Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-09-27

may be successfully grown at many points
practically covering the whole of the great
Sacramento valley, in a part of the foothill
lands of Shasta, on part of Napa county
lands, and to the southwark in all the agri-
cultural portion of the southern region.
But The bay region and the seaward valleys
of the entire coast range must be excluded
from the c0tton-growing area, because of
the cool summers, the trade-winds and the
fogs. On deep soils in the Sacramento
valley it may be grown without irrigation,
but in the San joaquin valley irrigation
must be resorted to- Thus testimony is
again borne to the climatic and soil ad
vantages Of the Sacramento valley.
inadequacy OF the home and the distance
Of the worlds markets alone have retarded
cotton-g growing in California, com petition
with the Atlantic cotton States and India
being a doubtful quantity. But so far as
the home demand is concerned the prices
realized have been good, and California
cotton abroad has rated high in comparison
with the product of the Gulf States.
The equalization of labor prices seems to
be the chief obstacle to expansion of the
industry, for the facilities of communica-
ton are now such as to remove very largely
the other impediment, while our means OF
reaching the Asiatc market are superior &c
most others The essayist favors increased
cultivation Of cotton in California, because
The greater the variety Of our crops the les.
, the liability 90 crop failures. Universe
and repetitive wheat-growing in California
is exhaustive of the soil, and while it Ell
riches the few of the present is O
d" ycry doubtful benefit to the toun
r Try The question Of substitution 70
whea,, he insists is already upon us in The
older agricultural sections as indicated by
the steady decline of the average yield pc
: acre, and the man WHO grows fifteen bush
els pr acre cannot long compete with thos
, of the fresh lands of other settlements VIII,
grow double that amount. Cotton may b
a grown in fair soil for scores of years with
out Thought OF other manure than its owl
|
than the rhafl of the wheat would
, were it understandable, with the grain an,
straw returned to manure the soil.
Co-ton-growing is exhaustive of the sol
g when the seed is removed, as is the practic
n the Atlantic and the Gulf, but it is th
least exhaustive when seed and stalk ar
returned to the soil It's the better croI
where irrigation is required for wheat pre-
p duction since that process in alkaline soil
induces the rise of the alllali and 4 crust
= ing of the surface. kptton is the hest sui
stituJc, therefore, because it is noe
l. crop" planted in drills, and capable Of b,
= ing cultivated at all times, and is 4 dee
ana t..p-rout crop. 1t also fills up the pesio
0 of comparative idlencss between have:
and seed time, as it spreads the work
Is cultivation over the year, and thus encou
@ ages a steady laboring class.
The cyigcncies Of space do not afford L
81 opportunity to consider at this time til
important questions that arise in the di>
tt cussiou OF this subject, such as nominee;
sity of replanting in California each yea
d the plant standing in many parts Of til
State two and three years; the utilzatio
r of water-Power for manufacturing, as tn;
Of the American river; the question of CO.
Of labor and the application of new m;
: chinery, and kindred topics. All the;
must be postponed. Our present purpos
is to invite reading OF Professor IIilgard
elaborate paper, and where it is possible f,
those feeling an interest in the matter
will be found extremely profitable to exam
Inc the full volumes ". and VII of IL
: Census Reports, which embody all of Pr,
fessor Hilsards papers on cotton-cultur