The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1874-12-01
IN SEARCH OF A HOME.


SANTA kOSA, Cal, Oct 81.
Within a few days heavy rains have
swept over California. They came carly
aud unexpectedly. The rainfall was q
bout . l.2 inches. which is said to be un
precedented at the setting in of the rainy
season nor does it commonly begin un
Ill December. The damage done to far
mers has been great. Wherever balet
hay, or grain III sacks were exposed, a,
they were everywhere, the hay aud grair
have been injured Wheat in the sack
is not damaged as much as the hay. The
grain swells and turns the water.
Flowing is going on since the storm en-.
abling the farmers to begin seeding EARL
Ter than usual Wheat sowing continue:
until February and March. the early sown
crop being the best The dried feed oil
the pastures is badly injured, if not ru.
ined. Cattle will require hay until the
new grass comes. 1t is starting finely.
YIELD OF FRUiT- ROTATION OF CROPS.
The first frost Of the season, very
light, white one, was seen this morning
This gives promise of another month Of
fair weather, enabling the vineyard PEG.
pie to harvest their grapes. The crop is
immense this year, and is selling at from
sl5 to $50 per ton, according to locality.
At least $4,000 gallons of wine is the
daily product of the presses in Sonoma
county alone. The crop is estimated at
1850, 600 gallons. One everywhere meets
wagon loads Of grapes on the way to the
wine cellars. Muscat, Flame Tokay and
other varieties, such as Black Ham burg
and Muscatelle, are heaped in tempting
piles Of enormous clusters. and selling for
cent pound, after being plucked pack.
ed, and hauled miles to market When
we read in Eastern papers how there are
apprehensions of suffering by reason Of
the lack of employment through the win.
ter, we could wish tho unemployed poor
of your large cities here, where there is
no longer n market for apples, pears or
grapes that will pay for transportation
far from home Instead Of shivering i've
or six moaths through the winter there
would scarcely ever be day when the
temperature is not eudurablc with the
doors open,
Once before in these letters, reference
was made TO the wonderful effect of ro,a.
ton in increasing the wheat crop by al.
ternsting with corn. On the coast the
benefits are 20 great that it is thought
there may be other parts of the country
which might be equally benefited by the
same practice. The following is state.
ment, nearly in the words Of Robert A.
Thompson, Esq, one of the editors Of the
Sonoma Democrat, printed at Santa Rosa.
He is an old Californian, and studies the
interests of his readers with a quick and
wise intelligence that seeks to promote
their well being in every way. He de.
plores the prevailing practice of SHINING
and exhausting these fertile valleys, where
crops of so and 40 and 80 bushels Of
wheat after wheat have been successfully
grown for years until in many places the
yield is reduced to fitten or twenty bush.
els per acre. The farm he refers to is
owned by W. H. and j. Farmer, near
this city. 1t was the first land titled in
the Santa Rosa valley. Last year it con.
sisted OF IT'S acres of wheat stubble, 16
acres corn stubblc, and so acres of grass
The lots were plowed at the same time,
received exactly the same treatment, and
were sown to wheat last autumn. When
the crop was threshed the past harvest,
the corn land yielded 81 bushels an acre,
the grass land At bushels the wheat land
20 bushels. The question which farmers
here would like Prof. johnson, or some
other authority to settle, is, did the alter.
nation Of corn rccuperate the soil b. as.
similating its fertiliziug elements or,
was it merely the rest that added to the
productiveness of the following crop ? An
opinion will be waited for and gladly re.
ceiyed