Wednesday 25th August 1915: The harvest in the east of the county
has been hampered by the extremely wet weather of the first half of the month.
Over the past week the weather has changed for the better and it has been
possible to bring in some of the wheat. If the good spell lasts until the end
of the week almost all the wheat and oats should be harvested. The heavy rains
of the weekend of 14th and 15th August caused a blight on the potato crop.
Whole fields are now black, withered and malodorous, instead of a healthy green.
The root crops have thrived in the rain and are now looking splendid.
Market gardeners and smallholders
are finding it difficult to sell their produce for a reasonable price. Bean
pickers are being sent home because the price of kidney beans does not cover
the cost of picking them, and marrows are unsaleable with some growers have
been offered only one penny per dozen. The effect of the war on rail transport
has meant that many have been thrown away because the Railway Companies were
not able to get them to the destination at which they were required. There has also been a big drop in the price
of wheat.
Source:
Biggleswade Chronicle 27 August 1915; Bedfordshire Times 3 September 1915
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