Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-03-25
Los ANGELES GRAIN CROPS.
The Greatest showing For ANY
Season to This Time.

The Greatest showing For ANY
Season to This Time
One of the HERALD staff has been
somewhat diligent of late in interviewing
prominent people from all parts OF the
country as to the crops being planted IN
the several districts. The results OF
these inquiries have been given to the
public piecemeal as the data was OBJ
tanned. 1t may not be out OF the way to
summaries the situation at this juncture.
The wheat and barley crops are all in
now and the plows are laid away for a
time. Los Angeles farmers have
learned many important lessons in
the past decade. Time was when
the grangers of this section
did the reverse of making hay
while the sun shines, and only sowed
grain " hen the rain was falling. A plow
never went into the ground until the
first heavy rain of the season had put In
an appearance. The moment the top OF
the ground became the least bit dry, the
complacent farmer left the plow idle in
the furrow and hied him away to the
city to load up with liquidized product OF
the cereal crops instead of sowing seed
for the approaching harvest. DE
never turned sod again until
another good downpour came. He
was the most atheistic loafer in
the world, and took it for granted that
Providence was malign influence and
would not send rain, rather than be-
nign one, which was sure to send the
rain even on the undeserving unjust man
as we'll as on the deserving just one.
Now all this is changed. The Los An
geles granger has got faith in an over
ruling Providence, and is persuaded that
the early and the latter rain will come
in due time, and that the harvest will
follow his industrious efforts to put in a
crop. So, early last fall, the plows were
out turning in grain under dry sod and
cloudless sky. Then came the early
rains and the husbandmen saw the be-
nign work of Providence seconding his
efforts. Later followed long period OF
drought, but there was no Stacking of
pace on the part of wise farmers. The
work of blowing and sowing went right
on in all quarters, and then came light
but refreshing showers during the early
part of March, making fair crop of grain
pretty certain. But the down pour of last
week varied from six inches as the least
precipitation from the storm to full
foot of rain poured out upon the thirsty
earth. Under the magical influence of
this blessed dispensation the young
blade of both wheat and barley has i'm
bibed the most robust sort of life, and it
is now shooting up on all the plains as if
under q miraculous influence. The
weather is cool, but not chilly. There is
neither forcing nor stopping OF the vege-
table growth being experienced, but
steady, healthy, vigorous growth is the
order of the day.
THE ACREAGE SEEDED.
Beginning at the lower end OF the
county it is learned that, on the San Joa-
quin ranch, where heretofore the largest
acreage devoted to the cereal crops was
1000 acres, this year there are 5000
acres seeded. East of the Santa Ana
river there are at least $4,000 acres
seeded to wheat and barley. The Laguna
Farming Company, just east of the city,
wheat, in the ground. In the Mesopo-
tamia country of Los Angeles
county, that is the district ly-
ing between the Old San Gabriel
and the Santa Ana river, it is difficult to
learn what acreage is seeded. Taking in
the Garden Grove and Westminster dis
riots, it is wide stretch of fertile
country. There is in all probability
over $4,000 acres seeded to cereals in tha
trict. This gives about 10000 as the
acreage in the southeast end of the
county. From the Los Angeles river to
the Santa Monica mountains, it is estim-
ated that upwards of 75, 900 acres of wheat
and barley is seeded. From Pasadena
to Pomona there is probably not
less than 100000 acres devoted to these
cereals. In tine Newhall and San Fer
nando Valleys there is at least $4,000
acres seeded to these crops. The gross
result, by these figures, is 315, 900. That
is very nice showing for a county which
does not particularly pride itself on its
exploits in grain-groWing,