Connecticut western news., 1885-03-04
CALIFORNIA.
As Seen by a Former Resident of Canaan, who Spent Two Years
 im the Golden State.
CHAP FER II,

barley are the main products, and the way they farm it or ranch it, as they express it there) is simply amazing to eastern people, brought up on land set up edgeways so you can measure both sides take the majority of New Eng land farms, for instance), and the whole sale way they go about it is thrifty. thanks to New England enterprise and Yankee ingenuity.
 When the farmer blows his fields he does not take span of horses and side-hill blow, but he takes 0 gang blow, cutting from six to eight furrows at once, hitches on from four to six spans of horses or mules, mounts his blow and goes ahead. He blows his ground, sows his seed and harrows it Tn by going over his land but once to complete the job. This is easily done as there are no stones or stumps to turn out for. and the land is nearly all level
 A gang blow is built in the shape of a triangle, the apex or point being the point of draft, the long side of the trian- gle to the right, in which are fixed small steel plow-shares, cutting about eight inches wide and three to five deep. The whole is mounted on wheels, which move in any direction like furniture castors, and guage the depth you wisL to plow. On the back end of the rloN is long box with small holes in the bottom. In this box the seed wheat is put, in quantities from eight to twenty bushels, according to the size of the plow. Over this box is the drivers seat, rigged up similar to moving ma chine seat, and to the back, right hand corner is attached small, three or foul foot drag. The blows ahead cut up the soil, the seed shakes through the holes in the bottom of the box, by the motion of the blow, or sometimes there is u rocker shaft running lengthwise through the seed box and connected to one of the hind wheels, by connecting rod, which keeps the seed in motion and dropping through the holes {; the drag brings up in the rear and leaves the soil smooth and in good shape for the har- vesting machines.
 The season for blowing and sowing commences with the rain, which comes on about December l, as an average sometimes earlier, sometimes much lat CT, and in some sections not at all. With the rain begins the farmers work. The soil throughout the valley is clay, which during the long dry season from April to December bakes the ground hard to the depth sometimes of four feet. With the first rain all blowing, sowing and planting is done. The grain starts tc grow very quickly and gets its growth during the winter, so that by the time the dry season is well settled the grai1 is all ready for harvesting. The harvest ing is done in the same wholesale, pro gressive manner, with which it wa. plowed and sown. The grain is GU by machine known there as the "head er," so called because it only cuts tho head of the grain and leaves the straw standing.
 A header is built in the form of T the top going ahead, on which is placed long knife or cutter just like a moving machine knife. There are three or fou, sizes of these headers, cutting Is, IS 20 and 24 feet wide, the horses being behind, pushing instead of pulling tho machine; this, you see, leaves the grail all up straight and ill good order. A the header moves forward, guaged t, the size or height of the grain, 1t cut of from six to ten inches of the top 0 the grain i; the grain falls back on al endless, canvass belt, which carries i as fast as cut. to the left, up 8 shutt into long, one-sided wagon, known al hea Ter bed. There are usually foul of th SC wagons to each header, draw1 by four horses abreast and requiring two men O operate it-one to drive and on, to take care of the grain as it comes III from the shute, keeping 1t away anC loadint i, evenly. When this wagon Ii full 1t leaves the machine and anothe takes its place. The loaded wagon i generally drawn to the center of th, field, where they stack the grain in rick 40x60 feet, and 20 feet high. Thes, wagons are unloaded with horse -powe derrick-forks and sometimes by ne that is spread in the bottom of the wag on, talk ng ha load at once. A day work for Z0-foot header is 40 acres the others, more or less according to thu width they cut. A 20foot header take eight horses or mules and two men tC run it. One man rides on the long bean that runs back from the center of the head or cutter On the back end O. this beam Is tiller wheel, which acts as a rudder, by which the machine ii guided by the driver. The largest strongest, and coolest headed men art on the headers, as it is a position ot some danger, and drivers are sometimes put to their utmost when any thing breaks or the team become unmanaga. ble. This harvesting outfit requires F men to work 1.-two on the header, two men to each wagon, and 0 man and a boy to do the stacking. The usual wages are $3.5O and $4 per day for the two header men; the rest getting $2.5O tos3, with possibly the exception of the boy who drives the derrick fork horses.
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