Prolonged and excessive drought is the most important element of our welfare here in northern Illinois. It is so pronounced that fields and gardens are drying up. Corn is already seriously damaged -- and there is still no relief in sight. Letters from some of you in Nebraska and other states indicate that you have at last had relief, probably in time to save the crops. For you we are glad, and for those who are still worse off than we are (as is true farther south in our state and farther east than Illinois), we are sorry. But all in all, farmers are a philosophic lot. They continue harvesting and threshing and storing grain, even in the face of discouraging weather and low prices.
Threshing is going to be over before we can turn around, with straw so dry and not even dew to hinder an early start each morning, the work is booming along. Small grain with us is of exceptionally good quality and in many cases the yield is good.
Getting threshing done early is going to leave us more time than we sometimes have to work at odd jobs of building and improving the farmstead. Now is the time when many of us would delight in transplanting and sowing seed for perennials were it not for the excessive dryness of the hard-baked soil. We can at least make plans and hope for rain. And if rain doesn't materialize , we can still devote our extra hours to the school sewing, curtain making and furnishing up the house. Speaking of perennials, I want to share an interesting flower letter which I have just received from an expert and an enthusiast in answer to some of my amateur questions. It was a personal letter, but I am sure the writer will not object to passing on any information she has given. --Hope.