417 



stated to be that it rarely needs repairs, requires fewer men*, is free from 

 loss by scorching-, occupies less space, requires less driviug--x)ower, and 

 produces a superior quality of flour. 



Preparation of palmetto-leaves for shipment. — As there has 

 been considerable inquiry upon this subject, we give the directions 

 given by Alexander McRae, commercial agent, Liverpool, England, for 

 gathering, curing, packing, and shipping these leaves. Mr. McRae 

 states that they should be cut and gathered when fully grown, with six 

 or eight inches of the leaf- stalk left on. They should then be dried in 

 the shade, where the air circulates freely, and be prevented from warping 

 or twisting too much by being occasionally piled one upon another and 

 pressed by a moderately heavy piece of plank or other weight. When 

 fully dried they should be tied, compactly, in bundles of forty to fifty 

 leaves, and these bundles afterward made up into bales like cotton, of 

 suitable size and weight for handling and shipping. A long, open, airy 

 shed, with a tight roof, should be provided for drying and baling the 

 leaves ; and this shed should be fitted up with tiers of oj^en racks, from 

 floor to roof, constructed after the manner of houses for drying the 

 brush of broom-corn. These racks, of open slats, one above the other, 

 may be six or eight inches apart and three feet wide, with i^assages 

 between. In gathering the leaves, handle carefully, piling the fans one 

 ui)on the other in the cart or wagon, taking care not to split or " fray " 

 the webs. The largest and most perfect leaves are, of course, most 

 valuable, and they should be sized and sorted before baling. The dry- 

 ing process must not be carried forward too fast ; nor should the leaves 

 be allowed to get wet while drying, as this will render them brittle and 

 impair their value. 



Cotton culture in California. — A committee of the California 

 Cotton Growers' Association, recently appointed to examine a tract of 

 laud near Bakersfield, Kern County, have reported favorably ui)on its 

 adaptability for the purposes of a cotton plantation, and the association 

 will probably locate their operations there. Upwards of 20,000 acres 

 will be included in the purchase, located in a rich and well-watered 

 region. The cotton experiments in Merced County have thus far jjroved 

 quite successful. Colonel Strong states that the crop was dependent 

 upon the rain-fall for the moisture by which it was sustained. While 

 the average yield of wheat and barley is stated to be only 2^ bushels, 

 and of corn 15 bushels, the average yield of the cotton will be 375 

 I)ounds of ginned cotton to the acre. Colonel Strong thinks that with 

 irrigation the yield would have reached 750 pounds of ginned cotton, 

 and 45 bushels of seed per acre, and that a similar yield would have 

 resulted from the rain-fall of a good season. 



Irrigation in California. — Work is progressing on the San Joa- 

 quin Irrigating Canal with considerable energy. Thirty miles have 

 already been excavated, and the work is to be pushed rapidly through 

 the winter. The canal is to be two hundred miles long, commencing at 

 King's River, theuee sixty miles to Fresno Slough, thence one hundred 

 and fifty miles to a point near Antioch, on the San Joaquin River. The 

 cut is 40 feet wide, 7 feet deep, including height of bank ; width of bank 

 at base, 12 feet -, top, 6 feet. Tow-boats are to be run along the canal 

 when complete. 



Beet-sugar in California. — The Alvais^ado Beet-Sugar Company 

 are now well under way again in the manufacture of sugar. It is stated 

 that the supply of beets this year will reach 800 tons — 16 tons to the 



