Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-05-06
MONDAY, MAY G, 1859.
The Crops and the Farmer.

There is q general lOea tnaI peCduSo
the crops of the cereals will be quite
large in Los Angeles this year, the prices
of grain will be low. In our opinion,
this is a mistake. Those of our farmers
who have grown wheat will benefit by
the general drouth in Australia and in
Dakota. The Australian wheat will
scarcely figure as factor in regulating
prices. This will have doubly benefic-
ial effect. ID In removing competition
in the cereal itself. (2.) In releasing the
large tonnage which would otherwise
have been engaged in carrying the Aus
tralian wheat to Liverpool, and other
European ports, and making it available,
ut low rates, in the harbor of San Fran
cisco, fer the transportation abroad OF
California wheat. There is doubtless
under way now very large tonnage to
this Coast, with cargoes of coal as bal
last. which will be available to transport
California wheat to Europe, thus assuring
us cheap freights and cheap and abund-
ant fuel. To quite an unusual degree,
our farmers have this year sown barley.
If they had shown a preference for the
Chev alier variety of barley, which has
been unaccountably neglected in Los
Angeles county, high prices would have
been realized for it, and We believe that
it will rank fairly high in any event.
Inspired by an unnecessary and un-
founded idea that there will be no de-
mand for barley, extraordinary quaint
ties Of very promising looking crops OF
this staple are being cut for hay; and the
farmer, who is, as always, respondent,
thinks that even hay will not be worth
much this year. In this he is mistaken,
as he nearly always is, to his great loss.
The us ual course of the farmer is to allow
himself to be stampeded, early in the
season. to sell both his barley and hay,
in which he is guilty of great
fault of jud gment. If he had the nerve
to reserve his crops until they are
needed, he would, in every case, make
large money. AS to our wheat-growers,
they should bear in mind the fact that,
in addition to the Australian deficit, the
people of Dakota will not only not pour
their usual forty million bushels into the
markets of the country and the world,
but they will be obliged, also, to with
draw considerable quantities of that
staple from the stock On hand for food
and seed.
There is a great deal of poorly digested
information rendered to the people about
the superabundance of the California
crop this year. 1t is supplied from spec
ulative sources. There are immense
areas of California that will fail
to come up with even a normal grain
crop. Los Angeles county is to-day the
most promising crop section in the State.
The rains of yesterday have done no dam
age to the matured crops Of the cereals,
while they have helped out very materi-
ally the later Gown grains. The present
year will be one Of very abundant crops
in Los Angeles county, and if they shall
fail to insure us unusual prosperity, it
will have proved to be the first time in
our history in which the benefactions CT
nature shall have proved not to have
been fsvorably recorded in our bank &C.
counts. While the rains have been gen.
eral, extending over the whole State,
and have helped out very materially
both the Sacramento and San Joaquin
valleys, Los Angeles county has really
been the most favored portion of the
State this year. The writer yesterday
looked upon single unbroken spread OF
ten thousand acres OF wheat, on single
ranch-the Lsguna-in this county, and
it seemed as if it might well average
thirty bushels to the acre. This will I'M
doubtedly be the golden year in Los An
geles county.