the bad harvests of 1875, 1877, 1878 and particularly the wet summer of 1879 disguised the cause of the depression. the duke of bedford wrote in 1897 that "agriculturalists and the nation at large were alike insensible to the real character of the depression...cheap marine transport had already thrown open the english market to the cereals of four continents...it is easy to be wise after the event, but it is strange that a catastrophe which was no longer merely impending but had actually taken place should have been regarded by those best able to judge as a passing cloud". in previous seasons of bad harvests, farmers were compensated by high prices caused by the scarcity. however, british farmers could no longer rely on high prices due to the cheap american imports.