The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1875-01-15
California Correspondence.
CREssEY STATION, Merce

CREssEY STATION, Merced Co. Cal,
DEAR FHru%AS-I hail the New Year with
joy. ard send greeting TO the Fireman. It -
cold here now. The;e have been several little
thin window glass. Yet il is warm at noon,
and the flies and mosquitoes are out. There
are two kinds of mosquitoes here The sum
mer mosquito is small, but the wint or mosquito
is II iChoppcr-as large as small ty. We have
me that they would be worse if the weather
Rus we had early rains this year, and now we
have none when We ought TO have them. The
season so far has been unfavOrailc for n good
crop next harvest. The ground is dry. th"uzh n
the wheat is coming up. Our folks have about
piow yet. This land is one mile long and ha u
q mile wide and contains 32O acres. They VIII
plow it in about twenty days with two gang
ployys. that turn thirteen fuTrO~s. There II a
box the pow and the seed is put in the box
I about two bushels at q time Sacks OF wheat
arc hauled around and placed at different sta
f!0nS along the route. 50 as tn toe accessible at
oil times. They have a crank attached TO the
wheel, and this distributes the seed, which
falls just before the plows to which smal! h9i-
| after the plow. They have four lands OF 100
acres each now p'Owed- One land is little
larSefitnan TINS rldc nNe uiIeS a uaH, anu an!
! can see fifteen gang Plows at work all the time
These turn over about $50 acres per DAY. fae
feed ana seed run up heavy into figures. Our
! folks will SOW about 1909 bushels OF wheat and
/ feed as much barley while putting in aud reap
! ing tho crop. THIS alone is worth =, ,Oco.
Mining is better than farming here. The
! Nevada mines are doing very well, and new
4 elds have been discovered which are immense
/ ly rich. | send you list of men VINO hay.
msde fortunes in week.
/ In the u:h Of California. new mines have
/ been discovered Of cttRihdr or SilrcT oie These
arc called the Ptind mint" mines, Hud mill ont
| of dollars have already been Invested. Tw,
hundred houses wero built in mos. tn. anC
I now. They have already started "A graNsy Yard
six mon having been killed the other day in oii'
: fight. But that il nothing here. The man Tia
I shot tho editor tSiRddeu) has Civ y0n himself Gl
/ ard is in jail now.
Our men are out TO-DAY poisoning squirrel
! (gophersj with wheat stepped in StryChnine
I Tines little pests aim Dst ruin a crop when 1t Il
/ getting ripe. JUST before harvest. aud they In
/ crease very rapidly. They i've Cndsr ground
I and not or trees. 50 that th-y cannot he shot
/ and the only way TO diminish their number !
. to poison them. II is 40 easy matter, however
to go over 1000 acres with the poison Ia
! the wheat is just dropped in. There are man.
drawbacks IN rtisinE wh7Gt' The feed aud IN
seed comes out; then what the birds ana IN
[ squirrels and stray live stock use up come
out ; then the.vuges Of the lab0rcr5 come ont
then the thresning comes cut; then the prlc
of sacks comes out then hauling to the rail
road: then freight; then storage; then com
mission for selling it. etc, ctc,.-SO that but
small proft is left. For Instance. our folks fan
nished feed and seed last wear, say SEQ hushcl
of - heat and u much barley. They got ubOu
5000 bushels. They pUd go for threshine
$3.50 for sacks. $500 for labor, $500 for rrcgh
and s}0s for commission. Then the taxes az
$3.50, and seed aud feed kept out for this yea
again, say 1000 bushels or wheat and as IN nc
barley. That's the way the NJ Dney goes.
FOB ROY.