New-York tribune., 1877-05-05
FARMING IN CALIFORNIA.
LETTER FROM Ex-sEcRErARY MccULLocH

RICHNESS or THE LAND-REMAEKABLE RISE N ITs
vALUE-NEw PRormErORs - GREAT PossiBILI-
TIES II THE LAND IS DIVIDED AMONG MANY.
To the Edttor or The Trt6NHe.
SIR II is obvious that no agricultural country
can become popuous in which the lands are in few
hands and farming, especially if II bo bad farming
is conducted large scale. Such is the condltion
of California. There are very few small farmers In
the State and very little really good farming
Nearly all who here upon the first discovery of
gold turned their attention either To mining or to
trade with the miners for their gains. No one ever
dreamed Of remaining here permanently. \ year or
two elapsed before the capacity of the country ~
produce ything but gold was discoVercdor Thought
of. But people came pouring III, demand ior
city lots first and afterward for agricultural lands
arose and rapidly increased and rs no city ever
grew so fast as San Francisco, and rs no country
speedily taken possession of, after their
value began To he understood the rich valleys oi
California so the advance IN the price ofcity lots
and farming lands especially the former, has been
without n precedent Lands which were bought by
the early comcrs (scttcrs they rarely wcrc at from
70 cents TO 50 per acre are now worth from $50 to
81 900 according 10 their location, while city lots
have advanced at n rate which hesitate TO mention
lest should be charged with cXaGgeration. WILL
however give n single instance, and that not an eX
ccptional ono, which shows what enormous proits
have been realized hy those who bought carly and
retained what they bought. / look out of the VIM
dow of the hotel at which | am writing (Which by
the way is the largest and cOstcst hotel ia the
world upon a part of a square which was purchased
for So and which now yields and for some years
has yielded TO the fortunate purchaser n ground
rental ofS5O, 900 per annum.
Most OF the city property has changed hands.
Compared with the farming lands very little il held
10y the original purchasers. The demand for lots
has been so great and the rise in value so rapid That
the temptation to sell has been generally resisl-
lblc and many who realized 900 per cent on theli
investments are now sglliuR because they did not
hold for thousand. Agricultural and grazing
lands have advanced cssrapdly in price than city
lots and they are generally held n very largo tracts
by proprctors who cOuluc their operations to stock
raising or wheat growing, both Of which can be
carried on proGtably-thc former permanently; The
latter i'm the present manner of hushaudiy, rs long
as the lands will yield far crops without being fer
tilted. One who is familiar even with the extent
TO which farming is conducted in Illinois, bv single
prapricors can hardly fail to he surprised when he
hears of one man who cultivated and has for some
years cultivated in wheat $4,000 acres III one tract;
Of two Germans butchers by tradc-1nd who sim
carry on the business IN the clty-Who own
| 600 600 acres, about one half Of which ~ tabl''
the other half grazing aud whose stock consists
in round numbers, of 100000 cattle, 5000 horses,
5000 sheep. 1000 hogs, &C., and who send an
nually TO the block 1000 calves. Thus is farming
on grand scale, but il is u kind of farming that
contributes little 10 the population which Is needed
10 make great state Stock raising can always he
made profitable on the Pacific coast. notwlthstand-
ing its distance from The Eastern markets, as there
are here vast tracts not t for tillagr, bat which
abound i'm excellent paSturagc, on which all kinds
of domestic animals thrive throughout the year,
without shelter, and which require little or no ont
law except the wages of the herdsmcn. Good tilia-
blt lands are lees extensive than thc pasture lands
and these ~ far "a they are cultivated al all, are
mostly Icing slowly il may be, but steadily cN-
haustcd hv vicious systom Of husbandry- constant
cropping without fertilizers or proper rotation
ihosamc system that has greatly reduced and is
stiil reducing the yield of thc lands in Che Mis5is-
sppi Yallov and i'm most of the other States.
The principal crop which is raised in California.
i'm fact about The only crop which is raised FOR eX-
port. is wheat. which Is cut, thrashcd and baggod
in the fields and which, By reason of the dryucSa of
the atmosphcrc can ne shipped with safety as soon
as il is harvested Wheat is raised 90 the exclusion
cf most other crops because ;hc soil and climate
favorable TO its production because II can be raised
with very li;tle hard labor and because there is
always "A ready market for II, and usually at rcuu-
! ucratIyc prices; bur, as farming is con
| Guctcl in California and generally throughout
ho United States, wheat is an exhaust.
ing crop. II is interesting and instructive to
| note how the wheat growing region changes
| nrd rcccdrs. II is not many years ago that the
| Gcncs,c valley Of Ncw-Yor, was the great wheat
nowms region Who now hears anything about
Gencscc wheat, once 30 plentiful and popular with
the millcrs. Then Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan be-
came the wheat-ploducing States, in neither Of
which cxccpt in some small sections Of the last
ua1ncd State, is it now either trustworthy or
profitable crop. Al the present time the Eastern
| markets obtain their chief supplies from Illinois,
Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and even in these States,
! except ON the fresh lands the yield per acre Is
steadily declining The same is becoming true of
! California. Her rich valleys VIII stand much
| had treatment rs any lands under the SUI; but,
rich as they are, they cannot endure without
! showing signs Of exhaustion, the constant drain
that is beng made upon them by successive crops Of
| wheat without rest or help. The steady decline in
! the product Of our present wheat lands aud the
abandonment of its culture where 1t hut lately
one OF the most certain aud profitable crops are not
attributable either TO natural defects in the soil
| changes IN climate, but solely 10 a want Of intel-
! gent aud economical husbaEdry.
This is obvious from what we know of other conn
| tries. England France, Italy, and other European
! states were good wheat producing countries
turics ago aud they are so still, giving every year
! better returns for the outlays upon them. a
| great deal Of money is row being expended in
| MARYLAND and Virginia, and similar expenditures
viii soon be required in younger States
on the restoration OF lands, which. had they been
! iudioousiy cultivated IN years past. instead of
needing restoration, would have been constantly
! improving in productIycncss. The best farming
miglt perhaps say the only really good farming in