THE APPROACH OF HARVEST.
IN the middle of May, after tracing the progress of the growing crops from their respective seed times, we were able to congratulate the country upon the probability of a fruitful season, although so early in the year it was impos- sible to speak with confidence as to Harvest prospects. Since then, we rejoice to state, the weather, on the whole, has been of a highly favourable character, so that the golden promise of the Spring bids fair to be realised. From the middle of May to the middle of June there was an almost uninterrupted drought, which told rather severely upon the light soils, and had the effect of keeping the straw of all crops from growing to an average length. In some seasons great mischief would have been done ; but spring corn was sown in such a wealth of fine moulds, that it was able to endure drought with uncommon impunity. Still, rain came only just in the nick
of time to prevent the destruction of the fairest promises, and on the lightest soils it came scarcely soon enough. But since the middle of June, we have had an alternation of rain and sunshine that has rapidly increased the growth of straw and the maturing of the ears, so that at the present moment the prospects of a good general harvest are better than they were at any earlier period of the year. The wheat crop, as a whole, is rather thin on the ground, especially that planted in the autumn and winter, which did not come up well, on account of the excessively wet weather of the winter. The plants tillered well during the dry spring and early summer, and seemed to cover the ground fairly ; but when they ran up into stem, ugly gaps became once more visible, and the severity of the drought above referred to pre- vented them from bulking-out to the full extent, though it kept them healthy and stiffened the straw. An un- usually large area of spring wheat was sown, to make up partially for the short acrerage of the winter sorts, and this has done remarkably well in most districts. Since the showery weather set in, all the wheats have im- proved in appearance ; and if there are few very stout pieces, there are fewer still that are very light, and scarcely any failures. The ears are of good average size, and look like being well filled, so that probably the crop will yield abundantly in proportion to straw. In short, the wheat crop as a rule is what may be termed a fair one, and may come up to an average, if the weather should remain favourable up to and through harvest. It is in hot and rather dry seasons that we get the best crops of wheat, as such weather suits the pre- vailing heavy soils of this country, on which the bulk of the wheat is grown. Although there will not be an average growth of straw, then, it is not unreasonable to expect an average, or nearly an average, yield of grain, of more than ordinary quality. Spring corn and pulse have had fewer trials than the wheat crop, and they promise to produce abundantly. Barley and oats almost everywhere look well, except on some of the lightest of soils and poor and wet clays. Beans, though very short before the rain came, blossomed abundantly, and have lately grown with great rapidity ; while peas are generally strong and healthy. The root crops, which were seriously endangered by the drought, have now fully recovered, being for the most part thick enough, and full of vigorous growth. Potatoes are luxuriant, the only fear about them being that they will grow too much to top, and get diseased, if we have much more rain. As for hops, the gardens of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Worcestershire are a sight to see. They have never looked better, and it is many years since they have presented so splendid an appearance. Hop-growing is the most risky of all the departments of farming, and until the hops are actually matured, it is impossible to feel confident of a good crop. Present appearances, however, point to such a large return as will go far to indemnify growers for their recent heavy losses. As there are scarcely any old hops in the world, prices cannot be low this year.
The early hay crop was a very light one on the pastures, though clovers yielded a fair cut. The frequent rains have rendered haymaking precarious ; but there has been so much sunshine between the showers that very little hay has been badly injured. Late pastures now promise to produce an abundant crop. The fruit crops vary greatly. Every one knows that strawberries are abundant, and English cherries rather scarce. Apples will be the great crop of the season, the trees being better covered than they have been for several years. Pears are rather scarce in most orchards, though fairly plentiful in others. Currants are about up to average in produce, while gooseberries have been less abundant than usual. Stone fruit is a failure, as the trees appear not to have recovered from the destructive effects of the wind-frost of last year's spring.
On the Continent of Europe, as a whole, crop prospects are similar to our own, and a fair general Harvest is now fully expected. In the United States, the winter-wheat crop is not up to the mark, although the July official Report denotes a slight improvement. Spring wheat is better, but the acreage of that variety is small in comparison, so that a much smaller wheat prod. uction than that of last year is now certain. The area, too, is diminished, the estimate being that there are half- a-million acres less than the area of last year's crop. It seems to have been generally assumed that the acreage devoted to wheat-growing in the United States was a continuously- increasing quantity. That, however, is quite an error, as the June Report of the Washington Department of Agriculture
shows. The area under wheat was 35,430,333 acres in 1879, 37,986,717 acres in 1880, 37,709,020 acres in 1881, and 36,067,194 in 1882. This year it is estimated that the area under winter wheat is a million acres short of last year's area, while there is an excess of about half a million acres of spring wheat, the net result being half a million acres short of last year's crop, as above intimated. The reason of this de- crease is, no doubt, the low price of wheat which has prevailed during the last few years. In the Eastern and Middle States, farmers find that they cannot compete with the western and north-western farmers in wheat-growing, and it is the same in some of the old-settled districts of Canada. The time has not come fer a close estimate of the American wheat surplus ; bat it will certainly be much smaller than that of last year. There is no reason, however, to fear any inconvenient rise in the price of wheat, as our supplies from India are now very large, while Russia has almost reached her old position as a source of wheat supply for us. For the sake of the farmer, as well as consumer, it is to be hoped that the prices of English wheat will not be depreciated, as they have been during the last two seasons, by means of wet weather at harvest-time. It would, indeed, be a sad disappointment, if anything should occur to spoil one of the brightest prospects of a golden harvest that has been.presented to us for many years.
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