_Small grains._—There was considerable rainfall during the week in many
localities of the North Central States, and thrashing of small grains
was retarded in this section. There was some injury to grain in shock
also in portions of the upper Mississippi Valley, particularly in Iowa.
East of the Mississippi River this work made generally good progress
under favorable weather conditions, while harvesting of late grain and
thrashing progressed rapidly in the far Northwestern States. Plowing for
fall seeding showed progress in the lower Missouri Valley, the north
central Great Plains States, and in some Ohio Valley districts, with the
soil mostly in good condition.
Reports of black rust in spring wheat continued from the central and
eastern portions of North Dakota, but the crop was too far advanced to
suffer serious damage. There was some local damage by hail in Minnesota,
and the condition of spring wheat is variable in that State, though on
the whole it is generally fair. The crop was largely harvested in South
Dakota and some thrashing was done with fair yields with the grain of
good to excellent quality.
Oat and barley harvests continued in the Northeastern States, and
thrashing progressed in the Ohio Valley region. The yields in the latter
area were mostly disappointing. Considerable oats in shock were damaged
in Iowa by molding, rotting, and sprouting due to wet weather. Oats were
benefited in many of the later western districts by the showers of the
week. Flax was reported in mostly good condition in South Dakota. Rice
did well in California and the condition and progress of this crop was
reported as good in Texas. Harvest of the early rice crop was in
progress in Louisiana.
_Corn._—The rainfall in the central and upper Mississippi Valley, much
of the Great Plains area, and in localities of the Ohio Valley was very
beneficial to corn. The late crop, however, in the lower Great Plains,
in Texas, and some other southern localities needed rain badly. The
condition and development of the crop were reported as excellent in all
sections of Missouri and fair to very good in Iowa. Moderately heavy
rains occurred in the last-named State, especially in the western
portion, where moisture had been badly needed. The progress of the crop
was very good in Illinois, fair to very good in Indiana generally,
although it needed rain in the eastern portion of the latter State. Corn
was in good condition in Ohio but needed rain in many places.
The crop was favorably affected by the weather in the Middle Atlantic
States and was doing well in northeastern districts. The nights
continued too cool for best development of this crop in the western
upper Lake region, where growth was backward. Fields were uneven but
generally fair and showed some improvement in Minnesota. Corn had mostly
tasseled out to the extreme north central portion of the country. Broom
corn was damaged by drought in the southern Great Plains, especially in
western Oklahoma.