646  Report  on  Wheat-Mildew. 
and  I must  leave  them  for  observation  and  investigation  in  the 
future. 
I.  Districts  and  IV.  Situations. — In  my  returns  24  counties 
are  represented,  8 lying  in  the  Eastern  Division,  9 in  the  South- 
eastern and  East  Midland,  6 in  the  Western  and  South-western, 
and  1 in  the  Northern  and  North-western  districts.  But  some 
counties,  as  may  be  expected,  are  represented  by  a much  larger 
number  of  returns  than  others.  It  is  impossible  from  these 
replies  to  form  any  idea  as  to  the  extent  to  which  different 
districts  suffer  from  mildew.  In  almost  every  case  the  disease 
is  recognised  as  an  occasional  visitant,  but  several  correspond- 
ents (Nos.  4,  27,  42,  44,  46,  48,  52,  56,  57,  63,  74,  75)  seem 
never  to  have  had  any  serious  experience  of  it.  These  fortunate 
farmers  hail  from  Berks,  Devon,  Hereford,  Herts,  Hants,  Kent, 
Leicester,  Lincoln,  Norfolk,  and  Sussex.  On  the  other  hand, 
representatives  of  Beds,  Berks,  Bucks,  Cambs,  Cornwall,  Devon, 
Dorset,  Hants,  Huntingdon,  Kent,  Lincoln,  Norfolk,  Somerset, 
Sussex,  Wilts,  seem  to  have  suffered  seriously.  Arthur  Young’s 
returns,  which  I have  noticed,  came  chiefly  from  the  same 
counties  as  mine,  but  six  counties  are  represented  among  them 
which  have  supplied  me  with  no  information.  Incidentally,  I 
gather  from  these  that  in  1804,  parts  of  Suffolk,  Surrey,  Glou- 
cester, Worcester,  Stafford,  Monmouth,  and  the  West  Riding  of 
York,  were  sufferers  from  mildew.  In  my  returns  the  worst 
accounts  from  districts  outside  of  the  Fen  country  come  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  Hythe  in  Kent,  Hampshire,  the  Downs  of 
Wilts  and  Berks,  the  lowlands  of  Somerset,  from  North  Devon, 
North  Cornwall,  and  the  Wolds  of  Lincolnshire.  It  would  seem 
that,  next  to  low-lying  lands,  those  of  great  elevation  and  exposed 
situation  suffer  most  ; rvhile  the  slightly  elevated  lands  are 
the  happy  medium.  Now,  undoubtedly  mists  and  a saturated 
atmosphere,  the  conditions  under  which  the  mildew  spores  ger- 
minate freely,  are  more  common  in  the  vales  and  on  the  heights 
than  in  the  middle  zone  between  the  two  ; and  the  fact  of  mildew 
being  more  felt  in  these  situations  may  seem  to  support 
Mr.  Carruthers’s  conclusion  that  it  depends  entirely  upon  the 
atmospheric  condition  at  the  time  when  the  spores  are  in  the 
air,  to  determine  whether  a crop  shall  be  destroyed  or  escape  ; 
but  this  would  be  a hasty  generalisation,  and  it  will,  I think, 
appear  clear  hereafter  that  there  are  other  predisposing  causes 
than  this  liability  to  moist  and  misty  atmosphere. 
II.  Years  of  Mildew. — I have  stated  at  page  636,  that  certain 
years  within  my  recollection  were  years  of  mildew  in  the  Fen 
country.  My  correspondents  specify  as  a rule  only  very  recent 
years;  but  Mr.  Attwater  (No.  78)  speaks  of  1839,  1864,  1865, 
1866,  as  bad  years  in  Wilts.  Mr.  T.  Duckhain,  M.P.  (No.  42), 
