Harvest Prospects, Rising Prices, and the Start of the School Year in Meran

Austrian Monarchy.

Meran, 1 Sept. The grape disease does not seem to have had as devastatingly widespread an effect as people, in the initial panic, led themselves and others to believe. Little more than a third of the harvest is likely lost, taking into account also the wine that can be obtained from the diseased grapes themselves, as even these still contain a great deal of sugar content. What remained healthy promises a yield that will not be inferior in quality to the best years. The pernicious mould, moreover, has not settled on the vines alone, but is also observed on grasses, legumes, fruit trees, and especially chestnuts. Traces, albeit faint, are even said to have been discovered on grains of cereal. Concerning the potato blight that has recently been spreading rapidly, distressing reports arrive from all sides. Even if the failure of this crop is felt less keenly in the Adige Valley, it nevertheless contributes to the price increase of other provisions, which already stand at unusually high rates. — The influx of visitors rises with every day, despite our still having midsummer heat that makes any strenuous movement in the sun exceedingly burdensome. — The local gymnasium opened the new school year today with a solemn high mass. As is reported, the Redifian Foundation, from which for many years a stipend of 45 fl. was handed out directly to 8 pupils of the gymnasium, is to be returned to its original purpose, and a boarding hall for the same number of pupils with free board and lodging under the supervision of a clergyman is to be established. Credit must be given to the foundation's administration for having made a restoration possible through wise thrift and for now being earnestly intent on carrying it out.