Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow
Wheat
The leading agricultural product of the State, as well as of all
countries capable of the production, is wheat, the staff of life
and the ancient basis of values. The California farmer having
learned that the summer-cracked soil of the great valleys would
product wheat in greater quantities than he had been accustomed
to gather on the prairies of the West, and that the long
droughts which he had thought precluded cultivation only
perfected his grain and insured a safe harvest, has turned his
chief attention to the raising of this cereal until the crop
materially affects the markets of the world. In the crop year
ending June 30th, 1873, there were produced 12,675,470 centals
of wheat, from 2,003.420 acres, and in 1874, 19,891,800 centals
from 2,490,700 acres, a general average of about fourteen
bushels per acre. The average was much reduced by the drought
which affected the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, where
large tracts had been sown. Many farms reported a yield of
forty-five, fifty, and as high as sixty bushels per acre, the
larger farms generally a less rate than the small ones. The
counties producing over a million centals were: Colusa,
1,700,000; Santa Clara, 1,360,000; Monterey, 1,132,000; San
Joaquin, 2,200,000; Stanislaus, 3,220,000, and Merced,
2,400,000. This royal grain is grown in every section of the
State, and at every altitude, from San Diego at the south, to
Siskiyou at the north, and from the sea coast to the high
plateaus of the Sierra Nevada. Many of the great farms cover
from ton to forty thousand acres, and in the great valleys of
the Sacramento, San Joaquin and Salinas the traveler may pass
for miles and miles, almost a day's journey, through a
continuous wheat field, unobstructed and unguarded by fence, the
growing grain spreading to the horizon like a broad prairie in
its native wildness. A single farm on the bank of the Sacramento
River, of 45,000 acres, produced some 30,000 tons, or at the
rate of twenty-five bushels per acre.
To take this crop of a single farm to market at San Francisco
would require the constant services of ten steamers, making a
trip in ten days, each towing a barge of 300 tons, for a period
of one hundred days, and in sending it to England, would
dispatch a ship of a thousand tons each day for a whole month.
The amount of the whole crop of the State that can be spared to
export is, placed in round numbers, at 600,000 tons, leaving
200,000 tons for home consumption and seed. To illustrate the
magnitude of this a calculator has estimated that if it were
taken on carts overland to New York, one ton to each cart, it
would form a close column with one end entering New York before
the rear had left San Francisco. This imaginary train is surely
an imposing one, and would rise to mock those who a few years
since declared the great valleys but sun-burnt deserts, and the
State unfitted for self-support. The usual market for wheat is
Great Britain, where California, from its superior quality and
dryness, always commands a ready sale. The rates of freight vary
from $17 to $25 per ton, and the price in San Francisco from
$1.60 to $2.25 per cent al, the first being about the rate for
1874.
The production of this grain has greatly increased during the
past five years. In 1865, the product was 11,579,127 bushels,
and the average twenty-four bushels per acre. The prices then
were from $3 to 85 per cental, two preceding years of great
drought having nearly exhausted the home supply of breadstuffs.
Then California was not an exporter. In the subsequent years of
1887 and 1868, the price exceeded $2.50 per cental, which
greatly encouraged the production. But the low price of $1.50,
in 1869, did not discourage the farmer, and a still greater
breadth was sown in 1870. The extension of the railroads through
the wheat-growing districts has given an impetus to the
business, and a better prospect for profits in distant
localities. With the cost of cultivating and harvesting an acre
of nineteen bushels, or 1,140 pounds, at $16, and the price one
and three-fourth cents per pound, or $19.95, a profit of $3.95
per acre is left the farmer. The cost of production is divided
as follows: Plowing, sowing and harvesting, $8.50; threshing,
$1.50; sacks, $1; hauling, freight, etc., $3.50; interest or
rent, $1.50.
The wheat for shipment abroad is freighted to San Francisco,
Vallejo, or Oakland, in small vessels or by railroad, and at
those several points is taken on board ship. From far up the
Sacramento or San Joaquin, it is brought in barges towed by
small steamers, and the cars bring it from points along the line
of the railroads. An elevator for raising and loading grain in
bulk was constructed at Vallejo, but the system of shipping
grain in sacks is considered the best, and is therefore adhered
to. The usual varieties cultivated are the Chilean, Sonora Club
and Australian, and the distinction of winter and spring wheat
is not known. The sowing is best made in November and December,
in order to be benefitted by all the rains of the winter; but
good crops are often obtained when the seeding is made in
February and March, if it should happen that rains fall in
considerable quantity in April and May. Harvest begins in June,
and is done by reaper or header machines, drawn by horses, and
the threshing is by machinery often driven by steam. The grain
is received in sacks, and is stored in the field, by the
railroad stations, or by the river landings, where it awaits a
market or transportation. Stacks and barns, in which to store
the crop to await the toilsome process of the flail, during the
long and frozen winter, are unknown in the sunny clime of
California. The golden grain can safely remain in the field,
either in the straw or in the sack, improving in the dry
atmosphere until the rains of October or November, during which
the farmer has had ample time to transport it to market or the
great warehouses by tide-water, where at any time the ships of
commerce may take it on board for a distant port. This dried and
hard wheat is preferred in all markets to any other, as it
withstands without damage the long voyage through the tropics,
where damp grain would heat and sweat. It is, moreover, strong
in nutritious matter, and requires the addition of much water
when prepared for use, thus giving the advantage of increased
weight to the consumer.
Barley
This cereal ranks next to wheat in quantity of production and
aggregate value. It was in great demand in the early days of the
State for feed for horses, and for a number of years constituted
the leading product of the farmer. Being regarded as a hardy
plant, it was thought to be the only grain that could be
successfully raised in such a climate as California. Growing
finely and producing a perfect kernel, it became a favorite
article with the farmer, and nearly all the grain fields of the
State wore devoted to it. At last, in about 1857-8, the product
became so great the markets were overstocked, and barley sold at
from fifty cents to $1 per cental. This low rate admonished the
farmer that he must vary his crop, and wheat, oats and other
grains were essayed. Success attended the venture, and thus
barley is the honored pioneer of the cereals of California. This
grows on lands not favorable to other grains and as the seed is
not so enclosed in the head as wheat, more falls in harvesting,
this seeding the ground for the following year. The "volunteer"
crops from such sowing are often better than the first, and give
an easy profit to the farmer. Five and six volunteer crops have
been known to succeed each other, but usually in the third year
the field is so choked with woods and cheat as to render the
crop valueless except for hay. The yield of barley is often as
high as forty bushels per acre, but the report of the
Surveyor-General shows the crop for 1860 to have averaged twenty
bushels per acre. There were then 362,830 acres sown, and the
product was 7,331,333 bushels. In the year 1873 there were
451,000 acres sown and 8,405,484 bushels harvested, and in 1874,
509,200 acres and 11,972,400 bushels. The price of this grain
during some years has exceeded that of wheat, so prone have
farmers been to abandon one class of products and concentrate
upon another. Lately the price has but little exceeded $1 per
cental, being from $1 to $1.10; but this will give an average
profit of $5 to $7 per acre. The barley of California, like the
wheat, is a superior article, and it has been successfully
exported to the East and England, where it was used for making
beer. Its great superiority has created such a market that
California barley is enabled to pay railroad transportation
across the continent. This grain may be planted later than
wheat, as it grows and matures rapidly. The manner of
harvesting, threshing and sacking is the same as wheat, but
barley finds a home market rather than seeking a foreign one. It
is used throughout the Pacific Coast as food for horses, to the
almost exclusion of oats, and is also converted into malt for
making beer.
Oats
In most countries oats constitute the principal grain food for
horses, but in California barley has been substituted. Not, only
is this cereal the delicate food for horses, but in Scotland and
on the continent of Europe it is highly regarded for its
nutritious and strengthening qualities as a food for man. The
cultivation of this valuable grain is comparatively neglected,
and for several years the acreage and yield has fallen off. In
1839 we recorded a product of 2,568,759 bushels from 72,034
acres, being an average of thirty-two bushels per acre. In 1872
we find 88,056 acres and 2,164,017 bushels, and in 1878 it had
fallen to 61,967 acres and 1,643,964 bushels, an average of
twenty-six and a half bushels per acre. The usual market price
for oats ranges from $1.45 to $1.65 per cental. This beautifully
growing grain is a "native and to the manor born," the hills and
plains biding covered with it in a wild state, growing most
luxuriantly. This indigenous grass is largely cut for hay, for
which it is well adapted. To observe the countless thousands of
acres of this wild grain waving in the wind when the virgin soil
of the State, was untouched by the plow, was one of the
pleasantest sights that greeted the eye of the pioneer, and was
convincing to every sensible observer of the capacity of the
country for the production of every other species of grain. It
has lately been demonstrated that by careful cultivation the
native wild oat can be transformed into a plump and heavy seed,
superior and more hardy than any other species of that grain.
This is a grand discovery, and will save from extirpation this
fine native plant.
Oats are grown successfully in this State, and, as with other
grains, exceed in weight the standard established in the East,
weighing here usually about forty pounds per bushel. As with all
other grain in California, it is sold and reckoned by the cental,
or hundred pounds. This grain is grown throughout the State, and
is planted and harvested as wheat and barley.
Corn
The climate of California being warm and the soil rich, it would
naturally be supposed that corn would be the most largely
producing grain, but such is not the fact. Referring again to
the Surveyor-General's Report, we see that 88,025 acres were
cultivated in 1878, and 1,807,814 bushels produced an average of
near thirty-five bushels per acre. In the great corn-growing
States of Indiana, Kentucky and others of the Mississippi
Valley, from forty to one hundred bushels are produced, showing
that California is far behind those States in that grain. It is
gratifying, however, to know that the grains which are raised
are preferable for breadstuffs, equal as food for stock, and are
produced with less manual labor; and, besides that, the luscious
grapes of our vineyards furnish to the bibulous a pleasanter
beverage than corn whiskey.
The fact is now generally claimed that this cereal is grown with
greater certainty than formerly, and the product is increasing.
There are several localities whore corn is grown with great
success. These are in the vicinity of Chico, in Russian River
Valley, and at El Monte, in Los Angeles County. The worm is the
great enemy of the corn-grower, but the localities mentioned are
more exempt from its ravages than elsewhere. Quite large
quantities are grown in the vicinity of cities, where it is sold
green in the markets, at high prices. The usual price for
shelled corn is about $l.75 per cental.
Rye
The rye crop of California is among the least of the cereals,
simply, it appears, because it has not become the fashion to
cultivate it. This grain grows to great perfection, particularly
in the mountainous and colder sections of the State. Upon the
eastern slopes of the Sierra the grain grows to a size
resembling the plump berry of wheat, and is rich and nutritious.
This is one of the best of cereals for domestic use, ranking
next to wheat, and is raised whore the other will not yield a
remunerative crop. If it is desired to find a substitute for
corn for distillation, rye can well supply the place. The
opportunities for the distiller in this connection are very
great. The fine quality of the grain, the cheapness of the land
where grown, and the certainty of a crop, are inducements to its
cultivation and utilization. The Reports of the Surveyor-General
give no basis for an estimate of the average product per acre,
as much of the rye, as well as other grains, is cut for hay;
therefore we see reported many acres of rye cultivated which
return barely enough of grain to seed the ground for another
crop. The official report for 1873 shows a product of 39,336
bushels, and 2,533 acres cultivated. The crop of 1874 is much
larger. Rye usually sells at $1.00 to $1.10 per cental.
Buckwheat
This is usually a very successful crop, although the grain is
grown only for local consumption, and the market is easily
overstocked. The product in 1878 is officially reported at
18,757 bushels, from 518 acres, or an average of twenty-six
bushels per acre. Buckwheat flour soils at $3.50 per hundred
lbs.
Beans
The favorite food of the miner and the toiler in the country
has, since the days of the pioneer, been the edible whose name
heads this paragraph. Frijoles and tortillas were the mainstay
of the country in the days of '49. Then they were imported in
large quantities from Peru and Chili and around Cape Horn. Beans
are now cultivated to supply the home demand and for export.
Upward of 200,000 bushels are raised annually, the average being
about twenty-seven bushels per acre, and the price about $1.70
per one hundred lbs.
Peas
This plant is cultivated successfully in every section of the
State, sufficient to supply all demands, the annual product
being about 100,000 bushels. As peas are usually consumed when
green, the estimate of production is difficult to make with any
degree of accuracy.
Peanuts
roduced in large quantities on the sandy river bottoms, the
product being about 200,000 bushels per annum. This properly
belongs to the tubers, as it grows beneath the ground. It is
very prolific, producing from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds per acre.
California peanuts have become popular in other states, and
quite large quantities are exported.
Castor Bean
The castor bean, from which the castor oil of commerce is
obtained, is indigenous to the soil of California, and therefore
its cultivation was naturally suggested. In the warm valleys it
grows luxuriantly, and its product is becoming an important item
in agricultural statistics. The product in 1873 was 233,932
pounds. The counties where this is chiefly cultivated are Los
Angeles, Sutter and Yuba. The success of the cultivation is
variously estimated, but the profits reported in some localities
encourage the belief that it will become a prominent crop. Four
to five cents per pound are readily obtained for castor beans.
Flax
The establishment of extensive Linseed Oil Works in San
Francisco has stimulated the cultivation of flax, and the
breadth of land devoted to this product is rapidly increasing.
In 1873, says the official report, 3,959 acres were in flax. The
Surveyor-General estimates that 2,000 pounds of seed can be
grown per acre, returning $80, seemingly much more profitable
than wheat. The stalk is seldom saved for the fibre, as, when
cultivated for seed, it is not valuable for spinning, and it is
asserted that when grown in the warm climate and rich soil first
appropriated by the husbandman, it becomes too brittle for use.
Flax and hemp are indigenous to California, and there can be no
question but that they may be grown to perfection for every
purpose to which they are usually applied. A bagging factory at
Oakland, in Alameda County, uses a large quantity of jute, which
it imports, but would substitute flax and hemp were such fibre
obtainable and properly prepared. Four hundred hands are
employed, and ten thousand sacks are turned out daily. During
the season of 1874 the Pacific Cordage Company planted a field
of five acres in Alameda County, in hemp, as an experiment,
which yielded about 1,000 pounds of fibre to the acre, of
excellent quality, returning a value of about $250 per acre. The
culture and manufacture of flax, hemp and jute offer grand
opportunities for unlimited capital.
Rice
Much as the cultivation of rice has been advocated, the
favorable opportunities shown forth and great profits assured,
this valuable cereal does not yet enter into any table of
California agricultural statistics. Some fifty million pounds
are imported annually, at a cost of upward of three million
dollars. The extended area of tule lands in various parts of the
State, particularly about the delta of the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers, are eminently suited to the culture of rice, and
the inquiry is often propounded why it has never been
undertaken. Experiments have been reported as in contemplation,
but no results are returned. These lands are now devoted to
wheat and produce largely, but as that grain brings only from
one and a half to two cents per pound, the higher price of rice,
being from five to eight cents per pound, it appears that the
cultivation of the latter would be most tempting to the
enterprising farmer. Upland rice is grown successfully, as
proven by experiment of Mr. J. H. Taylor, who, in 1874, planted
three acres in Livermore Valley, which grew well. It is the
belief of the experimenter that upland rice will grow on any
land that will produce good barley.
Hops
In the cultivation of the hop it has been necessary to overcome
a prejudice, as it was in many other things, and now that the
California hop is admitted as superior to all others, unless it
is the Bavarian, its culture is advancing. The quantity produced
it is difficult to ascertain, as no reliable statistics are
collated, the official reports varying so greatly from those
obtained privately or from newspapers as to render them totally
valueless. The County Assessors return a product of about half a
million pounds per annum, at the rate of from two hundred to
eight hundred pounds per acre ; while unofficial sources report
a product of from one to two thousand pounds per acre. Formerly
the brewers imported the hops required in their business, but
now they are exported largely, California hops generally loading
the market in New York, and selling at from thirty to fifty
cents per pound. The Eastern and English markets for the
superior California hops is almost unlimited, and they seem
capable of driving the product of the yards of Wisconsin and New
York, the principal hop-growing sections of the East, from the
market. Here the yield is greater, the product better, and the
price higher. This is another branch of cultivation that will
relieve the soil and the market of wheat, greatly to the
advantage of the farmer.
California Gazetteer |
AHGP California
Source: Pacific Coast Business Directory for 1876-78, Compiled
by Henry G. Langley, San Francisco, 1875
|
