STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 301 



As new railroads center here and fresh competition is added in the carry- 

 ing trade, better facilities are afforded, quicker time and lower rates, the 

 business will be found practically to have no limit; but, of course, much 

 has yet to be learned and many improvements can easily be made. 



As showing the importance to which the fruit shipping business of Sac- 

 ramento has grown, the following, taken from the Chicago "Inter-Ocean" 

 of October 25, 1887, is not out of place: 



Sacramento has become the great fruit-shipping center of the State for the eastern 

 markets, as the official figures abundantly demonstrate. During the year 1888 Sacramento 

 shipped east in green fruit, twenty-six times as much as Los Angeles and San Francisco 

 combined, and about nine tenths of the entire amount of California fruit shipped. The 

 iigure> from the railroad companies' books show that San Francisco shipped 525,290 

 pounds ; Los Angeles, 201,9(10 pounds ; Sacramento, 19,440,180 pounds, which is certainly a 

 substantial showing. A good idea of the volume of the city's export 



business may be gained from the official figures of the Southern Pacific Company, which 

 show that of the total 51,589,820 pounds of freight shipped over that road from the entire 

 State during August of the present year, Sacramento shipped about one fourth. 



Sacramento is, and will continue to be, the chief fruit-exporting market of the State. 

 Its advantages in this particular are so pronounced and so firmly established, that the 

 city can afford to ignore the claims and misrepresentations of all envious rivals. 



The fruit shipped in 1887 will greatly exceed in bulk the shipments of 

 1886. 



It may not be thought out of place here to enumerate other productions 

 that are being found highly profitable in this county, as well as some that 

 are just passing the experimental stage. 



The Hop Culture. — The following from the pen of Mr. Daniel Flint, a 

 leading hop grower of Sacramento, will be of interest: 



Hop culture on this coast dates back to about 1858. Prior to that date most of the hops 

 consumed came around Cape Horn, sealed up in tin cases. The first roots were imported 

 by Wilson Flint, from Vermont, via the Isthmus. Hop culture developed very slowly, oji 

 account of the prejudice of the brewers against a hop that contained a much larger' per- 

 centage of strength than the ones they had been accustomed to use. Hop dealers dis- 

 couraged the use of California hops, because they thought it would interfere with their 

 imported article. The brewers found after awhile that it did not take near as many for a 

 brewing, and they must not be boiled or steeped as long as the eastern hop. Isfow an 

 eastern or foreign hop is a rarity in this market. It was early demonstrated that the soil 

 and climate of Sacramento County was unsurpassed for hop culture. Here, and the only 

 place known, a crop of from one to two thousand pounds per acre can be grown the first 

 year the roots or sets are planted. It is a common occurrence to grow two and three 

 thousand pounds per acre, and in some instances four thousand pounds have been grown 

 on an acre. 



We have no frosts to affect them when in a dormant state in the winter, no vermin to 

 affect them during growth, and no rains to destroy them during the gathering season. 



We use the willow, madrona, and redwood hop poles, also the wire trellis for training. 

 Most of the picking is done by Chinamen, a few Indians, and all the white help that will 

 work. It is believed with our facilities and the great product per acre, that this coast can 

 compete with the world in hop culture. The cost of picking green hops is from 80 cents to 

 $1 per hundred pounds. Twenty-eight to thirty pounds of dry hops are obtained from 

 one hundred pounds of green. It is believed that hop culture will become one of the lead- 

 ing industries of this coast, and that she will gain the reputation and have the world for 

 her market. 



In 1880, California grew 8,540 bales ; in 1881, 8,913 bales ; 1882, 14,227 bales ; 1883, 27,000 bales ; 

 1884, 41,231 bales ; 1885, 20,183 bales ; 1886, 28,411 bales. A bale of hops averages from 180 to 

 200 pounds. 



Alfalfa. — This excellent forage plant is one of the " main stays " of the 

 California farmer. Nothing Avould compensate him for the loss of this crop. 

 It is valuable for pasturage, hay, and seed. It is exceedingly vigorous, 

 hardy, and prolific; remains nearly dormant during November and Decem- 

 ber, and with this exception grows the year round. Three to five crops 

 each year can be cut, ranging from two to four tons each cutting per acre. 

 The last crop is usually taken for seed, for which a good market is found, 

 the seed yielding from $30 to $40 per acre. All kinds of stock do well on 



