Show The Wicit Outlook WASHINGTON April 9Tbo report of the Department of Agriculture for April relates to the condition of winter cram and the comparative healthfulness of farm animals The returns show that the condition of the soil at the time of seeding was somewhat unfavorable in the States on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts owing to the drought during dur-ing last summer and autumn It was most severe in portions of Pennsylvania in Mary land and Virginia and in parts of Texas The same unfavorable conditions prevailed in Western Missouri and in Kansas the continued dry weather made plowing diffi cult seeding late and in localities where it was unbroken when winter set in germinating germinat-ing was slow In the great Central wheat States west from Tennessee to Missouri aid with local exceptions the plant made good growth before going into winter quarters quar-ters The Pacific Slope barley seeding time was dry but rains came later and the whole breadth was put in under fair conditions though somewhat after the usual date The covering of snow during the early portion of the winter was better than usual over a large part of the wheat area but there are from many sections complaints of scanty protec tiun during the very trying weather since February 15th The month of March was the most severe for a series of yearsthe temperature tem-perature being below average over the whole wheat area of the Mississippi river and alternate freezing and thawing wrought serious damage to the bare fields especially in bottom and poorly drained lands Pennsylvania Penn-sylvania Virginia and Ohio suffered severely severe-ly from tho inclemency general average of condition is 88 the same as in 1881 and higher than at the same date in 1883 and 1885 when it was 80 and 7G respectively The April condition of last year was 925 which was still further improved by favor able weather during the month The average aver-age for California is 92 and Oregon 98 The damage from Hessian fly is compara tively unnoticed Its presence is mentioned in from one to four counties in New York Texas Tennessee Ohio Pennsylvania and Michigan Rye has withstood the unfavorable unfa-vorable meteorological conditions better than wheat the average of condition being 92 against 9G at the same date a year ago The returns of the condition of farm animals ani-mals show a loss of swine amounting to 134 per cent and indications of continued widespread prevalence of hog cholera Losses of sheep amount to 7 per cent of cattle 4 310 per cent Losses of cattle are the heaviest in the South and on the ranges of the far West are from 5 to 9 per cent while in sections where shelter is provided and better care taken it amounts to only IK r |