Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-05-26

We have received the following let
ter from Menomonee, Michigan, dated
May 18th, which shows the contrast
between California and Michigan in a
striking manner:
EDITOR HERALD: saw recently in
a number of the HERALD, or in a
pamphlet sent out from your office, an
allusion to millet as production of
your county. The thought struck me
to inquire whether the millet alluded
to was the true millet, or whether it
was the Egyptian corn-which is a
species of millet. The Egyptian corn
or millet was first sent by me to Cali
fornia in 1856 or 1856. This corn was
found rolled up in the hand of an
Egyptian mummy; taken out of cat
acomb where it had probably lain for
thousands of years. It was brought
home by some persons residing in
Massachusetts who had been travel
ing in Egypt.
was In California in 1S50-51, and
while there was very favorably i'm
pressed with the great agricultural ca
pacity of the fertile valleys and river
bottoms of that State. Other agri-
culture had made but little progress
there. On my return to Illinois, my
home at that time, and the next year
after my return made visit to the
East, and white visiting in Lowell,
Mass, made the acquaintance of
young lady, relative of the persons
who brought home f.is seed, and who
presented me with lew kernels of it,
which l took to Illinois with me and
planted in my garden, where it grew
and produced well. The growth aud
yield of grain from those seeds brought
to mind the rich valleys of California,
and led me to think that this seed
would yield abundantly and might
become valuable as crop to the vast
population that [ then foresaw would
some day inhabit those fertile valleys,
some of them so much like the valley
of the Nile, where this grain had been
grown for how many thousand. years
l do not know and would hardly dare
to guess, and which grain was proba-
bly, the same that the children of Is
rael, in their times of direful famine,
went down into Egypt to buy. knew
no person then who was engaged in
agricultural pursuits in California, as
my time had been mostly spent in the
mountains, where gold was the only
crop sought to be raised, and having
no better method open to me to intro
duce it into California, l prepared a
small package of the seed and
sent it to the editor of the Altu
California, at San Francisco. Know
ing that he felt lively interest
in promoting the prosperity of Califor-
MIA, l requested him to give it to some
agricultural friends of his who would
cultivate it and test its sadaptability to
the soil and climate of California, and
l have since seen by newspapers that
he did so and that in some parts of
California it has become an abundant
crop. This grain may be- called either
corn or millet. 1t resembles in shape
q small kernel of Indian corn, but
from the character of the stalk and the
fact that the grain grows on the top of
the stalks instead of on ears, think it
more properly classed as millet. 1
write this for the reason that / sup
pose there are many persons in Cali
fornia who will raise it who do not
know where it originated or how it got
into California, and that they may
have curiosity to learn.
There will be great outfowing this
year from the States Gas we used to
say in '50) to California. The long,
severely cold Winter has led the peo-
pie to consider whether it is not better
for them to go to climate to pass the
remainder of their days where they
can have the whole of each year to
enjoy the days left them, or whether
they shall remain where they have
only six months in each year to enjoy
life in, while they must spend the
other six in trying to keep from freez-
ing.
During the Winter just past we have
had three months in succession of
cold weather, during which time the
mercury seldom rose above zero, and
during most of that time it was at from
ten to forty degrees below, and three
months more when it was but little
above zero, and now ice-banks from
ten to fifteen feet high may be seen
along the shore of Green Bay, in the
rear of my office, and last night the
ground froze and ice made on shallow
waters. When we read your Southern
California papers and letters from
friends there, we sigh for your shady
orange groves and the balmy air of the
Pacific eIonn YOurs trulv