The Greenville enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1870-1873, 1870-09-14
From the Piedmont Intelligencer.
Farming Or Rsnching In Cslifernia.


SrANIsLaUs Co., CAL, June, 1870.
Mr. Editor-Tbe mode Of
farming in California is altogether
different from what it is in the
Eastern States. / have not been
living in the State long enough to
do justice to the subject, but ! hope
may be able to interest some Of
my distant friends who have an
eye towards this distant land. y
The majority of the Ranches
(as they are termed here) consist
of o quarter section Of land, equal
to one hundred aud sixty acres
The Government will give any
man 100 acres, as a homestead, Ii
he will bnild and live on it five
years, or, If he prefers, he can pay
the Government price, ($1.25
per aore,) after living on It six
months. This is the reason why
SO many people have quarter sec
tious. There are plenty of men
here who own thousands of acres,
ard have farms in cultivation,
three or four miles square. I
know a man who owns over fifty
thousand acres of good land bought
from the Government at $t.25
per acre, in currency, who now
refuse $40 per acre in specie,
when sold by the auRrter section.
l am living in Stanislans County,
on the west side Of the San joaquin
river so miles sonth of Stockton; ;
the above mentioned river is nav,
igable for steamers, for six or
eight months during the year
Not three years ago the most Of
this land belonged to the Govern.
ment, and has been taken up In
homesteads, geo acres,) or bought
at $l,25 per acre, and now the
farmers refuse $40 per acre iu
gold. Mr.. Wilson, who lives eight
miles from me, sold last year 1900
acres, four miles from the river, at
$40 por acre to cRe man, who had
nearly the whole Of il seeded. /
have gotten somewhat of Of the
subject. .-..'.. .,,,
The gang plow is generally used, /,
requiring from four to twelve
horses to the plow. There are
from two to Ten plows in the gang.
Some soils in the State, when y ery
dry and hard, require six horses
to q gang of two plows, and then
again four horses will draw easily
a gang Of fonr plows. The ma.
jority of farmers SOW and plow
tho grain in at the same time, BY
having a seed-sower attached to
the gang--sometiines the seed fall
before the plows and sometimes
behind, followed by a harrow fast.
ened to the gang. They SOW. plow
in and harrow at one operation, or
plow, SOW and harrow in at one
operation. Some farmers SOW by
hand, and some large farmers have
sowing machines that will SOW
twenty PAGES OH each side of tho
machine mean a broad cast
sower, placed IN a wagon and
drawn by two or four horses.
| California has two seasons, viz. I:
the wet and dry; and as soon as
the wet season commences, which
is sometimes i'm November and
sometimes ia December, 1.-The farm
or begins to SOW grain. They get
two crops from the seeding Of one ;
the latter called volunteer, and
frequently it is tho better crop. -
In making the volunteer crop,
some plow the stnbble under, some
run n cultiyator over tho ground,
others bush il, and some others do
not 90 anything, bnt jnst let It
come up 60. No farlner works
less than four horses to q gang,
and an industrious man can seed
a half section OF lapd gao scree)
without any assistance, with fou,
good horsss, and will make on. that
quantity OF land, no. less than ten