1B6 
jOUMAL  op  MORiVOliLPUnP  AM  OOTPAgP  GAHDPMtL  iniuats.iM?. 
THE  CROPS  OF  1897. 
Having  arrived  at  the  beginning  of  August  we  are  now  in  a 
position  to  see  how  we  stand  with  regard  to  the  farm  crops  of  this 
year.  Of  course  devastating  storms,  like  that  which  has  ruined  our 
Essex  brethren,  may  come  upon  us,  or  we  may  have  a  harvest 
as  long  and  dreary  as  was  the  last,  still  we  can  now  judge  pretty 
fairly  of  onr  roots,  and  estimate  the  weight  per  acre  of  corn. 
The  correspondents  of  the  ^^Agricultural  Gazette  ”  have  furnished 
statistics  from  their  various  counties,  and  as  they  are  all  men 
who  know  what  they  are  talking  and  writing  about  we  may  feel 
certain  that  we  may  accept  their  views  as  correct  in  the  main. 
Northumberland  comes  first  in  the  list.  There  are  from  this 
county  eighteen  correspondents  ;  three  of  these  speak  of  the  Wheat 
crop  as  being  good,  four  as  an  average,  three  speak  of  it  as  below. 
We  hardly  call  Northumberland  a  Wheat-growing  district.  Of  the 
Oat  crop  eleven  write  of  it  as  under  an  average.  Ten  speak  well 
of  Barley,  and  as  harvest  is  late  in  this  county  there  is  still  time 
for  it  to  do  fairly.  Turnips  are,  as  a  whole,  looking  well,  but 
there,  as  well  as  in  other  places,  rain  is  needed.  Hay  seems  to 
have  been  fair,  and  well  got.  Similar  remarks  apply  to  Cumber¬ 
land.  Seeds  and  meadow  hay  are  reported  as  magnificent  in 
Westmoreland,  but  finger  and  toe  has  attacked  some  Turnips. 
Possibly  that  land  is  Turnip  sick.  Wheat  is  said  to  be  good  in 
Lancashire,  and  from  Durham  a  gentleman  writes  that  where 
phosphate  powder  was  applied  to  grass  the  hay  crop  has  been 
very  heavy.  The  majority  of  Yorkshire  correspondents  pronounce 
Wheat  to  be  good.  As  this  is  such  a  large  county  the  Barley 
accounts  vary,  but  the  general  idea  is  that  the  crop  is  an  average 
one.  Turnips  will  generally  be  good  if  rain  come  in  time. 
Where  Potatoes  are  grown  they  look  well — ^  e.,  as  a  field  crop. 
The  Wheat  crop  is  reported  as  light  and  short  in  the  straw  in 
Nottinghamshire,  while  Turnips  appear  to  be  good  ;  but  there  is  a 
cry  for  rain.  Barley  is  good  on  good  land  ;  the  less  said  about  the 
other  the  better.  There  appears  to  have  been  too  mnch  rain  in 
the  winter  for  the  Wheat  plant  in  Leicestershire,  and  there  is  too 
little  now  to  finish  off  all  crops.  Potatoes  and  Tarnips  suffering 
most.  Cheshire  gives  promise  of  a  big  Mangold  crop,  also  of  a 
good  average  yield  of  Potatoes.  Barley  is  regarded  as  better  than 
usual  in  Shropshire,  and  Mangolds  good  ;  but  finger  and  toe  and 
wireworm  are  at  the  Turnips,  these  and  pastures  being  “burnt  up.” 
Mr.  A.  P.  Turner  says  Barley  is  a  full  average  in  Hertfordshire, 
hay  splendid  in  quality,  and  Turnips  a  full  plant.  Basic  slag 
accounts  for  some  very  good  Oats  in  Worcestershire,  while 
Potatoes  and  Turnips  would  be  good  had  they  a  little  more 
moisture.  Early  sown  Barley  is  the  best  in  Warwickshire  and 
Northamptonshire  ;  this  happens  nine  times  out  of  ten  generally, 
but  many  people  will  not  believe  it. 
Wheat  is  reported  as  thin  in  Lincolnshire,  but  Barley  promises 
to  be  an  average  crop,  while  in  Cambridgeshire  and  Huntingdonshire 
Wheat,  Barley  and  Oats  are  said  to  be  good  average  crops  ;  Turnips 
and  Potatoes  want  rain,  but  Mangolds  like  the  heat.  Wheat  is 
given  as  below  the  average  in  Norfolk,  Barley  failing  for  want  of 
rain  which  is  also  much  needed  by  Turnips  and  Potatoes.  “  No 
wheat  straw,”  is  the  report  from  Suffolk,  though  the  yield  of 
grain  may  be  fair.  No  disease  among  Potatoes  so  far  and  Barley 
good. 
In  Hampshire  early  sown  Wheat  on  good  land  is  qnite  an 
average  crop,  elsewhere  below.  Barley  is  ripening  prematurely, 
and  Oats  would  have  preferred  more  moisture.  Tares  are  very 
good  ;  so  far  sheep  in  this  county  have  paid  well  this  year.  Potatoes, 
a  short  crop  and  disease  manifest.  In  Wiltshire  the  late  sown 
Barley  was  caught  by  May  frosts  which  the  earlier  escaped,  and 
rain  is  wanted  for  roots.  The  good  Turnip  crops  need  rain  in 
Bedfordshire,  and  Barley  is  coming  on  too  fast.  Wheat  is  said 
not  to  be  filling  well  in  Hertfordshire,  and  in  Bucks  it  is  thin 
and  storm-broken  in  many  places.  In  Oxfordshire  Wheat  and 
Barley  are  mostly  under  average,  but  better  tidings  come  from 
Gloucestershire  ;  and  Somerset,  which  has  much  grass  land,  sends 
a  grand  record  of  hay. 
Wheat  varies  from  very  good  to  very  bad  in  Berks,  but  Peas 
have  podded  exceptionally  well.  Barley  will  disappoint  the  growers, 
and  possibly  the  maltsters  too.  A  sad  record  of  crops  comes  from 
Essex,  through  destruction  by  hail,  but  early  Potatoes  have  been 
good.  In  Surrey  Wheat  is  said  to  be  10  and  Barley  15  per  cent, 
under  average,  but  Cabbage  has  done  well,  notwithstanding  the 
dryness.  Hops  are  regarded  as  being  50  to  75  per  cent,  of  an 
average  in  Kent ;  late  frosts  injured  early  Peas,  and  Turnips  are 
suffering  by  drought.  The  majority  of  observers  report  Wheat  as 
a  poor  crop  in  Sussex,  Barley  average.  Oats  short.  Most  Wheat 
is  given  as  an  average  crop  in  Dorsetshire,  and  Potatoes  look  well. 
Reports  are  not  very  bright  from  Devon  and  Cornwall,  except  as 
to  root  crops,  but  in  Monmouth  all  crops  are  said  to  be  up  to 
the  average,  except  one  or  two  lots  of  Oats,  so  Monmouth  is  to 
be  congratulated. 
WOEK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
We  are  glad  to  hear  of  refreshing  rains  having  visited  many  parts 
of  the  country ;  but,  alas !  all  districts  have  not  been  favoured  with 
them,  and  we  know  of  several  which  are  suffering  from  drought.  The 
heat  has  not  been  so  intense,  but  drying  winds  have  prevailed,  so  that 
at  the  present  time  there  is  little  or  no  moisture  within  4  inches  of  the 
surface.  The  effsct  on  Turnips  and  Potatoes  is  serious.  Showers  now 
would  be  of  little  avail ;  heavy  and  continnous  rain  is  required  both  for 
roots  and  pastures.  Grain  crops,  except  Oats  and  late  Barley,  hold 
their  own  fairly  well,  and  in  the  case  of  Wheat  we  can  see  an  improve¬ 
ment,  and  an  excellent  prospect.  Contrary  to  what  one  might  have 
expscted  harvest  is  not  approaching  very  quickly,  except  in  the  sunny 
south.  We  had  rather  it  had  come  up  to  time  generally,  for  the  work 
amongst  Turnips  is  so  nearly  complete  that  we  should  have  been  ready 
for  it  sooner.  However,  we  must  wait  and  begin  as  early  as  ordinary  _ 
common  sense  will  allow  us. 
Many  pastures  are  looking  dike  deserts ;  we  have  seen,  in  a  good 
country,  fields  with  nothing  in  them  to  hide  a  mouse,  and  the  question  of 
provision  for  our  stock  will  soon  be  a  serious  one.  We  have  a  good 
store  of  excellent  fodder  put  by  for  the  winter  ;  what  will  soon  exercise 
our  minds  more  will  be  how  to  keep  the  animals  until  that  time  comes 
without  trenching  on  the  winter  store.  What  a  contrast  this  all  is  to 
last  season,  when  everything  was  growing  fast  and  keep  was  almost  too 
abundant.  Streams  are  now  running  very  low  in  the  eastern  and  mid¬ 
land  counties,  and  many  ditches  are  dry  or  nearly  so ;  an  opportunity 
therefore  offers  itself  for  such  being  cleansed  at  a  reasonable  cost,  and 
should  not  bo  neglected.  Hedges,  too,  are  now  so  well  grown,  and  the 
wood  so  ripened  that  they  might  be  trimmed  pretty  closely  or  even 
scotched  without  damage. 
MBTSOBOLOGIOAL  OBSBBVATION8. 
Oamdbn  SquABB,  London. 
Lat.  Sl» la'SO"  N. ;  Long. 0°  8/  0"  W.;  Altitude  Ill  feet. 
Datb. 
9  A.M. 
IN  THB  DAT. 
1897. 
July. 
1  Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
1  Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
Ifoot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Bun. 
On 
Graia. 
Inohs. 
leg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inohr. 
Sunday  25 
29-885 
71-1 
61-4 
W. 
68-1  . 
77-9 
61-4 
126-8 
66-7 
0-076 
Monday  ....  26 
29-919 
67-0 
88-9 
W. 
66  9 
itri 
87-9 
116-8 
83-6 
0-096 
Tuesday  ....  27 
29-866 
63-4 
58-8 
N. 
65-2 
72-6 
53-8 
120-9 
49-9 
0-024 
Wednesday  28 
30  038 
68-2 
58-6 
W. 
64-7 
72-1 
65-8 
97-8 
60-9 
— 
Thursday  ..  29 
30-2^4 
68-3 
63-2 
n.w. 
64-9 
73-6 
58-2 
97-1 
80-9 
—  - 
Friday  ....  30 
50-330 
68-9 
62-6 
n. 
64-9 
83-2 
68-7  r 
124-2 
60-9 
— 
Saturday  ..31 
30-191 
67-0 
60-9 
N. 
65-6 
78-8 
87-6 
122-9 
61-0 
— 
30-070 
67-3 
60-6 
65-9 
75-5 
67-6 
116;2 
82  0 
0-196 
EEMARKS.  , 
25th.— Bright  sunshine  and  fresh  breeze  ;  heavy  shower?  at  2.48  and  4  P.M. 
26th.— Bright  and  fresh  morning ;  clouding  over  and  a  smart  shower  at  noon ;  frequent 
thunder  and  occasional  spots  of  rain  from  3  P.M.  and  a  heavy  shower  at 
6.40  P.M. 
27th.— Rain  at  6.45  A.M.  and  at  11  A.M.,  and  generally  cloudy  till  noon;  sunny 
afternoon. 
28th. — Fair,  but  almost  sunless,  throughout. 
29th. — Overcast  day  ;  a  little  faint  sunshine  after  3.30  P.M.  ; 
30th. — Overcast  eariy  ;  bright,  warm,  and  fresh  after  10  A.M. 
31st.— Bright,  with  pleasant  breeze. 
Another  brilliant  week,  with  scarcely  any  rain,— 0.  J,  StmOHS. 
