The San Francisco call., 1904-07-18

ments there would appear no reason
why results might not be accomplished
in the case Of wheat"
Some liberal extracts are given here
with of the statements that Horace
Davis has made to the California State
Board of Trade, that all in interest
may understand the requirements as
they are set forth. Concerning the i'm
portatiOn of wheat from other States
into California Mr.. Davis said:
IMPORTATION OF WHEAT.
The flour milers are importing wheat from
quantities to blend with our flour and for
tify ii and give strength 10 its glutinous quail
ity. We pay good deal more for IT than
for wheat in this State. II is not white
or plump, but It is stronger. Now, that inn
pressed me very much as being wrong con-
dition, of things The wheat from new land
is always strong. When I first went into the
business here forty-odd years ago the wheat
from Australia and what raised was mainly
Australian wheat and was of pretty fair
raising Chile wheat and then more club wheat
and the quality Of the seed OF the Kind raised
steadily decreased. Gentlemen of farming in
terests know why they raise club wheat.
1t is sitter and il stands the drought pretty
well, not well as the Australian and the
that when it is thrashed it doesn't thrash onto
the ground as other grains do, and on the
whole the farmer thinks he gets a better
yield from club wheat than from Australian.
Il has reached a point where club wheat has
come TO be common and poor Let me say
that the crop OF this State this year is
not going 20 be large enough to supply
seed and food and we have to import wheat
make in this State.
We began to feel the effects of this three
or four years ago in the Importation OF East
ern -four. and you sec it here and there along
the streets. Minneapolis -four or South Da-
kota -four and as a sure sign that some
thing was needed to improve our -four 1t did
not come in until three four years ago.
When 1 went down to Los Angeles 1 found
they were freely importing 1t there to mix
with California wheat. We took the hint
from that and began TO import flour to mix
with our -four We didn't like that so we
imported the wheat and made our -four out
Of the wheat and made better -four than we
could out OF California wheat straight and
improved the quality Of our food.
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.
In the foregoing Davis gives the prin-
cipal facts to explain the present situa-
ton and provide a basis for under
standing and good work in behalf of
the State. When he addressed the
State Board of Trade many questions
were asked by members of the board
that tended to elicit facts more effectu-
ally than they ordinarily could be
brought out in a formal essay or con-
versation. Davis told the board what
has been done experimentally since it
was discovered that there was need for
importing Nnedl make having
the required strength to suit market
cpnditions. In this connection Davis
said:
I called the attention OF the men at Berke-
ley to these conditions some five or six years
ago and they said they were experimenting
with wheats in their experimental grounds.
I sent East and got Kansas wheat and dis
tributed it in different mills We asked
cur agents TO distribute II to the farmers and
try 10 get them 70 sow il, which they have
ferently on the same soil Some will stand
drought and some viii not. Some will send
surface roots and some viii not. One has
10 study the soil and climate
I wrote this year TO the university and
said that II they would pick out for US a
half dozen or dozen different varieties Of wheat
that were strong and they thought would stanc
out, ana we have sent out such samples, some
TO the farmers and In some cases hired men
to SOW IL. and in some places planted it
selves, shall have in a good many
samples this year and know something about
the handling OF it, But I want 10 say to
YOU that all these wheats bleach out in this
country: the quality changes. All these strong
Wheats become starchy in California
We should educate the farmers TO getting
a new seed. One great difficulty IS they don't
shift the seed Sometimes they take the seed
from their neXt-door neighbor. whereas If they
got Il from some other part Of the State they
would do better. The Oregon wheats do very
well here. They are stronger than our Wheats.
Most Of the wheat raised around Chico is club
wheat I should think about so per cent of 1t
was club wheat.
USES OF FERTILIZERS.
T c. Friedlander, secretary of the