Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-11-18
AGRICULTURAL.
NATTER PREPARED SPECIALLY FOR
The RECORD UNION"
The Goose Lands of Colusa County
Change in the Weather, and
Effects on Grain.

| lnefe Is strip OF lanu III Co4uha CouHby
beginning about opposite or little below tht
town of Colusa and running up the valley
some twenty or more miles, which is locally
called the goose lands. This strip of lane
varies in width from three to six miles, aver
| aging say four and half miles. 1t is a sori
| Of red clay, Eixed pretty well with slksli il
the lower says. Lying under this goose-lsnd
soil there is a somewhat compact hardpsn Of
water.tight or nearly water-tight clay. This
land is considered of but little value for either
grain or grazing. Still there comes a season
once Ia a while which seems exactly suited to
this land, and in which it produces good
crops of wheat. These seasons are so seldom,
however, that people depending on lis cult.
walton for a living are very apt 20
get the worst Of it, and most all
become bankrupt. 10 riding from Williams
to Colusa and returE, lately, we had an OPP
portunity to observe the mode of cutivating
this goose land, and from what we saw we do
not wonder at the reputation Of the land aud
failure Of those who attempt to make q living
on it.
is made TO skiIG the surfsce instead of going
down ten to twelve inches, as it should he
made to do. We may and should remark
that this land should all be thoroughly sub
soied, say fifteen inches, before any grain is
sown upon it. This subsoiliug should be done
when is is first broken up IN the spring, when
it should be plOwed for summer f3liow. It
should then be plowed again surisg the sum
mer into ridges, with dead burrows say twenty
to thirty feet apart. And the second plow-
ing in the same direction, SO as to throw
the ridges still higher, ard pillow ont
the dead burrows still deeper would be a good
thing. OF course between each sowing il
should be thoroughly narrowed to pulyerize
it well. Then the seed should be sown and
well narrowed in, running the harrow only In
the same direction with the last blowing
After this Is done we would put false
wooden mold board on the plow, with four
good horses before it, aud clean out the dead
burrows down TO the subsoil. To finish up
the work we would run the ssme pillow
through the low says in such direction over
the land as with the dead burrows to produce
a good system of artificial surface drainage,
We would then leave nature to do the rest.
We have confidence that in slmost any sea.
son, wet or dry, we would obtain a good crop
of wheat-more, indeed, than an average
crop of the county.
Now We have set out our opinion Of how
this land should be cultivated and What would
be the effects of such cultivation, and we
viii give our reason for the faith thst is in
us. In the first place we believe, from our
observa ion, that this goose land has abund-
snce of ferSilizing material in it it is very
rich soil, but its mechanical texture or con-
dition is at fault. The rains so pack it down
and slack and run it together that no air can
int fp Lev he
with oxygen. Work ii up and drain it as we
have proposed and you render it more por-
Gus and introduce the air into it-bring il to
life, in fact, and in condition to give
life to vegetation, aud good crops will be the
result, Now If the owners of this land do not
believe our theory, they have but to set apart
small sections aud try the expeTimsnt in a
small way. 1t will cost but little and may
prove their lands Of great value. If it were
possible to cover this goose land about six
inches deep with the sand that comes down
from the hydraulic mines aud mix il by plOw-
Jog and narrowing with about twenty inches
of the present soIl, it would contribute very
NJ materially 10 reclaim it ard make it good
land The mining sand would contribute no
fertility, but would improve the mechanical
texture and let the air into it, and thus help
To bring about the necessary improvement.
Ga either side VI this strip OF goose
land, that is, toward the Coast range
mountains and also towards the Sacramento
river, are strips Of land varying from three to
ten miles wide, and both strips are among
che best grain lands in the State or the
world. From the appearance of these strips
they are simply ovarcoverings of the says Of
goose land we have described in the center or
between them That towards tas coast seems
to have been made from long. continued
washing OF soil and vegetable mold down
from the mountains. Il has natural drain
age, aud its mechanical texture is good, being
slanting gradually from the foothills towards
the central sag, and being composed in
measure of coarse sand and fine gravel. The
strip towards the river has been made by
the overfJws of the river throwing out
similar materials that have through "a
long series OF years or centuries been brought
down by the river and deposited on the bank
of the river, and gradually washed and run
back towards the sag of goose lands.
This sag of goose lands in Colusa county cor
responds with the strips or Saga of tule lands
lower down the valley in Suttsr, Yolo and
Sacramento counties, all of which will in
time be reclaimed and become the best lands
in the State.