Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-12-21
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another drop of rain should fall this
season the wheat crop is assured in
Los Angeles county. AS there are
quite one hundred thousand acres
sown in this valuable staple this
year in the San Fernando valley.
about Newhall and in other por-
tlens Of the county, after feeding
ourselves we shall have many ship
loads for export. We have before
dwelt upon the large acreage sown
to wheat, but there are several new
aspects Of the matter upon which
we propose to write few words.
When Mr.. Lankershim talks
about wheat he is speaking by the
card. No man in the State has
given the matter more painstak-
ing and Intelligent attention than
he. When, therefore, he expresses
the deliberate opinion that the day
is ct hand when farmers will flock
down to Los Angeles county from
the Napa and other famed wheat
valleys to grow this cereal in Los
Angeles county we desire to chron-
iole the judgment with special inn
pressiveness. Hundreds of thou
sands of acres In Los Angeles coun-
ty have lain fallow long enough.
They are hereafter to be put to
golden account. Unquestionably
pre-eminent for her orange groves
and vineyards, she is about to take
high rank as a breadstuff pro-
ducer.
In adjusting our agricultural fu-
ture, 1t is easy to see that, very
shortly, those Of our lands which
have the sunniest exposure and the
lightest, loamiest and most gener-
Gus soils, will be devoted to- the
vine and the orange. Our wet and
bottom lands will hereafter as
heretofore be planted to corn and
alfalfa. The coast lands, and ex-
tensive stretches Of mesa, will be
turned over to the farmer and they
will become famous for the quality
and quantity Of their wheat yield.
Rust is now beginning to be too
we'll understood to remain the bug
bear it once was. 1t is feature
Of q rank, new soil, and has
vexed the farmer of the central
and northern counties of California
fully as much as it has our own. A
little perseverance, and the sub
mitting to a small loss for time,
soon overcome it. 1t is a great
mistake to suppose that rust +"
necessarily destroys crop. Wheat
In which this nuisance has made
great hsadway is often quite mar
ketable. Only portion of the
crop is necessarily sacri feed. On
the wheat lands of the San Fernan-
do valley which have been contin-
ueusly cropped for few years past
trust" has already ceased to be a
factor In the count.
In addition, it has been satisfac-
torily established that there are
quitea q number of varieties of wheat
which will not rust in this county.
Numerous experiments have been
made with the Odessa and the
Egyptian, and in no case has the
pest made its appearance in crops
grown from such seed. The true
philosophy would. therefore, seem
to be that, for the first two or three
years, the farmer, in sections that
have never before been seeded to
wheat, should sow the Odessa OF
Egyptian. They do not make al
white . -four as the usual varieties,
but they grind up into an excellent
and marketable article for all that
They can be replaced by the more
popular grades when the rankness
of the soil has been subdued te
some extent.
1t may be conceded that occa'
sionally the farmer will lose crop
But the question may be asked, in
what quarter Of the continent
would he not encounter the same
experience ? Drouth last year ex-
srted Its malign sway in New
York and in the northwest as in
solently as 1t has 1t Southern Cali
fornia In the memory of the oldes
inhabitant. Wheat has beer
raised in the San Fernando valley
on . large scale during the pas
seven years. During that period
At least one of the severest drouthi
ever known In Southern Californis
WAS recorded, and two other year,
were correctly graded as "dry
ones. And yet, taking one yea
with another, the farmer has come
out handsomely ahead. The aver
age yield Of wheat during thos'
whole seven years would satisfy
the most exacting farmer of New
York, Pennsylvania or Ohio. These
crops have been harvested without
tile application Of pound of ma
nurs. without any necessity for ro
tation Of crops or allowing ths
land to lie fallow. In addition, the
Los Angeles wheat farmer has tn.
advantage of the saving of time
labor and money in the quite fre
quent appearance of volunteer y