened several days before any other ; in Madison it retained 

 its prestige, as also in Bath ; but in Spottsylvania it yielded only a half 

 crop, and rusted badly in Dinwiddie. In Stanly, Xorth Carolina, binders 

 complain of the weight of the sheaves. In Fannin, Georgia, it was very 

 fine. In Knox, Tennessee it was hardy, vigorous, and productive, ex- 

 celling all other varieties. Tappahannock wheat is also reported as very 

 successful in several portions of the county, its occasional failures being 

 generally traceable to special abnormal conditions. 



Spring- wheat shows a general average of 96. In N'ew England it was 

 on the whole considerably above average, though backward in seve- 

 ral counties. In the few counties gi^owiug this crop in the Middle States 

 it is below average. In Ohio, Nebraska, and on the Pacific coast the crop 

 was above average. In the Northwestern States it especially suffered 

 from the ravages of chinch-bugs and other insects. In several counties 

 of Indiana this insect was demonstrating seriously ; in Morgan several 

 fields were destroyed and were plowed up to be put in other crops. Illi- 

 uois reports numerous casualties of similar character, and in those dis- 

 tricts of Wisconsin where droughts prevailed the same misfortune is 

 noted. In several localities in Iowa timely rains destroyed the young 



