636 
Report  on  Wheat-Mildew. 
43  lbs.  a bushel.  On  the  15th  of  July  in  that  year  I inspected 
all  my  crops,  in  company  with  a friend,  who,  after  walking 
through  every  field,  asked  me,  “ What  is  the  greatest  crop  of 
wheat  you  have  ever  grown?”  I said:  “In  1863  and  1864 
I had,  on  an  average  of  the  whole  farm,  50  bushels  an  acre, 
within  a very  small  fraction.”  “ Is  there  any  reason  why  you 
should  not  have  as  much  this  year  ? ” said  he.  “ None  but  the 
uncertainty  of  the  weather.  However,  I think  I am  safe  now 
for  5 quarters  round,”  was  my  reply.  Three  days  later,  having 
heard  a rumour  that  mildew  had  been  seen  in  the  neighbourhood, 
I went  over  the  same  ground  and  found  every  field  attacked 
with  the  disease.  The  result  was,  that  I grew  barely  25  bushels 
of  wheat  to  the  acre,  and  that  of  wretched  quality.  What  had 
been  throughout  the  spring  and  summer  the  best  and  most 
promising  crop,  yielded  barely  20  bushels  of  53  lbs.  each  ( = 17| 
bushels  of  60  lbs.).  I sold  this  wheat  at  Is.  a stone,  and  realised 
31.  16s.  an  acre,  and  the  straw  was  literally  worthless.  It  would 
not  be  difficult  to  find  instances  of  even  more  serious  loss  than  this. 
On  one  farm  of  fairly  good  land,  which  I know,  the  average 
value  of  the  wheat-crop  was  only  21.  15s.  an  acre,  a sum  which 
did  little  more  than  cover  rent,  rates,  and  taxes.  In  some 
instances  the  corn  was  never  threshed,  but  thrown  in  sheaf  to 
the  pigs  ; and  probably  many  farmers  would  have  done  a good 
stroke  of  business  if  they  had  set  fire  to  their  most  mildewed 
crops  and  burnt  them  as  they  stood. 
If  we  estimate  that  throughout  the  district  of  which  I have 
spoken  the  wheat-crop  was  damaged  to  the  extent  of  4/.  an  acre, 
we  have  an  aggregate  loss  to  the  farmers  of  that  district  amount- 
ing to  600,000/.  on  the  wheat  alone,  leaving  out  of  sight  the 
damage  done  to  other  crops. 
Happily,  such  visitations  as  that  of  1881  are  not  frequent,  and 
we  must  go  back  some  60  years  to  find  such  a general  and 
complete  destruction  of  the  corn-crop.  One  of  the  oldest 
farmers  in  the  Isle  of  Ely  tells  me  that  he  remembers  only  one 
such  year,  and  that  was  “somewhere  in  the  twenties”  (1820- 
1829)  ; but  very  considerable  damage  has  frequently  been  done 
by  this  disease.  Within  my  own  recollection  the  years  1850, 
1852,  1855,  1859,  1860,  1865,  1872,  1875,  1877,  1878,  1879, 
1880,  1881,  were  years  of  mildew,  which  was  sometimes  widely 
spread,  and  sometimes  only  locally  and  partially  developed. 
It  is  probable  that  no  part  of  England  suffers  so  much  and  so 
frequently  from  mildew  as  the  low  lands  of  the  Eastern  Counties, 
but  there  are  many  districts  where  the  disease  is  well  known  and 
dreaded.  Nor  is  it  confined  to  this  country  or  to  this  quarter 
of  the  globe.  It  is  said,  I know  not  with  what  truth,  to  have  been 
