Evening star., 1911-05-28
France Likes
California Wheat,

the crop IN
France Likes enormous four
California Wheat. n mas e., ,saura '
When the Panama canal is opened the
price of loaf of bread in Paris can be
reduced If the French tariff will permit
During the Harrison administration we
had a reciprocity treaty with France
under which California wheat was admit
ted at a reduced rate of duty, but the
New England manufacturers made such a
fuss about the reduction OF duty on en-
broideries, trimmings. pinchbeck jewelry
and other cheap articles in which they
were trying to compete with France that
the treaty has never been renewed. But
the Californians have not suffered Reel
proc1ty treaties and tariffs do not max e
any difference I'm the price Of wheat
which is fixed in Liverpool by the law Of
supply and demand, and no country has
an advantage. except In geographical re-
lations to the big markets A farmer in
British Columbia or Washington. or the
Salinas valley of California sells his
wheat at the same price as the
farmer in New York state or England.
plus the transportation charges and GUS
toms duties Of the country to which it Is
admitted. The wheat crop IS just like
the water of the ocean. 1t always finds
its level
MISUNDERSTANDING the many ana Dig dairy
farms and the cattle upon a thousand
hills. butter is 80 and 40 cents a pound on
the ranch, and went Up to 60 cents a
pound last winter In San Francisco.
There are few small dairies. The butter
business, like everything else, is con-
Quoted on a very large scale. and Cali
fornia butter is OF a high grade. be-
cause II Il made from the milk OF cows
fed on alfalfa, which Is considered the
best OF all forage plants. Alfalfa makes
the best milk as well as the best beef.
California imports butter. eggs and
poultry from the eastern states This
seems extraordinary because the condi
tions for successful agriculture, the SOIL
the sunshine. the rainfall and other ele-
ments that enter into farming are so
much more favorable here than else
where. The increase in the area planted
and the volume of the several crops is
annually very small This year. accord
ing to the official statistics. the acreage
in wheat is o per cent greater than last
year. but only per cent greater than
1909. The acreage In rye this year Is
3 per cent greater than 1910. but there
was no increase In the volume or value
Of poultry products, although one million
five hundred thousand dollars worth of
eggs were imported from the east that
year.
Everything possible is done by machin-
cry The managers of the big estates
find II so difficult to obtain labor that
they use steam and electric motors
wherever they can. The Irvine ranch
which is supposed to be the biggest In
California. with 10000 acres under cult
vation. does almost everything by steam
and electric power, and has an average OF
one horse to q section Of land. Last year
the Irvine ranch raised 10000 acres OF
barley, 5000 acres of beans. 1000 acres
OF alfalfa, 1,5OO acres Of hay. but only
by traction engines which haul sixteen
gangs Of plows of six burrows each and
turn a strip of earth twenty-four feet
wide at every trip. When the grain is
ripe the same engine is attached to a
reaper and binder which does practically
everything but grind the flour. bake the
bread and eat 1t. This traction engine
does the work OF sixty-five horses and is
handled by eight men.
The Santa isabella ranch, three miles
from Paso Robles. produces the milk,
cream. butter. eggs
Santa isabella and chickens that are
~ used on the coast line
ASooA' branch OF the South
ern Pacific railroad. There Is q re-
frigerator storehouse at the Paso Robles
station, and every time a train stops the
conductor OF the dining car receives his
supply. It is a great advertisement for
the road. Two hundred Holstein cows
are grazing in the beautiful pastures. and
are turned into alfalfa fields for couple
of hours every day. There are thou
sands OF chickens also. which require sew
eral men to take care Of them. The en-
tire output OF the ranch goes to the hotel
at Paso Robles and the Southern Pacific
dining cars.
1t seems unreasonable and indeed un-
natural for California to import eggs
and poultry when the field for produc-