The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-03-18

Wheat Growing In California.
THE California farmer generally
plows his land and sows his wheat a.
soon as practicable. He can calculate
with great degree Of certainty that
fully six months of the year will be prac-
tically rainless; and during the remain
ing Elk months his land is prepared and
crops fairly started. The soil varies
from the red loan of the Sierra slope
which, following the foothills, is gradu-
ally lost in the sandy deposits or the
gray and black +" adobe'' along the San
Joaquin and Sacramento-tO the sedi-
ment and peaty soil of the tulcs. and
from the brown gravelly loan so char
acteristic of Southern California to the
whitish Sits of the great deserts. The
preparation of the ground is usually
done by means of the gang-plow, and
this is drawn by from three to five
horses. In a large field frequently half
dozen or more Of these plows may be
seen at work; and these, followed by
the centrifugal sower and wagon of seed
grain, together with the harrow, trans
form in q day forty to fifty acres of stub
bic into q well-seeded grain-ield. On
the larger ranches in the Great Valley,
sometimes so, and even 100, gang
plows may be seen in use; and to some
of these are attached appliances for
seeding and covering, SO that the plow-
ing is done simultaneously with the
seeding and narrowing. Sometimes the
seed is sown dry in summer-fallowed
land before the rains set in; and this,
being moistened q month or two later,
yields the most handsome returns. Dur
ing the seeding time thousands of acres
are sown in quick succession; and the
grain, springing up as if by magic, is
soon ready for the harvest. Then, for
miles and miles on each side of the pub
lie roads, nothing but wheat-felds are
seen. There are no fences, few houses
and towns; and, from the Coast Range
to the Sierras, the play of color upon
the waving grain shows more beautifully
than the tints of the best artists. Be-
tween the seeding time and harvest the
haying season occurs, and the crops
gathered are of the most bountiful kind.
Five or six crops of alfalfa are often
taken from the same field in year, and
this furnishes nutritious hay for all
kinds of stock.
When the wheat-harvest comes every
body is astir on large California ranch.
The territory, often embracing thou
sands of acres, is divided for convenience
into numerous sections, and each Sec
ton has its regular quota of machinery,
horses and men. There are blacksmiths,
carpenters, machinists, engineers,
cooks and servants innumerabie, while
the rank and file of the men form sew
eral companies. The scythe, cradle
and reaper, 80 common in the East, are
here scarcely known. Owing to the
continued sunshine, the wheat natures
rapidly, and must be cared for quickly.
The implement used for cutting is the
giant header, and this is pushed into the
waving grain by from four to eight
horses. The heads of the grain, with
few inches of straw attached, are clip
ped off by the vibrating cutter; and the
swath is sometimes twenty-eight feet in
width. A revolving apron carries the
clippings to the roomy bed of a wagon
driven alongside; and this is then taken
to the steam thrasher, often in the same
field. Several of these wagons drive
back and forth between the header and
thrasher, and in an incredibly short
space of time the wheat is sacked and
ready for shipment. Even this ener-
getic mode of farming seems too slow
for the farmers of certain sections, and
we read of wonderful combination of
header, thrasher and sacking wagon
moving through the waving grain, and
performing the various operations as it
moves. Were a milestone and cooking
stove added but little room for improve
ment in the future would remain. On
the smaller ranches less energetic
mode of procedure is practiced. The
grain is cut with header, but is left in
stack until thrashing- can be
obtained. The bulk of the straw in ev-
cry case is left standing in the field, and
this is afterward turned off or plowed
under, as the fancy of the farmer may
dictate. From July to November most
of the interior valleys and much of the
territory along the Sacramento and San
Joaquin are dotted with countless stack;
of wheat, and the air is resonant with
the hum of steam-engines and thrash
ing-machines. The thrashing season,
after the heading season, is the busiest
of the year; and when this is over the
supply of tonnage and the condition of
the market are the only remaining
anxiety of the farmer.
Each travelling machine has its IS boss''
and complement of men, and goes from
one farm to another in accordance with
the contracts which have been previously
made. The machine itself consists of
portable steam-engine and boiler COM
bined, thrasher or separator, and a
large platform-wagon upon which the
separator is conveyed. The full COM
plement of hands to machine consists
of thirteen, namely: engineer, fireman,
separator "boss," two forkers, three
tablers, feeder, sack-tender, sack-sewer,
sack-packer, and straw-buck OF these
the engineer generally gets So day;
the separator ''boss, forkers and feeder,
81; the first tabler, sack-sewer, and
sack-packer, So; and the rest 80 so or