270 



that it would commence the construction of the canal as soon as they 

 should be guaranteed the payment of this rate upon 50,000 acres for the 

 next four years. It was considered highly probable that the proposition 

 would be accepted by the farmers at a subsequent meeting. The con- 

 struction of this canal, it is said, would forever insure against the effects 

 of drought over 200,000 acres of land, and make that large tract the most 

 valuable laud in the State. 



EUST ON WHEAT-BLADES. 



Our correspondent in Ontario County, New York, writes as follows: 



The drought of the last half of May, continuing nntil the 23d of June, has materially 

 reduced the average condition of the spring crops, excepting corn and potatoes. Not one 

 in live thousand of the leaves of winter wheat in this county has escaped the red rust. 

 This commenced on the 25th of June, after the rain of the 24th, and the wheat fields now 

 wear a Vtrown and somher hue. Observing fiirmers regard this blighted condition of the 

 leaf at this critical period in the growth of the plant as most fortunate, insuring a plump 

 and perfect berry at maturity. The theory is, that when the leaf rusts just previous 

 to tlie ripening of the crop, the flow of sap in the straw is in a measure arrested, so 

 much so that thereafter no excessive flow can occur to burst its outer coatings and pro- 

 duce " black rust " — the only rust that seriously diminishes the yield and shrinks the 

 berry. The winter wiieat crop of Ontario County is therefore considered assured, and 

 t will De bountiful. 



WHEAT IN ILLINOIS. 



Mr. C. H. Murray, of Clay City, Illinois, writes us as follows, under 

 date of June 17: 



To-day about finishes one of the grandest wheat harvests that have ever been known 

 in^outhern Illinois. It is now safe in the shock, and almost beyond the possibility of 

 being injured in any way. The crop, both as to quality and quantity, is believed by 

 many to be superior to any ever before harvested in this part of the country. Many 

 fields will yield as many as 35 bushels per acre, while the general average will be 

 much above 20 bushels. The quality could hardly be better. The grain is clear and 

 Imost bursting with richness. The crop between this place and Saint Louis, and 

 hroughout Richland, Wayne, and Clay counties, is esx^ecially heavy. 



RAMIE. 



The interest in this new textile is increasing in the South. We hear 

 recently of many experiments in its cultivation this year on a larger 

 scale. Mr. F. T. De Lacroix, of New Iberia, St. Martin's Parish, Louis- 

 iana, is this season cultivating eleven acres of the plant, and is repre- 

 sented to be so well assured that it is a profitable crop that he proposes 

 next year to plant it more extensively. In New Orleans may now be 

 frequently seen dress-patterns, handkerchiefs, «&c., made of ramie, which 

 strongly resemble silk. 



BEET SUGAR IN WISCONSIN. 



A beet-sugar manufactory was established last year in Black Hawk 

 Valley, twelve miles from Sauk City, in Sauk County, Wisconsin, by 

 thirty-four German farmers, upon the cooperative principle. They 

 planted 180 acres in roots, one-sixth of which failed through drought j 

 the remainder averaged about ten tons per acre. The manufacturing 

 operations of the company were embarrassed by a variety of causes, 

 prominent among which was the delay in receiving machinery from 

 Europe, caused by the Franco-Prussian war. The manufacture was not 

 commenced till the middle of Februaiy, when it was found impossible 

 to work up the entire crop, the larger portion of which was fed to stock. 

 Under all these disadvantages some 40,000 pounds of sugar were made 



