The present dreary midsummer weather—pitiless rain by day and a chilly atmosphere at night—excite well-founded fears for the safe garnering of a bountiful hay crop, and anxiety for our cereals, which need at this time a dry air and a hot sun to ripen them for the sickle or reaping-machine. According to appearances, the harvest will be late, and it may be scanty, but we must not yet despair of seasonable weather to realise the promises of a genial spring. In Ireland, where excessive moisture is beginning to tell adversely, atmospheric influences, even more than in England, are fraught with political as well as social issues. Nor is it to be overlooked that the dripping clouds are spoiling the London season at a time when garden parties are in vogue, and outdoor excursions and reunions diversify the routine of everyday life. The poor equally with the well-to-do suffer from the fickleness of the English climate, and with little chance of a restful holiday when the dead season comes on. Few of our readers, probably, can gauge the keen enjoyment suggested to the poor, and especially the waifs and strays of society, by the prospect of "A Day in the Country "—that bright though brief episode in the dreary monotony of humble life which, with fine weather, is a red-letter day to thousands who are denied the pleasures of a comfortable home. It is refreshing to read the urgent appeals made on behalf of our destitute juveniles by the benevolent managers of such organisations, who, with self-denying zeal, cater for these pleasant trips. The tax upon the sympathy of those who have is very light compared with the luxury of contributing to the occasional enjoyment of those who have not. We hope this fashion will extend. If all who are contemplating a summer vacation, possibly of some weeks, were to make a point of helping to give brightness to the holiday-makers of a single day, they could hardly fail to enjoy their long rest with enhanced relish

Source: The Illustrated London News, No.2254—Vol. LXXXI, Saturday, July 15, 1882, p.54