AGRICULTURE AND SOILS OF CALIFORNIA. 497 
subsidence of the gold fever, and the returns received proved to be so 
much greater and more certain than those from the placer mines that 
it extended rapidly, and has ever since remained the largest and most 
generally appreciated product of California agriculture. The amount 
produced in 1878, an average year, was 22,000,000 of centals, of which 
8,069,825 were exported as grain, and about 500, 000 barrels of flour. In 
the markets of the world the wheats of the Pacific coast are noted for 
their high quality—the plumpness and light color of the “ berry,” and 
the high percentage of first-class flour it furnishes i in milling, At home 
the extraordinarily high product per acre of forty to sixty bushels, and 
even more, under very imperfect tillage, for a number of consecutive 
years, forms a strong incentive to this culture. Nor is the California 
wheat-grower obliged to be very careful in the choice of his seed. Prob- 
ably every known variety of wheat bas in the course of time been 
brought and tried here; but all, in a short time, seems to assume very 
nearly the same peculiar California type, upon which, in fact, it would 
seem hard to improve materially. It is almost ludicrous, ‘at times, 
to compare the eastern seed with its California offspring, which has 
undergone the ‘swelling process” of one season’s growth in her generous 
soil and climate. It is but fair to say that substantially the same 
peculiarities are observable in the wheats of Oregon, grown in the 
valley of the Willamette and on the plains of the Upper Columbia. Since 
the growing season in the greater part of California extends, with little 
interruption from cold, from the beginning of November to June, the 
distinction between winter and spring grain is also in a great measure 
lost. The farmer plows and sows as early as practicable, watching his 
chances between rains, in November and December if he can, in March 
if he must, or at any convenient time between; increasing the amount 
of seed sown per acre in proportion as there remains less time for the 
grain to tiller. Should the ears fail to fill, he can still make hay. 
Much discussion has been had concerning the merits of early as 
compared with late sowing. The objections against the former practice 
are that copious early rains may start the growth too rapidly, the 
chances being that in that case but little more water will fall until 
Christmas. Itis true a the weather-wise may sometimes gain ma- 
terially by delay in sowing; but the general result of experience seems 
to be that it is bétter in the long run to take the risk of having to sow 
twice, rather than that of being kept from sowing at all, until ‘too late," 
by persistent rains. It has therefore become a very common practice to 
“dry-sow” grain in summer-fallowed land in September and October. 
The seed lies quiescent in the parched and dusty ground until called 
forth by the rains, and in clean fields and ordinary seasons such grain 
generally yields the highest returns. The preparation of the ground 
for the crop on the large wheat farms is usually made by means of 
gang-plows with from two to six shares, drawn by from three to five 
horses or mules, three animals very commonly walking abreast. <At 
the critical season it is not uncommon to see half a dozen such imple- 
ments and teams at work in a single field, closely followed by a wagon 
carrying seed-grain and the centrifugal sower, which showers the grain 
upon the fresh-turned furrows, in strips thirty or more feet wide. Before 
the day ends the great (usually flexible) harrows have also performed 
their work, and 30 or 40 acres of what was a stubble field in the morn- 
ing have been converted into a well-seeded grain field. Of late, appli- 
ances for seeding and covering have been attached to the gang-plows 
themselves, so that the whole task is performed in one operation—cer- 
tainly the perfection of labor-saving machinery. Seed drills are as vet 
32 AGR 
