New-York daily tribune., 1859-09-28
TIE AGRICULTURE OF CALIFORNIA
SPEECH OF HORACE GREELEY.

Tb;s
Nh. RESIDENT, LADIES tASD GENILLskN lhs
s DO occasion for the reciprocson OF compliments ana
am iure you vii justify ne in aostsni1g hem oner'
ing any. / propose 70 mysef 20 leave this gracious
tak to our ffsLd Mr. Rhodes the orator OF the occs
sloul, VINO has addressed you. tie has shoSn you -
much tia. glorious and beautiful and progressive IN
the condition fAgreulure, especially here among you,
that propose 70 look al the picture from the ooverse
side and 10 give far "a may from hssy ooserVs-
ticn OF your Stste, consideration, soue synopsis
of tbe presert position Of California agriculture or
rather Of ~hat wanted to give TO that agriculture the
perfect development 20 which We must always aspire.
UNSETTLED LAND-TITLES.
In the 6rs, place Of course canrot pass over tnat
terrible ac-the unsettled condition Of your land tes
S;se and when ask "Why is not this better why
ret more fruit trees Why do rot see more vines SET
and more generally distributed over your State the
answer has been aiw.ys; How can 40 tnis OF .ns'
10 increase the price sha have TO pay for my land,
the title being sti IN dispute a most terrible hct
this Of unsettled land titles, and say now that II the
whole soil Of California had been gwen away IN one
gift the greatest niser on esrth-to tne ho.nssnu,
Rarirgs or come other crest capitalsts-snd yo9r
whole State thus held il would be better or the people
than the condition presented and under which you
have lived for years. This terrible iact OF ls.d !es
YOU must try 10 get nd OF, and tnat az the
earliest possible time. Unjust decisions are not one
half so bsd se indscisons-nct hs--not 20 pad ss
things remaining in dispute causing sioVeny ana tunt-
lees agriculture Any cor dton OF thnss pleieiaoe
10 that In NV Judgment and you should earnestly seek
to remedy this great difficulty. iAppiause.l Ns 10
time &c faint at a word sbudder at mere statement
say that some system whereby the SOL OF your oate
shall be come rapidly divided into the hands OF msDy,
manu. MANY times owners than 81 present. IS an
sable public necessity. Wha, that system may
be 90 not say; but in my Judgment progressive
tsxation-this is a small tax, nominal tax on Ger.
tain quantity Of land in ole mans possession, ana
double the amount certain increase OF acres, unni
il becomes impossible for any one " noid very arge
amount. ,
az possible no. by depriviDg any man OF MS rights,
but BY rendering Improbable 10 hold land In large
ouanti les and profitable TO own small number of
acres. II California to-day were owned oy ner Peope
in proper quantities, could no. measure or wisely
dare 10 limit the Pre- sperity which she Is capable oi
s,taDirg But zee every side evidence that your
people are but eIcamped here lney nave come
over here to make their fortunes their brsg, their
" pile or something else, and go " home. On, fsta
phrase- Go HONE " these words that chill me every.
where travelling over California. Here, on the most
beautiful land and under the most dehgniu chmate,
where al last you have reached that protecting that
limiting ocean which says :" 10 further-no further
want people to feel that THIS Is HONE tremendous
appsuse and thst there s no requirement Tor the% 70
home-but it must belorg to them before II can be
their home. (Great applause. !. must be the great
aim of public policy for many years 10 hrst quiet
land ttes and chen divide lands much as possible.
Oh | look with spprehensiOn-wnh everything but
admiration-on these vast cattleranches that see
about me, covered perhaps by their promising crops;
but when consider must consider that all but one or
two of the habitsnts OF these ranches must be mere
tenabts that they but occasional, temporary IN
habtants-see that the school house does not exist
snorg them-shen | travel day after day over
your State and perhaps the spectacle OF vast
grain fields and the promise OF great orchards--the
fruitful promise Of them ard schoolhouse in
days ride out OF the quiet villages and busting cities,
l i,el apprehension ard sadness with reference TO
your future condition. Applause Depend upon II,
fellow citizens, that country where the school house
is in the villages alone, and not over the great
ruI al domains, the townships, and among the
farms, cannot truly prosper. Great applause. The
school house is the foundation, the corner stone OF
American prosperity and liberty lAppause l ind
too few such over much Of the State Of California.
This must be reformed, and this involves reforms
ton OF your land system.
THE DEsTRU CrION OF THE TIMBER.
When lock over this State, so magnificently TIM
bsred so gorousy provided with one OF tue hrt ne
cessites Of hum en- e-tim for franz
rg dwellings, for the creation OF fences for halt the
wants Of our race and how il Is slashed, slaugh
tered wasted, as it is doIe in your lower counties,
among your foot hilsI the day not distant when
these pee pie will travel many weary mes to seek for
wood now being wasted al their dCCrs. see the day
is lot far of when timber, which, bya little provi.
d. nee might be saved around you--pay which would
be if men would think Of any time but the presen-w
be entirely gone. recoect that oS the site where the
City of Burlington, the principal place IN the State of
Vermont, stands, lees than hy years ago, people
cutting it of and sending II to Epgland by way
of Canada LoI ago, they were buy 1t from Can
ada and are dong i. TO day-hAying wasted al tnelr
own buy ing it, may be, a. ten times the cost they sed
it for IL ls the way Of al new countries hst 80 de.
stroy the timber and then seek painfully TO replace it
by some means or other. This is one calamity that
California must low guard against.
DEEP FLOWING ". IRRIGATION.
With few remarks on the soil viii conclude, for
| Go not mean 10 speak long as am not well enough
In the fIst place, rejoice to hail begnning, just
al good beginning, Of kno9ledge Of the fsct that
there Is better way 10 mosen Jour land than by mi
gaticr-hat is BY turning il up to the iG depth Of the
SOIL In my Judgment the fdl depth OF the coil ought
Ia lie cultivated. believe large portion, including
the rocky thin SOIL the fertile land ought to be le
in the state Of rature-alloved 10 grow timber and
grss.-but never plowed a. al. But this believe
To- day. that nneteLths Of al the soil 10 California that
ever ought 10 be plowed be rendered sutclsntly
mois. by being plowed just deep enough.
That idea DO not find universally considered here.
! saw few days ago, at Oakland, on farm, great
crop Of CON- on the Ltervse i called here, not
bo,iom laI6 where there streams, bat far bsck
ridge Of land-lsnd abundantly irrigated by deep
plosing Tie owner commenced by blowing very
deep-then sub-soGDg, and bis ard s moist enough to
grow any iru gram on earth. He has large crops
this Summer Of fcorn-besde young crop just starting
with which TO supply green corn TO the market of San
Francilco rext Fall. This, l believe, may be done
slmost anywhere. Commerce az this farmer did.
Pow your lard very deep then sub soil then replow Il
two OF three times 70 kill the weeds. Rep.ow II
at intervals until Msy, and then you need not touch 1t
afterwsrd. No weeds VII grow herei the soil is per
fecty light and fria6le, and you may simply eaye 1t
alone until great crop Of is ready to be har
vested believe that may be done on almost al the
level land of California Ii is good thing to have
water Wafer is vel enough for cer.ain purposes l
should ike TO see every isrm have good srtesian
well on it. But i is no. good thing to be eternaiy
sateTrg.
To have r.a;'s strength but Il .tyrraaou'
To u,e IL Ike giant
have frequently seen men destroying then truii-
trees demoraizing them, rendering them certain 10
dscsy certain to bear poorer fruit az all by this over
much, eternal application OF water. Let Tue farmer
have water; let him bis grass ands WITH It II he