FARMERS' REGISTER— DIARY OF THE WEATHER, &c. 



703 



Diary of the Weather at Fort Monroe, Old Point 

 Comfort, for March 1834—37° N. Lat. 



REMARKS. 



Diary of the temperature and state of the Weather 

 in March, observed at Shellbanks, Prince George 

 County— 37° 14' N. Lat 



Fair, or sunshine, f — cloiuhj, c — rain, r. 





1st 

 2d 

 3d 

 4th 

 5 th 

 6th 

 7 th 

 8th 

 9 th 

 10 th 



nth 



12th 



13 th 



14 th 

 1 5th 

 IGth 

 1 7th 

 18 th 

 1 9lh 

 20th 

 21st 

 22d 

 23d 



24 th 



25 th 

 26th 

 27th 

 28th 

 2'Jth 

 30th 

 31st 



34" 



56 



28 



30 



40 



52 



56 



64 



45 



33 



41 



45 



40 



35 



42 



57 



31 



44 



54 



60 



59 



30 



28 



51 



49 



40 



35 



41 



59 

 35 

 54 

 61 

 67 

 70 

 74 



44 

 50 

 65 

 55 

 62 

 48 

 49 

 60 

 66 

 72 

 72 

 53 



57 

 60 

 75 



50 



55 

 36 

 52 

 59 

 64 

 61 

 73 

 44 

 42 

 51 

 61 

 50 

 53 

 47 

 46 

 55 

 60 

 69 

 70 

 54 

 40 

 55 

 54 

 59 

 46 

 45 

 51 

 64 

 36 

 49 



sity, and of daily consumption, and the sale of so 

 much of the produce of the country as will pay 

 for those articles, in whole or in part. The activi- 

 ty and expansion heretofore so evident in all 

 branches of industry, can no longer be perceived. 



Our exporting merchants can engage in no 

 large operations. Those wliose funds are abroad, 

 cannot at the moment convert them into money at 

 home, unless at so heavy a sacrifice by the sale of 

 bills of exchange, as the temptation of a large 

 profit would alone induce ; and consequently, if 

 they purchase our produce, it must be at low 

 prices. On the other hand, the planter, or firmer, 

 is equally unwilling to be the party to make the 

 sacrifice, and of course an unusually small portion 

 of business is transacted. 



Another class of mercliants, whose funds are 

 scattered among their customers at home, cannot 

 make collections, because the price of produce is 

 low ; or if they have large stocks of goods on 

 hand, the diminished demand equally deprives them 

 of the usual means to meet their engagements. 



The commercial system, and consequently the 

 agricultural and the manufacturing, are heavily 

 depressed. Prudence induces some, and necessity 

 compels many, to suspend their usual operations. 

 The moving" power of capital is wanted, and all 

 parts dependant on it, are necessarily idle. Pov- 

 erty and want ensue, and these prevail to a great 



extent in those communities which heretofore have 

 exhibited the greatest industry. It is not the rich 

 who suffer most, under such circumstances. The 

 wealthy man, engaged in active business may (if 

 compelled to remain idle,) see his capital dimin- 

 ish ; but the poor man, who from the same cause 

 is deprived oi employment, must feel extreme pri- ' 

 vation. 



With a tariff modified to comparatively mode- 

 rate duties, such is the pressure on many of the 

 merchants, that they have ceased to import; and 

 others, to whom goods were shipped on consign- 

 ment, have in several instances returned them,, 

 ratlier than pay the duties, and incur the risk of 

 bad debts on their sales. The treble effect of this 

 is — first, to reduce the revenue ; secondly, to de- 

 prive us of the usual supply of useful commodi- 

 ties, (these acting more powerfully than a high ta- 

 riff—indeed, equal to a prohibitory one;) and 

 thirdly, to diminish the demand for our own pro- 

 duce, which would of course be shipped, to pay 

 for importations fiom abroad. 



Our millers have large quantities of flour on 

 hand, which cannot be sold unless at ruinous pri- 

 ces.^ It is true that the unprecedented lo^v ])rice * 

 of ^3 75 to .•^4 50 per barrel, induced some mer- 

 chants to speculate in New York, and caused a 

 small advance. 



Tobacco sells at $3 to $7. Cotton at 10| fo 



