correspondents report no rain to benefit this crop from May 25, to July 7.

In several of the best corn growing counties the shortage caused by dry weather was supplemented by storm, which prostrated the crop just at a critical period of its growth, and to a considerable extent prevented the proper formation of the grain and greatly added to the expenses of harvesting the crop. Losses from these two sources was also increased by the fact that fall rains caused the ears, many of which were on the ground, to mould.

Two general storms, which affected the greater portion of the State by blowing the corn down, very materially injured the fodder; this loss, in some counties, was estimated at fully fifty per cent. of the feeding value of the fodder.

We estimate the area planted with corn at 1,310,000 acres and the yield at more than 30,500,000 bushels. When we take into consideration the fact that our average corn crop is good for about 40,000,000 bushels, the extent of the shortage of our State is apparent.

Basing their estimates upon the condition of the crop August 1, the National Department of Agriculture thus estimates the national crop: Comparing the August returns with last year, and estimating the yield per acre as correspondingly more or less, the government report indicates a total crop of some 1,750,000,000 bushels, or only 123,000,000 more than last year. Of this total, the seven corn surplus states have an indicated crop of 1,145,000,000 bushels, compared to 1,008,000,000 last year and 1,316,000,000 in the great 1891 crop-a decrease of 171,000,000 from that year, but an increase of 137,000,000 bushels over last year. But drouth has continued so generally in the corn belt since August 1, that, unless favorable weather at once occurs, the crop can hardly exceed 1,600,000,000 bushels, and may even drop to the size of the 1890 crop, when we harvested less corn than in any year for a decade, with but a single exception.

The "American Agriculturist." under date of September, compares the corn crops of the United States, for the past twenty years, as follows:

In addition to the causes already noted, which operated to reduce the corn crop of 1893, we may add that of the failure of the seed to sprout; the previous winter was characterized by cold weather early in the season, before the corn in the crib had time to dry, and in all cases in which the seed was selected from the crib as the grain was hauled out during the winter, there was an unusual per centage of loss from a failure to grow. This loss, especially during the past season, could not possibly be made good by re-planting, and there were a large number of vacant hills in many of the best corn growing counties of our State.

Oats.

The acreage of this crop is always lower than that of either wheat or corn, from the fact that most farmers, and especially dairy farmers, regard it as an undesirable and unprofitable crop. That it is an undesirable crop is perhaps correct, but that it is unprofitable is not by any means so certain. That it is sometimes unprofitable may be due to the want of care in putting it in. Careless plowing, supplemented by the absence of manure or fertilizer of any kind, may destroy the profit of any crop, and especially that of a crop of oats. We need practical experiments to show the profit which may be derived from the application of artificial fertilizers to this crop, and we think such experiments will demonstrate the fact that it will respond to such applications more quickly than any other crop in the rotation.

We estimate the area in with this crop for the past year at 1,155,000 acres and the yield at 28,250,000 bushels by measure.

Our maximum crop of oats may be estimated at 42,000,000 bushels and our minimum crop at 26,000,000; this indicates a considerable shortage, which is mainly due to the same drouth which operated so disastrously upon the corn and potato crops of the present year.

Early in September the returns of the National Department of Agriculture warranted the following report in relation to the crop of oats for the United States:

"This years acreage of oats was never exceeded except in 1889, when over 750,000,000 bushels of oats were grown on 27,460,000 acres. The breadth of oats of the present season has been nearly a million acres larger than the average of the three years preceding. The indicated yield of 620,000,000 bushels is 41,000,000 less than last year, compared to an average of 614,000,000 bushels for 1890-1-2, 584,000,000 for the previous ten years, and 314,000,000 bushels as the annual average 1870-79.

"The condition of oats has fallen ten points since the July report, being 78.3 as compared with 88.8 last month, while in August, 1892, it stood at 86.2. It is the lowest condition reported in August for many years, and is due to a cold, wet spring succeeded by continuous dry hot weather during the latter part of June and the whole of July."

Potatoes.

Our returns from this crop indicates that in almost every county in our State, there were favored localities in which local showers at a critical time in the growth of the crop, has caused a production equal

to or above that of the average year, but the collated reports from the crop of late potatoes indicates a general shortage, which, if our own crop alone was concerned, would materially advance the price of the crop before planting time next year.

Early potatoes, planted before the general wet spell commenced, have yielded an excellent crop, and in very many cases our reports indicate that crops in southern and south-eastern Pennsylvania yielded well, but the general crop of late potatoes was probably the smallest that we have reported for many years. The average returns by counties, taking the average crops the basis and as 100, is as follows:

The main cause of the failure of the crop was a long, continued drouth, which, with the general planting, overtook the vines just at that critical period when the potatoes are either forming or filling out. In many patches planted rather early, the effect of the drouth was to prevent the increase in the size of the tubers, as was proven by the fact that fully as many were started as in years of our greatest yield, and that, had the weather been fair, we would have harvested a large crop.

In other cases but few tubers were set, showing that the dry weather affected the crop at an earlier period in their growth, and that even the best of weather would not, in such cases, have made a full crop.

A considerable percentage of loss was due to the failure of the cutting to grow; this was specially the case upon low or wet ground and with patches planted just previous to the commencement of the wet spell.

In the early crop a portion of loss was due to the fact that the long continued wet weather, just at the time when the cultivators should

have been going, prevented proper working of the soil, and as a natural result there was a crop of weeds, which absorbed the small amount of moisture in the soil.

Owing to the low price of seed potatoes and the general theory that prices would advance, more than the usual area was planted with this crop, but any increase in the crop of 1893, from this cause, was much more than discounted by the decreased yield of the crop.

Several of our correspondents, notably in Lancaster county, reported losses from the potato borer, which, by boring the stalk, injured the plants and decreased the yield. In Columbia, Bradford and other counties considerable loss was caused by the Blister beetle attacking the vines, and it may be assumed that probably owing to long continued dry weather, the damage to this crop by insects was greater than during any preceeding year of the past two decades.

The more general introduction of labor-saving machinery for planting and digging this crop, will, as it has done with all other farm crops inevitably increase the area planted and proportionately, taking the average season, yield and price into consideration, decrease the price in the market, and proportionately decrease the profits of the grower who does not make use of labor-saving machinery

Hay.

This crop, like that of potatoes, was very irregular in its yields, as our reports indicate that there were many sections, limited in extent, in which an excellent crop of hay was harvested, but a general summary of reports from our correspondents indicates that the crop of the State was below the average.

In some localities this was partially due to the failure of the grass sown in last year's wheat stubbles, in others it was in part due to heavy snow falls remaining long upon the ground, and in some sections so heavy, followed by freezing rains, that it smothered the clover. Some localities report a very good yield of clover hay, but a general failure of timothy, and assign as a reason that rains at the proper time saved the clover from the worst effects of the drought, but were too soon to have a similar effect upon the timothy hay.

Several of the reports of our correspondents note the fact that where the clover seed sown in the spring of 1892, and also that sown last spring, was sown at two periods some distance apart, the set was much better, the theory being that what was lost by one sowing was gained by the other. Now that this work can be satisfactorily accomplished by machinery, there is no difficulty in making at least two sowings and thus avoiding the general loss which so often follows when the dependence is in one sowing only.

During the past year considerable amounts of hay have been exported to France to make up, at least in part, the deficiency in the European crop; several car loads were also shipped from central Pennsylvania direct to southern points.

Local or Farmers' Institutes.

During the year ending June 1, 1893, the Board held eighty-one local farmers' institutes in various counties of the State; in addition

to these, three institutes were held in connection with meetings of the Board in the counties of Franklin, Dauphin and Indiana, thus making a total of eighty-four institutes during the appropriation year. The institute of Cambria county was, with its appropriation, carried over until after June 1, thus making eighty-four institutes provided for.

In making a distribution of the annual appropriation, the Advisory Committee awarded one hundred and fifty dollars to each of the following counties upon condition that not less than two institutes should be held in each, viz: Chester, Bucks, Columbia, Clinton, Lancaster, Susquehanna, Northumberland and York. The other counties of the State were awarded the sum of one hundred dollars each.

The counties of Allegheny, Beaver, Cameron, Carbon, Delaware, Elk, McKean, Monroe, Philadelphia, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, and Tioga made no claim upon the Board for the amount of their appropriations.

The counties of Clinton, Lancaster, Mercer, Northumberland, Susquehanna and York held three institutes each. The counties of Adams, Armstrong, Bedford, Bucks, Centre, Chester, Clearfield, Columbia, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Luzerne, Montour, Northampton, Perry, Union and Wayne, held two each, and the other counties which made a claim for a portion of the funds, one institute each.

The number of institutes held, and the average attendance at the sessions was largely in increase of that of the preceding year, and this increased interest is further shown by the increase in number of institutes asked for during the present year. Last year applications for one hundred and twenty-three institutes were filed in the office of the Board; this year the number of similar applications amounts to one hundred and fifty-three.

Last year considerable dissatisfaction was expressed with the mode of distributing the funds, and at the opening of our present year the Advisory Committee, after carefully considering each proposed plan, decided to award the amount of seventy-five dollars (as a minimum) to each county, with a further award of two cents per farm as shown by the census of 1890.

Under this mode of distribution the amount awarded to each county is as follows: