CALIFORNIA. 



97 



.mltiplies almost in a geometric r:it'u> 

 over one million gallons were made; 

 , . r i\\ ami a balf millions of gaUoni, 

 duet ion was over MX mil- 

 ill n-. Above tl-irty millions of 

 t in tho State, and all will 

 i full In arin.L' before 1870. Considerable 

 no are distilled for brandy, 

 the 1'iMinly of tlio Pacific coast lias a high 

 itiitn for its purity and flavor, which will 

 1 farther enhanced as it grows older. 

 Tin- ciiltiin- of tho other small fruits, straw- 

 :.ispberries, blackberries, currants, 

 . nd apricots, has also been great- 

 .-nded, and the rich, deep soil of the State 

 produces these of a quality superior to those 

 foninl in any other part of the world. As a 

 fruit-crowing country California is unsurpassed. 

 Tin.- climate too is so varied that all the fruits 

 of the temperate and semi-tropical, and even 

 some of those of the tropical regions, are suc- 

 il. The apple, peach, pear, and plum are 

 of extraordinary size and flavor, in 

 tlu- northern and middle counties; the cherry, 

 fig, pawpaw, apricot, and the more tender va- 

 grapes, succeed -well in the Sacra- 

 mento valley and on the coast in the middle 

 counties, while tho orange, lernon, banana, 

 guava, and other delicious semi-tropical fruits, 

 abound in the south. The country is also ad- 

 mirably adapted for root crops, which attain 

 great size without losing their tenderness and 

 richness. The southern counties also produce 

 spi-vs and spicy roots in great perfection, the 

 pimento, the black pepper, the nutmeg, and it 

 is thought both the cinnamon and clove will 

 flourish well there. The ginger-root has already 

 been grown of quality superior to that import- 

 ed from China. Coffee is also successfully cul- 

 tivated in Southern California, and from tho 

 great similarity of the country to the best tea- 

 districts of China and Japan it is believed that 

 ;n be grown of a quality fully equal to tho 

 best of tho Flowery Kingdom. 



But tho department of agriculture upon 

 which, next to the cultivation of tho grape, 

 the attention of Californian agriculturists is 

 now concentrated, is the culture of silk. In 

 the ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA for 1866, and in the 

 article Agriculture in the present volume, some 

 mention is made of the rapid increase of this 

 industry, but its progress in 1867 has been be- 

 yond all precedent. The Sacramento valley 

 and the vicinity of San Jos6 are at present its 

 principal scats, though other sections are enter- 

 ing upon it to such an extent that it is difficult 

 y where the greatest quantity will be 

 grown next year. The soil of the valley is ad- 

 mirably adapted to the growth of the mul- 

 berry, and the dry season, from May to Novem- 

 ber, iiiMiivs the greatest perfection of its 

 t 1 . The Morus multifaulis is preferred 

 tor the first feeding on account of its softness 

 and tenderness, but it does not make as good 

 silk as the Morus moretta or the Morus alba, 

 and tho older worms are fed on these exclusive- 

 VOL. vii. 7 



ly. Tho mulberry is propagated by cutting*, 

 and is kept pruned low to a height not exceed- 

 ing six or eight feet. The h'rwt year tln-y yi-ld 

 about 8,000 Ibs. of leaves to the acre, tho sec- 

 ond year 60,000 Ibs., and suh-i-<jiieiit years still 

 larger quantities. Mr. Haynie, im experienced 

 silk-grower of Sacramento, states that seventy- 

 eight tons of mulberry-leaves, the product of 

 about two and a half acres of mulberry -trees, 

 when in full bearing, will make ono million of 

 the largest Chinese cocoons. The Japanese 

 cocoons arc smaller and require only about 

 two-thirds -the quantity. The million of co- 

 coons, when well dried and in California they 

 can kill the chrysalis by forty-eight Lours' ex- 

 posure to the sun will weigh about 1,400 

 pounds and will reel 420 pounds of raw silk. 

 The expense for the care and feeding of the 

 worms, drying the cocoons, and winding the 

 silk for this quantity, is about $952, and the 

 cost of land, planting mulberries, cocoonery 

 and reels, or, in other words, the entire plant, 

 is about $10,500. The silk can be sold at tho 

 cocoonery for seven dollars per pound, giving 

 $2,940 for the gross proceeds, or nearly $2,000 

 net for less than four months' labor. But it is 

 more profitable to have ten acres of mulberries, 

 and raise four millions of worms, hatching them 

 a million a month, as the additional cost of the 

 plant is not more than $6,000 or $7,000, and tho 

 cost of labor proportionally less, while the 

 net profit will exceed $10,000 per annum. The 

 absence of rain from May to November and 

 the freedom from thunderstorms conduce great- 

 ly to the health of the worms, and there is no 

 disease or loss to be taken into the account in 

 this industry. The silk is of superior quality, 

 and manufactories are already established in the 

 State for the production of silk goods. 



Bee-keeping has also become a very promi- 

 nent feature in Californian agriculture, the 

 abundant flowers of the country affording a 

 fine pasturage for the bees, whose yield of 

 honey is much greater than in the Eastern 

 States. The wheat and other cereal crops of 

 the State are larger each successive year, and the 

 Califoruian wheat has a peculiar value in the 

 market from the great preponderance of glu- 

 ten in it. The alfalfa, or Chilian millet, a grass 

 having some resemblance to lucerne, and of 

 which two or three crops can be secured in a 

 single season, is largely cultivated for green 

 fodder, for which it is admirably adapted. 



The Manufactories of California are increas- 

 ing in number and in the amount of capital 

 employed. Some of these establishments have a 

 high reputation for the quality of the goods 

 they manufacture. This is particularly the 

 case with the founderies and other manufac- 

 tories engaged in the production of mining im- 

 plements, quartz mills, etc. It is tho universal 

 testimony of practical miners that the Califor- 

 nian wares are far more serviceable and better 

 adapted to their work than any which they 

 can procure from the East. The woollen 

 blankets, scrapes, and pouches manufactured in 



