Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-10-26
Barley.

preparations are making through
out Los Angeles county to put in a
large area in barley this Fall. The
plow is busy turning up the soil, or
rather scratching the surface, for such
Is the fertility of our land that deep
cutting is scarcely necessary. We
place no confidence in homilies about
deep plowing always producing a
good crop, because we have never seen
any good reason alleged for it beyond
the possibility of the barley being en-
abled to strike deep root early in the
Spring. Moderately deep planting
of the seed seems most effectual. Very
deep plowing pulverizes the land and
permits the moisture to escape
by evaporation or sipage. How
ever it is not our purpose to turn
to theorizing for we desire only to re-
cord facts. 1t is sufficient that OH the
average yield Of barley even on our
mesa lands Is in excess of the grain
product of the States both in quantity
and value. From twenty to forty
bushels of barley ought to be remu-
nerative when the labor involved in
its growth is considered. A single
hand can put in from fifty to one hun
dred acres of this cereal, and have but
begun his operations for the year
when he has harvested the product.
When his barley has been disposed of
the whole Summer is before him for
the cultivation of corn, potatoes, beans
&c, at which he can make twice as
much as the owners of the richest
lands in Illinois. In conversation
with Missouri farmer who has just
come to our section to settle, mention
ing the Indifferent success of the bar
ley growers here last season he stated
they had done better on their little
Winter work than nine tenths of the
farmers in his State during the entire
season. He was not accustomed to
get more than ten to twenty dollars
per acre out of land from years hard
work, and had complete failure at
least two years out Of five. He con-
sidered forty bushels of corn per acre
that could be sold at thirty cents per
bushel prosperous farming on the
praires of Missouri and from his ex-
perience in potato growing absolutely
refused to give credence to perfectly
reliable statements of the yield OF that
vegetable in this section. With fair
season then we say barley is good
paying crop in Southern California,
and being about the only Winter crop
adapted to the lands near the coast
ought to be more extensively cultiva-
tel. Whatever may have been The
results of barley growing on a large
scale with hired labor, there can be no
question about its being profitable to
the small farmer. There is point too
which many of our people may not
have considered in connection with
this industry. Lands can be rented
for the Winter on easy terms, and the
farmer who owns only limited area
need not remain idle for want of soil
to cultivate. There are thousands of
acres suitable for barley lying idle,
which the owners would gladly let to
industrious men. We know of two
young men of our city, both students
of law, Messrs. MAURY WICKs, son of
our esteemed fellow citizen M. ].
WICKs, and young HEATHMAN, for
merly of Mississippi, who have rent
ed four hundred acres near the
San Gabriel Mission, and are now
busy with their gang plows seeding it
in barley. With even Indifferent
success these two young men will add
to the products of Los Angeles county
next Spring fully eight thousand to
ten thousand bushels of grain worth
four or five thousand dollars. Let the
young men who are idling about our
city consider this subject and go to
work. Here is an example for them.