The morning call., 1893-05-28
SOWEP AND CLEANER.

Agriculture. by which term is signifed here
general farming of the land, has no more favor
able scene for its operations than California.
This applies specially to the production of
cereals, grasses for hay and pasture-iaX, beets.
hops. vegetables, dairy products, wool. besides
fruit and grapes, which are here trea ed OF in
dividually.
California il. perhaps. the best country in the
world, exceptug Australia, for the raising OF
sheep. Nowhere do they so thrive and multi
ply with so tu care. aud no fleecrs OF similar
breeds are so heavv There are about 6.000,000
sheep now In the State. Seyenty-tiVr cents each
would be high average for pasturage. heIdng
and SheariBg. Probably 81 each would not he
far from the net receipts for wool. AS ordinary
range sheep are worth 50 10 So per head, and
at least one-fourih the flock can be turned off
as mutton sheep every year aud still have a
balance OF net gain from the incre tse it can
readily be seen that tile sheep business is on
good basis in California.
In the culture OF cereals tile climate of Cali
fornia is ideal. The seeding of summer fallow
begins in the principal wheat seeiion in Sep
tember, and the last winter sowing is generally
| done in February. Flowing for summer failow
occupies the next three months and harvest
begins in June. The last of the grain sacks
have generally been bauled from the field in
October. his makes it possible to seed and
harvest rs many more a cres with the same men
and teams as lie season is longer. Improved
machinery adequately meets any scarcity or
cost OF labor, and yields and prices make the
growing OF cereals steadily remuuerativr.
Arabic land in California has been thus
divided: San Joaquin Valley. ,845. .2SG acres;
Sacramento Valley $685. 72o acres; lands be-
tween auvial lands of grea valleys and eleva-
tion OF 1000 feet. 100000 acres; lands be-
tween elevations of 200o aud 1000 Ieet, .0Oo.-
GOO acres; Santa pa bara, Los Angeles and
San Diego, 100000 acres; coasl Valleys
Salinas, Napa, Russian River and Santa Clara,
100000 acres. TOTAL, 33,444, 900 acres,
about one-tenth OF which is annually. devoted
to wheat.
Some S3,0oo.o00 or 100000 worth of
corn gels into the annual statistics through
the channels Of trade. In some OF he couniies
1t Is raised as second crop after wheat or hay
or early potatoes Crops are about the same
as in the great corn States and prices average
nearly three times as much.
Flax, cotton and tobacco could all be grown
largely here, but so far have not att acted
much notice. A faxml in Easl Oakland runs
on fax imported from Ireland and Canada.
The raising of beet sugar has been carried
through the experimental stage and finally be-
come firmly established at Alvarado WI Watson-
vile and Chino. 1t is claimed that our climate
produces per cent more sugar than the Euro
pean and permits planting and harvesting for
season four times longer and that its effect
upon the following wheat crop is to increase 1t
80 per cent.
The State is rich in grasses, specially In al
falfa. which in view of the fact thai a great
part OF all W. wear and eat comes from the
domestic animals, has been regarded as the
most valuable OF all our plants. It was intro
cuced into Chile in the early days by Governor
Bieler and has been called Chile clover All
clovers root deeply, but this one sends its roots
down twenty feet. This accounts in part for
its marvellous crops which average two tons TO
the acre aud these follow one and another dur
Ing warm weather at intervals OF about six
weeks, provided each crop is irrigated. A yery
| large share of the hay sold In market is OF this
kind and great many make a business OF bal
| ing If for the city markets. 1t would be moth
| ing strange TO see air of horses, half dozen
| cows, score OF hcgS and hundred hens get
ting the most of the living from Two pastures Of
| three acres each.
Hops are paying crop in California and
jute is successfully grown In Merced, Stanis-
| laus and San Bernardno counties.
! The annual bean crop OF California is enough
to load train thirty miles long. Almost all
these are raised in the two counties OF Santa
Barbara ana Ventura.
Market gardens or truck farms abound