CALIFORNIA. 



85 



produce of quicksilver 808,786 flasks, or 23,- 



4 pounds. From November, 1863, to 



IM r, 1864, the total product wns 46,210 



lla-iks. or :?.. r )t;r..'J(ii) pounds, to which jirc to In- 



added 7-0 lla>ks from washing. In Iscritho 



product was 47,07H lla>ks, or :;.i''n4 > 46fi$ 



pounds, to which nro to be added 116 flasks 



from washings. The grow product for 1866 



wns 80,02'.) flask'?. Tlif- other quickMlvi-r mines 

 in California did not average 1,000 flasks per 

 month in 1800. The following is a rompara- 



tatement of the amount of quicksih 

 ported from California to various countrie* 

 since 1859: 



Borax was discovered in California in 1856, 

 and since that time but one company has been 

 formed for its production. About two tons 

 of crystal are produced daily. 



In agriculture the State has made consider- 

 able progress ; the culture of the vine is increas- 

 ing with great rapidity, and the pure wines and 

 brandies from the Pacific coast arc rapidly com- 

 ing into favor in the Eastern markets. Three 

 hundred varieties of the grape have been suc- 

 cessfully cultivated in the State, including all 

 the choicest varieties of wine-producing grapes 

 in Europe; and so diversified is the surface and 

 climate of the State, that every variety of wine 

 which can be produced in European vineyards, 

 from the light Rhenish wines and clarets to the 

 heavy-bodied sherry, port, and Madeira, can be 

 produced of better quaJity than in Europe, from 

 the greater richness of the soil and dryness of 

 the climate. The vineyards of the sierras, being 

 mostly on a volcanic soil, rival the southern 

 Italian and Sicilian vineyards in their produc- 

 tion. The vine in California is not subject to the 

 oidinm, or grape-disease, which has proved PO 

 destructive in Europe ; nor is it liable to mil- 

 dew. In Europe the wine crop is a failure as 

 often as one year out of three ; in California 

 it seldom or never fails, and the yield is uni- 

 formly much larger than that of the best years 

 in Europe. The number of vines already set 

 all of which will be in full bearing in three 

 j'cars is estimated at twenty-five millions. 

 The varieties of wine exported, thus far, are 

 hock, champagne, port, and claret ; the last ex- 

 ported the past year for the first time. The 

 wine-growers also export Muscatel and A nycHm, 

 which are not properly wines, though ranked 

 ns such, being made by tho addition of .sufficient 

 brandy to the clarified must or unfennciitcd 

 wine to keep it from fermenting. These con- 

 tain usually 18 or 19 per cent, of alcohol. 



The wheat product, of the State is large, and 

 is constantly increasing. It comprises 84 per 



cent, of the entire agricultural product of the 

 State, and the yield per acre is astonishing. The 

 wheat of California is especially rich in gluten, 

 surpassing in this quality the highly-prized 

 Southern flour. The barley crop is also large, 

 exceeding hitherto wheat or any other grain 

 crop, and forming 39 per cent, of the agricul- 

 tural product of the State. A yield of 60 

 bushels to the acre is not uncommon, and in 

 the valley of Pajaro 14,900 bushels were raised 

 from 100 acres an average of 149 bushels to 

 the acre by Mr. J. B. Hill. The root crops are 

 enormous, and of excellent quality, as are most 

 of the fruits. 



Within the past three years, and mainly in 

 consequence of the earnest efforts of Mr. L. M. 

 Prevost, the attention of agriculturists has been 

 turned to silk culture. The climate of Califor- 

 nia is admirably adapted to this crop. The 

 morus multicaulis grows with great rapidity, 

 and yields an immense quantity of leaves, and 

 the worms feed on them with avidity. The worm 

 is very healthy, and produces cocoons of excel- 

 lent quality. Eight hundred thousand cocoons 

 were brought into market in 1865, and it was 

 thought that six times that quantity would be 

 produced in 1866. Two large silk factories have 

 been established in the State, and the Califor- 

 nians hope, in n very few years, to cease the 

 importation of silk. 



The manufacture* of California are fast at- 

 taining a magnitude which, in the older States, 

 Iris been reached only by many years of slow 

 growth. Woollen manufactures take a high 

 rank. Three million pounds of wool raised 

 on the Pacific slope, besides considerable quan- 

 tities imported, were used to supply the woollen 

 mills of the State. The principal articles manu- 

 factured were blankets, not simply the Mexican 

 terapt, but army and other blankets of great 

 excellence. The Government ordered these 

 largely for the army during the war, as being 

 superior to those obtainable elsewhere. Some 



