Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-05-24


gbs HnHAtp.
a Les Angeles Farm.
Ten years ago, outside Of very linn
Lt2d range Of country near Downey City,
mere wassaaxcelvwxat might be called
a farm in Los Angeles county. Then,
a. was the case twenty or thirty years
ago, this was known by the derisive ex-
preston "cow county" It was true
that there were quite number Of vine.
yards and orange groves here, but the
-four and barley in use by our people
came largely from abroad, and the little
farming that was done was dependent
on irrigation. 1t was In those days that
sheep by the million depastured our
mesas and the product Of wool in Los
Angeles ran up as high as 1900, 600
pounds in single year Extensive re-
gions like the San Fernando Valley, the
Chino, the Laguna, and scsre Of other
ranchos now devoted to agriculture,
were surrendered to innumerable herds
Of sheep aud cattle. All this has been
brAvely changed; and, this year. the
old disprized "cow county" will produce
probably four or five million bushels Of
wheat and barley.
Ten years ago the Centiuela and Sau.
sal Rsdondo ranches were used ss an
immense sheep range by Sir Francis
Burnett, Scotch baronet who has since
sold this splendid property to Mr.. d.
Freeman. The latter gentleman con.
tinued to carry out the plans of Sir
Francis until, fortunately, the idea
struck him that farming could DO made
more profitable than sheep raising. He
at once proceeded to carry out his in.
spiratiou, on small scale. His opera
tions have expanded until, this year,
twenty. three thousand of the twenty
Eve thousand acres OF the two ranches
are in grain.
The editor Of the HERALD has returned
from thorough inspection of this man.
moth farm, and a description of what he
saw will show better than any other
method he could adopt the change
which has come over Los Angeles coun.
ty. To appreciate this in oil its magni-
tuds the fact should be borne in mind
that. prior to the season Of 1867, not
blade of grain had ever been grown on
the Centinela aud Sausal Redondo run
chos.
The conformation of Mr.. Freeman's
ranchos is such that, when one has driv-
on up to tho hills formed by the sand
dunes, almost the entire expanse Of TWEEN
ty-thrse thousand acres is under the eye
at one time. II is an exhibit Of agricul-
tural splendor which, once seen, can
never be forgotten. The spectacle OF all
these acrcs Of waving grain, running
from the deep greens OF the wheat to the
golden sheen of the barley, swaying re.
sponsive to the breeze and with q
rythym as distinct as that of the sea, is
highly exhilarating one. Roadways
sixty feet wide by the courtesy they are
really scant thirty feet and sometimes
net four yards wide) are all that prevent
this vast expanse from being practically
al. To- anranI nf
grain, planted at different times, under
variant conditions Of the rainfall and on
soils ranging from light, sandy loan to
'dobie, the crops are Of course in differ.
cnt stages Of development. Much of the
I barley is already fit ior the header, and
operations will at once begin. Numerous
headers will be at work by the begin
ming Of next week, and four steam
thrsshers, with a capacity of three thou
sand sacks day, will be employed shell
ing out the golden grain.
In the course of our explorations we
came across one field Of wheat which
probably cannot, as whole, be sur
passed in California or, indeed, on the
American continent. 1t stands about
six feet high, is stooled out very closely
and will undoubtedly yield an average
of thirty sacks to the acre, sack of
wheat containing about two and II third
bushels. This would give the astonish-
ing result of seventy bushels to the acre
AN average which would make the
head Of the farmer OF New York or
Pennsylvania fairly swim.
As companion picture to this wheat
field We carefully inspected one of bar.
ley, containing eight hundred acres,
which will go fully eighty bushels to
the acre, and which is now ready for the
header. Some OF it would so as high as
forty five sacks to the acre, sack of
barley containing two and fifth
bushels.
OF course it would not do to grade
these ranches by such astonishing fig-
urcs, or we should have q grain output
from single Los Angeles farm almost
large enough to feed medium sized
commonwealth. Some of the subdi.
visions of the ranch will yield us low as
twelve or fifteen sacks to the acre, and
there are several hundred acres that
will count for nothing. Mr. Freeman
estimates that his crop this year will
consist Of about one million bushels, ten
thousand acres being in wheat and thir-
teen thousand in barley A ranchero
makes his calculations very carefully, as
he is Obliged to do. for tbs reason that
he aims to make his purchase of sacks
exactly conform to his neeuS. Hence
his tendency is to run very close to the
wind, sifr II Ire is a man Of Judgment
his figures are apt to be "a very close ap-
Proclamation to the outcome, barring un-
expected yisitations OF Providence.
One year ago the editor OF the HERALD
rode over Mr.. Freeman's farm in eompa.
ny with that gentleman, a much smaller
area being under cultivation that year
than this. Both Mr.. f. and the writer
then made an es innate of the yield, the
latter having acquired considerable skill
in such matters by repeated observations
in the line OF his editorial work. Mr..
Freeman's estimate of the crop of 1882.
80 was 5000 sacks; that OF the editor
OF the HERALD one hundred and twenty.
five thousand. The threshers, as mat.
ter of fact, turned out one hundred aud
twenty eight thousand sacks. This year
we have no amendment. to make to his
figures, as we think he has got them
down to nicely. Four hundred and
sixty thousand sacks, or round million
lushels ie in our ODinion az close n