On the whole there is a good report of the crops practically throughout the whole of this prefecture This is in marked contrast to existing conditions just one year ago after the whole country side had been ravaged by wind and flood. In some districts the farmers have not had such good returns for their labour through the capriciousness of "wind and water." Just recently in passing through one belt of territory I learned that the peasants scarcely received a single bushel in the wheat harvest. A short time before the reaping, on a beautiful day with a cloudless sky, there were sudden sprays of rain followed by a shower of hail. This phenomenon continued for the space of an hour accompanied by a gale of wind. The hail stones were as large as a five-shilling piece and half an inch thick. Some of the country people reported the hail stones to be as large as eggs. In the trail of the storm the cars of wheat were cut off as with a sharp sickle, while the stalks were laid low in the fields. House tiles were 3
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.