The morning call., 1890-11-16
GREAT AND SMALL LANDOWNERS.

A case lately decided in Colusa County, in
which the Glenn Ranch recovered heavy
damages from the Central Irrigation Ditch
Company of Colusa for running ditch
through its property, disclosed some facts
which have been DO secret TO educated agri-
culturists, but are not generally under
stood by the public at large. 1t was proved
by expert testimony that In this State the
cost of wheat! aising on farms of quarter
of a secli,n or thereabOuts was over cent
pound and nearly cent and Quarter-Say
81 20 per GENITAL; while the cost of raising
similar wheat on farms of from 10000 to
10000 acres was only about half a cent per
pound, say 30 cents per GENITAL. This was
long ago demonstrated in Minnesota, where
such large landowners as Dalrymple grew
rich by growing whe,t, while their neigh
bOrs, operating small farms, grew poor by
raising the same grain on equally fertile
land. The principle is a corollary from the
general law that the cost of production
diminiSheS with the volume OF the product.
With modern agricultural machinery, it
costs very little more to plant, harrow. Gull
tivate, reap, bind, thrash and sack crop OF
five acres than a crop Of four, and when
great plain, without hills or breaks, can be
cultivated al one sweep by machinery, the
use of manual labor and the cost of the
o. GRAFTON are reduced to minimum. The
owner Of vast tract of land enjoys over his
small neighbofs the same advantage which
Il wholesale manufacturer nlOyS over the
email artisan who makes by hand the
same goods for sale and peddles them ont in
retail lots. The former can produce his
goods at less cost and a mere fractional
profit YIELDS him handsome aggregate re-
turn, while the goods of the latter cost him
more to make, and, to live, he must realize
larger profit on each.
Reasoning on these facts, our neighbor.
the Record Union, argues that the superior
position Of the great land owner in Califor-
MA will lead to the consolidation Of small
holdings into great estates, so that sooner or
later the millionaire Nheat-raiser will own
the entire arabic area of the State" This
reasoning is more plausible than sound
As rule, in real life, the larger the enter
prise the less chance there is that it
will be economically ana thrifty con-
Quoted. 1t is a tremendous undertake
ing to manage a wheat farm of 25,-
900 acres. 1t needs an army of laborers,
whose interest in the business does not ex-
tend beyond the collection of their wages
1t requires a superintendent Of extraordinary
executive ability and of Staunch probity
The opportunities for waste in so large
business are infinite. There is no limit TO
the leaks which neglect OF inatteDtion may
cause. In the event of the occurrence of
ole of those accidents to which agriculture
is exposed, such as blight, OF rust, or wind
damage, the disaster is more likely to be
widespread on farm of vast area, which
cannot be minuteiy inspected every day or
two, than Oh a small farm which the owner
can walk over every morning. From these
causes it has generally been found that the
cultiyators of vast estates have not made
money as rule, while their smaller neigh
bors, who could devote closer attention to
tiIrIr farms, and rho we're personally inter-
ested in their success. have done fairly well
on the average; and thus it seems unlikely
that any future millionaires in this State
will GO into wheat-raising on the colossal
scale which our contemporary predicts.
Indeed, it is not probable that there will
be any marked increase in the size OF our
wheat farms, for the simple reason that
land in California is too valuable to be
used for any such purpose. When the land
owner can get from SIS to SIS an acre per
annum by growing grapes and fruit it is
not likely that he will plant much land in
wheat to give him IS to SO an acre per
anDum. And it is even truer OF fruit and
graz es than OF wheat that the larger the
area cultivated The less the chance OF profit.
1t is impossible to bestow on vineyard or
orchard of 1000 acres the care which is re-
qured to produce frst-class crops. The
product Of such enormous holdings is sure
to be inferior in quality. and every day
that passes over makes it more and more
difficult TO sell second-class fruit at any
price. We hear of vineyards Of 1000. 1000
. and even 5000 acres. 1t is safe reckoning