20 



cents a pound, while cotton was worth twenty-one cents a pound, and 

 the import of the latter was one billion two hundred and sixty-two mil- 

 lion five hundred and thirty-six thousand nine hundred and twelve 

 pounds. This fact is mentioned to show its relative value in the com- 

 mercial and manufacturing world at that time. Ramie seed was brought 

 from Jamaica in eighteen hundred and sixty-five, to the United States, 

 and it has since that time been cultivated in the experimental gardens 

 at Washington, with good success. In eighteen hundred and sixty-seven 

 it was introduced into the vicinity of New Orleans, by M. Roezl, and a 

 great excitement was created in regard to its cultivation. Single roots 

 sold at a dollar each. A writer in the Agricultural .Report of eighteen 

 hundred and sixty-seven, says: " Exaggerated representations have been 

 made, and it is feared that the ardor of experimenters may be cooled by 

 disappointment." That it is a rapid grower cannot be doubted, as it is 

 asserted that from a single root more than one thousand plants have 

 been obtained in a single year. That the rich bottom lands along our 

 river borders are well adapted to its cultivation, and that it can be pro- 

 duced hero in immense quantities, there is no doubt. We would recom- 

 mend its introduction and experimental cultivation by our farmers, in 

 these districts, to test the question whether it can be made to pay as a 

 staple product. The plant is grown and propagated by a division of the 

 roots, by layers and by cuttings. The second year the stalks, in good 

 soil, grow to the height of six or eight feet, and by harvesting the first 

 growth when mature, it will again shoot up from the roots and produce 

 the second crop, equal to, if not greater than the first. With facilities 

 for its manufacture, which will doubtless be supplied if the product 

 proves a success, we think the whole industry might be rendered satis- 

 factorily remunerative. 



GRAPE CULTURE. 



It seems like repeating an old story to recapitulate the advantages of 

 the soil and climate of California for the cultivation of the grape. The 

 prevailing disposition of qur agriculturists to produce but a single lead- 

 ing staple — grain, apparently without inquiry as to whether other pro- 

 ducts could be rendered more profitable, justifies a frequent reference to 

 and discussion of this subject. There is scarcely an acre of good wheat 

 land in the State that is not also good grape land; the exception being 

 on the coast, in the range of prevailing fogs. On the other hand, there 

 are thousands of acres of the most excellent grape land in the world 

 which is valueless for wheat or other grain. This latter quality of land 

 will be sought for and highly prized in a few years, by those who pro- 

 pose to make a specialty of grape, silk and tea culture. We refer to the 

 foot-hills of the Coast and Sierra ranges of mountains. But what M r e 

 want at present is to impress upon our grain farmers the many advan- 

 tages of cultivating a variety of products, instead of depending, as they 

 do now, almost solely on grain. They will, in this way, find farming not 

 only a much more agreeable and attractive, but a far more lucrative 

 employment. We have taken considerable pains to inquire into the relative 

 profits from land devoted to grape culture and that of wheat, in some of 

 the grain producing sections of the State. Yolo County, for instance, 

 is one of the best wheat producing counties, and one that has the best 

 facilities for moving that wheat to market. For a few years past, some 

 of the more enterprising farmers in this county have been planting vines, 

 until there are now a number of valuable vineyards interspersed with 



