Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-09-07

There are some things which ar,
better than politics, viz, the ad
vancement of the substantial In
terests of Los Angeles county
These last have been too much de
cried In the interest of politica
agitation. We find, in the las
number of the Anaheim Gazette
the following sensible reflections
from the pen OF Col. VIM. r. Olden,
They apply to nearly every section
Of Los Angeles county. We heart
lily trust that the growth Of wheat
may not hereafter be confined tc
certain limited sections of oul
4 ample county. The rainfall O
nearly all sections Of the Los An
geles valley is very much larger
than that which fell over the reg ior
treated Of by Col. Olden. With or
binary Judgment in the selection o.
Z esd, the wheat future of this
county is assured. We quote:
The continued depression in the
+ prices of both corn and barley,
which have heretofore been the
4 staple productions OF this valley.
forces the farming community to
look about them and see if some
other crop or crops cannot be sub
stituted that will pay better. 1t is
folly to continue to gIut an already
overloaded market with articles
for which there is little or no for
eien market, and then only when
they can be bought at price that
does not remunerate the producer.
Odessa wheat has been tested
here pretty thoroughly for six
years past, and has already grown
and produced well, and has never
rsssted. Last year rust was preva-
lent all over the State; even barley
rusted, but Odessa wheat did not,
and produced an average crop Of
twenty centals per acre-in spite of
favorable from too great an excess
Of rain. This year we had too
little (but Al inchesl, still notwith.
standing this there have been crops
raised here this year that have
yielded fifteen to thirty centals per
acre, even from this small rainfall,
without irrigation. In no other
: part Of the State could this have
been done. But the truth is that
our moist valley lands, when
properly cultivated, are independ-
ont of rain. What was done last
year on q few isolated patches of
ten, twenty or forty acres might
have been successfully done on
thousands of other acres that were
either planted to other crops or
were not cultivated at all. The
crops that succeeded did so because
the land had been well cultiva ted;
in other words, the land had been
pl0wed. Those who scratched
their crops in, after the usual style,
Of course got nothing, but lost their
labor and seed, as they deserved
Tbs following instances show what
can be done by cultivation even in
the dryest years by good farming
without irrigation:
e. B. Foster, of Centralia,
threshed 800 centals of Odessa
wheat from twenty acres without
Irrigation. Part'of the land Weld
% nothing; being on dry sand
ridge 1t was was scorched by hot
north wind. Fifteen acres produced
the 800 centals.
NJ. V. Collins, of Artesia, got $50
oentals of this wheat from twelve
acres, without irrigation. The |
crop was very heavy, and but for
the depredations of large flock of
black-birds would have yielded
more.
It. Duncan, of Artesia, sowed 20
acres Ut this wheat late in Februa.
~, without irrigation, and thresh-
ed and sacked 300 centals.
Other parties who sowed both |
wheat and barley, late in the sea-
son, without irrigation, calculating
on late spring rains that did not
come, were able to harvest fair
crops OF wheat but got nothing for
their barley. 1t has been conclu-
sively proved that this wheat will |
make crop worth cutting, when
barley, under similar conditions. |
from lack Of moisture will fail to |
grow. This quality is very impor-
tant one in California.
There are doubtless other varie-
ties OF wheat that are equally free
from rust as the Odessa, but this
has conclusively proved itself to be
free from that danger. 1t is to be
hoped that all of this wheat that
has been raised here this year will
be wept and sown In the valley the
coming year. Other varieties of
kheat are raised here and generally
escape rust. There will be large
quantity of wheat sown here this
fall, both in the valley and on the
mesa land. On the latter, if the
crop is sown early enough, so as to
get the full benefit OF thu rain, the
crop Is very sure, as on that warm
land the grain starts and grows IA D.
Idly all winter, and has made its
growth by the time that grain Oh
the valley lands has begun to head
out. Besides, on the hill land the
rainfall Is double that In the val
ley. So that what it lacks in
natural moisture is made up by an
increased rainfall.
II parties who wish to raise wheat
will visit Anaheim, 1 can show
them many thousands of acres of
valley land that will raise wheat
any year with decent cultivation,
and also many thousands of acres
Of level mesa lands admirably
adapted to the same purpose in or
binary years. The burr clover and
alflerilIa stand from one to three
feet high on these lands on the first
OF April-except where it has been
kept back ny constant feeding by
sheep. Early sown wheat would
have made a corresponding growth
and would be ripe and fit to cut by
May. These lands are inexhausti.
bly, rich, and will stand cropping
for one hundred years.
II the renting farmers in the