Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-08-13
AGRICULTURAL.
BATTER PREPARED SPECIALLY FOR
THE RECORD UNION"
Seed EarIy-Great Increase in the Wheat
Shipping Fruit-Pro-
ducers In Funds-Etc.

One Of the most emphatic lessons in grain
culture in California, taught by nature, is
contained in the two words, seed early"
Before the advent OF Americans into this
State, nearly al the land now devoted to
wheat and barley culture was covered with
wild oats. This wild cat crop reseeded The
land each fall, and thus from year to year re-
produced ITSELF The wild oats ripened in
SIay and June, and wheh fully ripe fell to
the ground. As the summer advanced the
soil became dry and opened innumerable
little cracks or crevices, into which the kerr
nels of grain fell and remained secure
from stock and unchanged till the first rains.
When the earth became dampened by the
moisture these innumerable cracks and crew
ices closed up, and thus covered the self
sown seed, which immediately sprouted and
the blades from which covered the ground
with green covering early in the fall. Thus
nature taught not only early but dry sowing.
It took many years for man TO learn the les
son which nature so plainly pointed out. For
many years all our wheat lands were allowed
to remain unplowed till after the fall rains
had softened them sufficiently to work well,
and consequently half the rainy season was
past before seeding was fairly begun, and
much of the seed did not get iuto the ground
till late in the spring. As a result of this de-
lay grain-growing came to be looked upon as
a very uncertain and improbable business.
As early as 1868 4 a few farmers tried the
experiment CT summer-fallowing, with such
satisfactory results that even in the dIyest
seasons California has had within the last
thirty years good average crops were pro-
ducei. These first experimenters did
rot, however, sow their summer
failowed land until after the fall rains had
moistened up the soil aud until the best and
most growing fall season had passed. 1t took
another ten years to learn that dry sowing
posse sed any advantage. Now, however,
most of the summer fall0wed lands are sown
before the first fall rains and thus the full
benefits OF Natures time and mode Of sowing
are secured. Owing to the unfavorable
weather for winter blowing and sowing last
winter, large area of land that was intended
to be put into wheat was not seeded, but such
lands were generally EalloWed and will
be sewn this fall. The owners OF these
lands and of all lands now lying in summer
fallow will doubtless put in practice the
lessons of nature and sow early before the
ufSb rams Coiltt 50 liltJ Iuo young gram Will
have the benefit of all the rains of the sea-
son, and of the warm growing weather of the
early autumn. the only risk in sowing thus
early is ia the fact that the first
rain may be so light that it will
only start the seed and not give sufficient
moisture 50 keep up the growth till the next
rain, or that after the first few light rains
there may come drought to dry up the
sprouted grain. We think, judging from the
experience of the past, that the chances of
gain by early sowing are decidedly better
than the chacces of loss. Past experience
has shown that grain in the fall will with
stand much greater drought than we have
generally supposed it would We have fre-
quently been frightened lest the early-sown
grain would be killed out by the drought, hut
have seldom realized our fears in this respect.
Some farmers have plowed up their early
sown grain, that seemed suffering from
drought so badly that il locked impossible
that it would recuperate, aud after resolving
have found their ground double seeded,
and have regretted their hasty action.
Following up the lessons of nature in this re-
spect, we are reminded that the wildcat crop
never failed from drought occurring in the fall,
and the seed of the wild oats was planted in
and on soilt had never been cultivated,
and was therefore hard and much less able to
hold or sustain moisture to the newly-staIted
seed than are our lands that have been spe-
cially prepared for the seed sown