Green Pastures

Last week the Department of Agriculture, in high good humor, informed waiting husbandmen that 1935 crop prospects were, with the exception of potatoes, sweet potatoes and rice, spectacularly better than last year's. Barley was due for the second biggest crop in history. The rye harvest, which last year was the poorest in 40 years, will be so big this year that AAA has already made plans for a crop reduction program. Despite floods and a cold, wet spring in the Central States, the corn crop was running 50% better than last year. Whereas on April i the Govern-ment had estimated a winter wheat crop 435,499,000 bu., this figure by last week had been boosted to 458,000,000. For winter and spring wheat combined the Government predicted the biggest yield since 1931--731,045,000 bu., against 707,000,000 reported last fortnight by five private forecasters (TIME, July 15).

Noting with satisfaction that "livestock that was on short rations is again feeding on green pastures,' the Department of Agriculture wrote: "By borrowing where they could, using Government loans and seeds so far as available and keeping their tractors chugging far beyond the usual hours of labor [farmers in the drought area] and their families have planted acreages of spring wheat, oats, barley and flax that seemed impossible three months ago."

Principal U. S. crop forecasts:

July 1 estimate 1934 (in bu.) Production Wheat 731,045,000 496,929,000 Corn 2,044,601,000 1,377,126,000 Oats 1,266,243,000 528,815,000 Barley 316,850,000 118,348,000 Rye 53,100,000 16,040,000 Apples 1 70,000,000 119,855,000 Tobacco (lb.).1,193,000,000 1,095,000,000

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