The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1869-12-10
Wheat throwing in California.

We clip the following from an interesting
California letter to the Boston Advertiser
One curious feature Of the wheat business
is that the farmer gets two crops for one
seeding. The second year brings u "vol-
unteer crop" as it is alled-growing from
self-sown seed, and needing no attention
whatever. This years crop s~catters itself
by the wayside and on good ground; let
the field alone, and the farmer gets about
half u crop next year, with no labor but
that of harvesting; still let the field alone,
and year after next there is still another
crop that will be worth gathering. Well
up in the San joaquin valley l saw a field on
which fifty pounds TO the acre vas sown
last year; the crop of 1868 was a little short
of thirty eight bushels TO the acre; the
volunteer crop" Of this year is about TWEEN.
ty-one bushels; and the old farmer told mt
that be "reckoned" he could get twelve OF
fifteen bushels next year il he should let
the field lie over again,
l have never anywhere else eaten such
uniformly good bread as they have given
me in California. / asked the steward OF
my hotel about it n day-he said, ''good
wheat always makes good bread" which
was doubtless a very proper, as it certainly
was q very sententious answer. II set me
a thinking mar who compels you to
think performs M Of the highest Offices
OF friendship. 1 made other Inquiries
They grew several varieties of wheat-the
~favorite seeming 10 be what is called the
white Australian;" the different valleys
produce widely differing grades; the berry
Is generally very white, and remarkably
hard-this last named quality protecting il
from the insects and making it possible to
ship or store great quantities without the
least danger of cheating" The Californi-
ans pride themselves not q little on the
fact That we of the East are obliged TO
send out here for the best quality of flour,
and they expect the opening of the Pacific
Railway 10 bring a largely increased de-
mand for their fine grades of wheat.
Nothing coNld look more unpromising 10
the eye of an eastern farmer than one OF
these California valleys in this month OF
October, There hasn't been q drop of rain
since last May; you don't see q blade Of
grass for miles and miles as you ride along
the roads are from four TO eight inches
deep with dust like that of an ash-heap;
the ground Of the fields il 80 hard that {
plough cannot be put int. IL; the outlook
Is that Of dry desolation and unproductiye
ness.
Wait. The rainy season begins mex
month. BY the first OF December the Cali
f%ornian will have his ploughing teams out
in january and February he will SOW hi
seed; March will bring a marvellous profu
sion Of flowers 10 the valley and the hill
sides; April is tolerably sure TO give tn
~sprouting crop its 'spring rain; in Ma,
the farmer finds his wheat 'heading out;
in June he begins his harvest; in Septem
Der or October he sends TO market his croI
of twenty to fifty bushels TO the acre. s.
runs the w~heat-grower's season. Give hin
his winter and spring rains and he is sur
Of tho rest. He may harvest at his conve
nience-July or August or September; h
is as cure Of continuous fair weather as h
is OF day itself; he threshes his grain in th
field, puts it into sacks, piles the sacks /
any handy place.