California AcKicuLTurxisx and Live Stock Journal. 



(!;0nt$ir0ntIeuc^ 



JitWE. followiug is the letter of our special 

 j'l' correspondent, wnicb reached us too late 

 'Vb;i for our October issue: 

 c^ The State Fair this year was uuusual- 

 ly interesting in some departments, and as 

 disgusting in other respects as can well be 

 imagined. Horse-racing was the principal 

 feature, as usual. It is astonishing how 

 many people, and that of the class who claim 

 to be respectable, are all absorbed in this le- 

 galized gambling game. It is a disgrace, not 

 only to the Association upder whose auspices 

 the Fair was held, but to the State. Our 

 Legislature appropriates money ostensibly to 

 encourage agriculture, and here it is squan- 

 dered among the professional horse-jockeys, 

 adding nothing to the industrial interests of 

 the State m any way. We enact laws forbid- 

 ding gambling, and then, in the same breath, 

 offer a premium for the most demoralizing 

 and wholesale forms of it. Men and women 

 of all classes of society were engaged in it. 

 Nothing else was spoken of in conversation. 

 Betting and pool-selling was the only theme | 

 that seemed to be interesting, and so the city | 

 papers are full ofit. I am proud of the fact j 

 that I am not expected to post the readers of I 

 the Agbicultukist on the issues of this bar- , 

 barous sport. ! 



The show of California horses was much 

 larger and finer than ever before, There were 

 on exhibition some horses which showed rare 

 qualities for higher usefulness than mere 

 speed. There were, perhaps, some of the 

 finest stallions in the country here. We 

 have not time to notice all deserving of spe- 

 cial mention, so will not attempt to particu- 

 larize, but are glad to note progress in this 

 particular. 



lu horned cattle the exhibit was truly good 

 — better than at any previous Fair. Santa 

 Clara couuty, esiieciallj', was well represented. 

 In fact, were it not for our couuty the Fair 

 would have been little but a horse-trotting 

 show. Some of the cattle we may mention 

 as deserving particular notice. The finest 

 herd was that of Col. Younger, noted for its 

 superior qualities. Charles Clark, of Milpi- 

 tas, and S. B. Emerson, of Mountain View, 

 exhibit some fine specimens from their Dur- 

 ham herds. Mr. Emerson's bull, "Sherifi'," 

 is a beauty. Cyrus Jones, of San Jose, 

 showed only some of his young stock, Cali- 

 fornia bred, but we notice that he walked oil' 

 with first prizes and sweepstakes. 



C. Comstock, of Sacramento, had on ex- 

 hibition a lot of fine graded cattle. Mr. 

 Bright, of Sacramento, had a herd of Ayr- 

 shires which ho imi^orted from Massachusetts 

 two years ago, including the bull " Dunbar, " 

 four years old, a beautiful animal. Jlessrs. 

 l^owers & Stanton, Sacramento, imported 11 

 head of Ayrshire cattle last year, which they 

 had on exhibition. Mr. Powers says that his 

 two-year-olds will average one pound of but- 

 ter a day, and mature cows have made as high 

 as four pounds. Saxe Bros., San Francisco, 

 had on exhibition a si>lcudid bull and cow, 

 hich had just arrived from Kentucky. 



The bull, "Gay Boy," was sired by "Joe 

 Hooker," who took the sweepstakes in Ohio 

 two years in succession. The cow "Fannie," 

 sired by " Mazourka Lad," took three sweep- 

 stakes in Kentuckw this year. This import- 

 ation is a valuable addition to the fine stock 

 of the Coast. 



There was only one exhibit of swine. They 

 were called Berkshire; but if Berkshires are 

 spotted and have coarse bristles 1 never knew 

 it before. They belong to M. Sprague. 



Branton, of Dixon, had ten pens of fine 

 merino sheep, large and well-covered with 

 fine fleece. S. B. Emerson exhibited Cots- 

 wold sheep as fine as we have seen in the 

 State. 



The most interesting display in the stock- 

 yards was the show of Angora goats. C. P. 

 Bailey, San Jose, had thirteen pxire-breds and 

 seven grades. His buck, "Prince of Pine 

 Mountain," a large and most beautiful crea- 

 ture, and the ewe, "Queen of Monterey," 

 were entered for the sweepstakes. The grades 

 are the fourth cross. They have good form 

 and fine, lustrous fleece. They are shown 

 merely to prove that grades can have fleeces 

 that will make mohair. Mr. B.'s stand was 

 thronged with spectators to examine the spec- 

 imens of cloth, and also robes, mats and 

 gloves, from the Angora Glove and Robe 

 Manufacturing Company of San Jose. The 

 goat men say this establishmnnt will adil 

 greatly to the interest of their business. Mr. 

 Bailey sold all the specimens he had long be- 

 fore the Fair was closed. Mr. Gilmore, Pres- 

 ident of the Angora Goat-Breeding Associa- 

 tion, had on exhibition nineteen head of pure- 

 breds. "Hannibal," who took the sweep- 

 stakes last year at the Bay District Fair, is a 

 superior animal. The fleece is very fine and 

 glossy. His favorite goat is the ewe, " Cleo- 

 patra, " which he considers the best he has 

 raised. Messrs. Landrum & Rogers had a 

 meritorious display of -15 pure-bred goats. 

 Chief among them " Hercules " and "Robert 

 E. Lee," both perfect specimens. S. P. 

 Thomas, Auburn, Placer couuty, had also a 

 good exhibit of twenty head, including the im- 

 ported buck, ■' H. W. Beecher." The dis- 

 play of goats was so good that it was no 

 easy task for the judges to award the premi- 

 ums. There was hardly a poor animal to bo 

 seen. The goat men and other patrons ex- 

 pressed themselves well pleased with the Ag- 



EICULTUBIST AND LiVE StOCK JoUKNAi. 



The exhibit of agricultural machinery on 

 the stock ground was not large. We saw 

 nothing new except a self-dumping horse- 

 rake, which was very simple in construction 

 and seemed to do its work well. The Pavil- 

 ion contained very little that would be inter- 

 esting outside of this city and county. Some 

 fine squashes, melons, potatoes, apples, orna- 

 mental plants and fancy work are the chief 

 objects displayed. There was an apple on 

 exhibition which was a wonder in itself. It 

 was exhibited by Mr. Wilkins. It measured 

 '25 iuthes lu circumference, and weighed nine 

 pounds, three ounces. The shape round and 

 symmetrical, color a reddish green, called a 

 Sheridan Pippin. Seeds of this apple were 

 advertised for sale at $50 each by J. F. t'p- 

 ham, Sacramento. A Darwin could probably 

 trace its ancestry back to its original melon 

 vine. 



Ma. Wm. Squibes, an Oregon saw-uiill 

 owner, has asked the Centennial Commission- 

 ers if they would like to have him furuish 

 fur exhibition a lir plank twelve feet wide and 

 100 feet long, a spruce x^lank eight feet wide, 

 cedar seveu feet, larch seven feet and hem- 

 lock five feet, or even larger. 



Subscribe for the AamcuLTnaisx. Now is a 

 good time. 



Letter From Yolo County. 



[We owe an apology to our correspondent, 

 Mr. A. K. Woodhams, and to our readers for 

 the mixing up of the types of his letter from 

 Woodland, when putting into the forms for 

 the press. Although publishers are respnsi- 

 h\e for eve%thiug wrong about a paper, the 

 printer alone, who handled the type, takes 

 the actual blame in this case, as the editor 

 could not know of the mixing till the paper 

 was printed, when it was too late to correct 

 the fault. 



As the communication contained valuable 

 information, we reprint in a revised form, 

 and this time, we trust, without serious blun- 

 ders.] 



Eds. AcKicuLTnisT and Live Stocjk Jouk- 

 nal: — Woodland is a stirring town of about 

 three thousand people, situated seventeen 

 miles northwest of Sacramento, and on the 

 line of railroad from the latter place to 

 Knight's Landing, and is surrounded by some 

 of the most productive land I have seen in 

 the State; and if not for the heat and hot 

 North winds, I should consider it the Farm- 

 er's Paradise. In this vicinity are large bod- 

 ies of white oak trees, which no doubt gave 

 the name to the town. Shade and orna- 

 mental trees do not thrive as at Santa Clara. 

 Live oaks are a rarity. 



In the town there are five or six chui'ches, 

 numerous saloons, one college, one fine pub- 

 lic schoolhouse with an attendance of about 

 300 scholars, two newspapers, gas and water 

 works, a grist mill and a large machine shop 

 and planing mill. 



ALFALFA. 



In this vicinity there are between 2,000 

 and 3,000 acres of alfalfa, and although many 

 farmers of this State Hunk it a poor article 

 for hay, the farmers here know by experience 

 that it makes hay of an excellent quality 

 when properly cured. I can hardly express 

 to you the many advantages of these clover 

 fields. Everything seems to thrive on alfalfa. 

 Here are to be seen fat animals, clover-fed. 

 Hogs are kept on it the year round, and a 

 drove of 100 is a common sight. Many af- 

 falfa clover fields this season have yielded 

 five tons per acre, besides a large amount of 

 pasturage; others, three or four tons, besides 

 a crop of seed varying from 200 to 800 lbs. 

 per acre. Alfalfa clover also gives the bee- 

 keeper gi-eat advantages. I saw 50 lbs. of 

 delicious honey made in three weeks taken 

 from two hives. Thrashers are now at work 

 oil clover seed, but there are many fields that 

 will make another crop of hay in a few weeks 

 more. The beautiful green clover and the de- 

 lightful fragrance from the blossoms has to 

 be seen and enjoyed to be appreciat- 

 ed. The farmers of this section show 

 an enterprise that might with advantage, be 

 a copy to farmers iu other portions of the 

 State. To add to the natural productiveness 

 of the soil, they make use of the waters of 

 Cache Creek for 



lERKlATICN. 



The ditches are made on the highest laud, 

 and the method of watering is by flooding. 

 The laud is laid olT into convenient levels by 

 dikes several inches high. 



If some of our dry land farmers could .see 

 the alfalfa clover fields and the vineyards 



