The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-11-09
WHERE MUSTARD IS RAISED.
Santa Barbara County, California
Has Almost a Monopoly.


Mustard, the sauce plant of nation,
is cultivated only in Santa Barbara
county, Cal. This locality grows the
mustard for the entire country and the
hundreds Of acres of brilliant canary
yellow and brown are pleasing sight TO
tourists who enjoy the pungcnt odor OF
the mustard flower.
In the region Of which Lompoc is the
center. $500 acres are devoted to the IN
dustry occupying the attention OF some
$50 farmers. One of the pecullarltles
incident to the cultivation of mustard IS
that no farmer employs hlmselt eAcluS-
lively in growing it, because or It's aoso-
lut>; refusal to yield two successive crops
from the same soil. The mustard farmer
must therefore alternate his crops, ana
he usually does so by putting half Oh
his land in beans, barley, corn or bcets'
while the other half is given over TO
mustard. and thus a change IN the sou
sell is withdrawn by this peculiar sauce
piuuant is Il mystery that science has not
as vet solved.
The Lompoc valley has been in the
business of raising mustard for eighteen
years. the farmers taking their cue from
| the abundance Of wild mustard found Oh
the hills and in the valleys Of Santa Bar
dc voices stimulated others to follow III
th..'r wake.
The best results are now secured from
land lying in the middle of the valleys
and along the banks of the Santa 1Ncz
river. The soil is dark and almost With
uu grit. and the heavier soil is preferred.
In the cultivation of mustard much wa
ter and dampness are necessary, and one
! thing that contributes to the success OF
tho Lompoc district is it's close proximity
to the sea. and the heavy fogs which roll
III every evening are equivalent to ram.
giving the soil the GOODNESS required.
The sowing time for the brown variety
The ground is broken and cultivated. af-
ter: which the seed is sown broadcast;
four pounds to the acre. The mustard
stalk is straw color, growing from I to
3 feet in height: the pods are from to
inches in length. containing one row OF
seeds only. In harvesting the crop a
reaper is used, cutting the stalks and
throwing them in punches, where they
are left to cure until October. They are
now thoroughly dry and are transported
| to some central place and spread out
upon large sheets Of canvas. where the
stalks and pods are rolled with a heavy
roller until crushed. after which they are
seed remaining are run through fan
ming machine, which separates all the
light and loose material, and the seed is
ready to sack and market.
! Mustard is the greatest among herbs,
but the least among seeds, and its use
and annual consumption is becoming
greater each year. San FRANCISCO is the
distributing point and much Of the prod
uct is shipped to the East and Middle
| West.-Chicago Record.
Prose Neglected for Poetry.
would advise reading more books and
| fewer periodicals.. The recent trend has
been away from board covers to paper
covers. says E. Benjamin. Andrews in
the Chicago Tribune. Reviews of books
are read instead of books themselves.
No reviewer ever vet gave an adequate
idea of book. 1t is as if man should
attempt to dine from the odors of no
tel kitchen. The rage is for poetry:
There are lectures and discussions and
courses Of study. Prose is neglected: l
have no fault to find with the poets; they
| have given us some OF the best of our
literature. 1t is not that we should love
poetry less, but that we should love
| prose more.