The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1882-09-15
CALIFORNIA LETTER.
DUTCH FLAT, Placer Co., /
Cal. Aug. 26, 1882. !

Cal. Aug. re, 1882. !
Mr.. Editor:-A hasty sketch of q
trip in this part Of the world may bt
Of interest to your readers from th'
fact that 80 many Vermonters are SO
journing here.
One morning in the latter part o.
June left San Francisco, with my
two children, and arrived at Lincolr
toward evening. Here we were met
at the station by w. H. H. ROBBIE and
family, formerly of Corinth. and were
soon seated with them behind span
spanking gray colts which "WilP'
knows just how to handle. A pleas
ant drive of three miles through the
nndulating but seemingly level Sac
rsmento valley, brings us to the Towlc
ranch of which Will is manager. with
profit to all concerned. This ranch
contains a little over one thousand
acres, tillage, pasture, and woodland.
1900 bushels of barley were raised
here this season. There is a fine
grove in the pasture, where the patri-
otto citizens had a barbaque on the 4th
of July, and where Methodist camp.
meeting is now in progress. There is
also thriving vineyard from whence
they are now shipping to Dutch Flat,
some twenty boxes of grapes per day.
1 was very much interested in the
manner of harvesting here and its
cost, and took notes of some of the
principal figures. The farmer con-
tracts with some men, to have his
grain 'headed," which includes stack
ing it ready for threshing. For this
he pays Sl.00 per acre and board for
the screw" which consists of usually
6 men and 10 horses. They will cut
about 80 acres per day. The men are
very little trouble to the housewife.
coming in only for their meals. They
have their own blankets and sleep in
the stack. The header is curious
looking machine. When at work the
horses, usually five, are harnessed
side by side, behind the machine.
The tender is also an odd arrangement
to eastern eyes, being built like an
eastern hay-rick on one side. The
other side is omitted and the ends
slope up from it to the top. The ten
der is driven alongside the header, "a
shute from the latter rests on the low
side of the tender and reel drives
the grain into it as fast as it is cut.
A man stands On the edge to load, and
when one tender Is loaded the other
takes its place while the first is being
stacked. They cut swath about ~
feet wide. Nextcomes along the steam
thresher. The proprietor charges II
cents per hundred pounds of grain
and the paying Of that is all the farm
er has to do except to furnish the
sacks. They bring with them wag-
on with very small wheels and an i'm
mense floor covered in with cotton
cloth, table and benches run through
the middle, stove in one corne: and
a pile of provisions opposite, with
Chinaman to cook, makes up the
boarding house. There are - or IA.
and as many horses. The grain is
put on to the feeding board by horse
pitchfol ks; these, there are two of
them, are suspended from derrick
and run by one man and two horses
each. The easiest job of all seemed
to be that of the man who bitches the
sacks on to series of hooks on a
hoop. When it is full another man
il and sews it up. Another
piles them up and they are ready to
ship. The straw is driven out Of
high shute and two men, each with
span of horses remove it. They are
one on each side of the
threshing machine, and when the pile
is about as big as good sized cock of
hay, namber l drives his horses over
it, and a machine, which they call
buck, and which seems to be half sled
and half poky rake, slides under the
straw; the man steps on to it to keep
it in place and rides off few rods to
the pile, where, with dexterous turn
Of handle he dumps it. They use
straw as fuel for the engine which
would look like extravaganza only
there is so much of it. After pleas
ant visit of week, we started with
The before mentioned team, for drive /
o Dutch Flat. 40 miles, almost all up ,
ill. We took box Of eatables and
,lenty Of blankets and camped out
me night on the way, our roof the
canopy of heaven, and arrived at our {
destination early in the afternoon 6
# the second day. The addition |
# seven people to ones family is rath- |
= tax on most housekeepers, but i
With plenty of help aud plenty of i
DOM, Mrs Allen Towle is never at a r
and her house is always a
pen to her husbands old friends.
Dutch Flat and its vicinity contains a b
DOLLY number of Orange county PEG.
lie, most of whom are in the employ '
t Towle Brothers. This firm, con. b
istiDg of three brothers, natives of '
,orinth, run one water and three g