COUNTRY LIFE HARVEST began early: in my immediate neighbourhood on
July 20th. One cannot call a grain crop good till it is in the stack or bag, but one can say that up to date the ground and the weather and the farmer have done their part with conspicuous success. For myself I have never seen better wheat ; and the large ears, filled out to the tip—and that is the final test—are already " whitening unto harvest." That phrase has been criticised as an example of the inaccuracy of hymnal observation ; but it is good. The ear begins green, is powdered into a lighter hue, and when the dust is gone it appears to bleach before it darkens into the yellow or old gold of the ripened crop. This year the ears are carried on very stout, very upright straws that have so far resisted the battering of wind and rain, which have been less violent than usual. The partridges (which normally flourish proportionately with grain crops) are in large and flourishing coveys, though here and there accounts are heard of excess of vermin. Other farm crops are less flourishing. I have seen some sugar beet fields looking very miserable. They suffered from drought in their youth. Potatoes, on the other hand, are healthy and promise good yields.
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