California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



proposed award, and such reports shall 

 be accepted, and the acceptance signed 

 by a majority of the judges in such 

 gi-oup. 



■1. The reports of the judges recom- 

 mending awards, must be returned to the 

 Chief of the Bureau of Awards not later 

 than ten days after the close of the ex- 

 hibition, in each group. 



5. Awards will be finally decreed by 

 the United Stiites Centennial Commis- 

 sion, in accordance with the Act of Con- 

 gress of June 1, 1872, and will consist of 

 a special report of the judges on the sub- 

 ject of the award, together with a diplo- 

 ma and a uniform bronze medal. 



6. In addition to reports on the merits 

 of individual exhibits, the judges of each 

 group will be expected to render a re- 

 port general in its nature, summarizing 

 the exhibition in their group, and indi- 

 cating the recent jirogress noted in breed- 

 ing, rearing or training. 



7. Vacancies in the corps of judges 

 will be filled by the authority which 

 made the original appointment. No ex- 

 hibitor can be a judge in the group in 

 which he is a competitor. 



8. The Chief of the Bureau of Awards 

 will be the' representative of the United 

 States Centennial Commission in its re- 

 lations to the judges; upon request, he 

 will decide all questions which may arise 

 during their proceedings in regard to the 

 interpretation and application of the 

 rules adopted by the Commission relat- 

 ing awards, subject to an ajjpeal to the 

 Commission. 



The above rules bear the signatures of 

 A. T. Goshorn, Director-general, and 

 Francis A. Walker, Chief Bureau of 

 Awards. 



THE CAUSE OFTHE HARD TIMES. 



Ed. Agkicdlturist : Hard times. You 

 can hear people cf all trades and profes- 

 sions complaining of the very hard times 

 notwithstanding our bountiful harvest of 

 all kinds of vegetables, fruits and grains. 

 Now, why is this? and what is the cause? 

 The problem, to some, may seem diffi- 

 cult of solution. Vi'e think to any can- 

 did mind, after one moment's reflectiou, 

 the answer must be, that it is the pres- 

 ent uncertain condition of our depreci- 

 ated circulating medium. This depreci- 

 ation is caused and upheld by a class of 

 Shylocks in the shape of brokers, money 

 changers and usurers, who are grinding 

 the very life's blood, as it were, out of 

 the honest, industrious laboring class of 

 every needful vocation in life for the 

 purpose of filling their coffers with gold 

 that they take from the unsuspecting, 

 honest poor, in the form of large dis- 

 counts and usurious interests, by every 

 possible means of chicanery that it is in 

 their power to devise. 



That this is the case, the majority of 

 thinking people are ready to admit, but 

 .how can it be remedied? I will tell you. 

 There never was a better time to get rid 

 of this horde of Shylocks than the pres- 

 ent propitious hour — just in the com- 

 mencement of a new century of our na- 

 tional existence, and on the eve of a 

 Presidential election. Why should wo 

 hesitate to declare ourselves free from 

 the tyranny of such public leeches, by 

 disarming them in the very commence- 

 ment? We have the means and power 

 within our grasp if we have the manhood 

 and patriotism to use them, which we 

 can do by the following resolution, viz. : 

 that we, the imposed-upon small dealers, 

 merchants, tradesmen, farmers, laborers, 

 and citizens of every class of the State of 

 California, will now and henceforth use 

 United States greenbacks at their par 

 value for our circulating medium or 

 money of account, the same as is done in 



the other States, with silver enough for 

 exchange. Such a resolution would 

 place every one upon an equal financial 

 basis, and enable the honest, industrious 

 Caucasian race, the citizens of the United 

 States, to come from the other States and 

 displace this horde of coolie foreignei-s; 

 because, if they were compelled to take 

 the United States greenbacks they would 

 not be so anxious to come to this Coast. 

 We would do away with so many mid- 

 dle men and extortioners as money 

 changers, and sti'ike a death-blow in 

 favor of anti-coolieism, and at the same 

 time bring into general use and circula- 

 tion in this State the most convenient 

 form of money that can bo made, besides 

 the safest and best-secured of any circu- 

 lating medium ever known to the civil- 

 ized world, every dollar of which is 

 secured by the entire property of the 

 United States, and will be good as long 

 as this Government shall last, and when 

 it is destroyed gold and silver coined by 

 this Government will not be money anj' 

 longer with us. 



By a laboring man of San Jose, Cali- 

 fornia. S. S. R. Equity. 



BEE-KEEPiNC IN SAN DIECO. 



En. Agriculturist: Since I last wrote 

 you, I have met many of the bee-keepers 

 of the county and compared notes. 

 Though there is a slight improvement in 

 the situation, tlie outlook, on the whole, 

 is gloomy indeed, both as regards pro- 

 duction and prices. Many apiaries are 

 for sale at almost any price. Still, I 

 think those who have grip enough to 

 hold on will come out right at last. In 

 some favored localities there has been a 

 large yield of honey. I have in mind 

 now one man on the St. Marcus who 

 commenced the season with 108 colonies. 

 He has shipped 80 cases of comb, and 

 5,000 pounds of extracted honey, and es- 

 timates the balance of his crop at 60 

 cases. And he has increased his apiary 

 to '290 colonies. In my own immediate 

 neighborhood none have done well, and 

 you will understand why when I tell you 

 there are 1,COO colonies on five miles 

 square! Our bees have nearly quit stor- 

 ing -leaving off a month earlier than 

 last year. 



A season like this makes one cast about 

 for some means to increase our bee for- 

 age. Anyone who will introduce a plaut 

 that secretes honey well, and will gi'ow 

 on our mountain sides, will be hailed as 

 a public benefactor. I have experiment- 

 ed some with hoar-hound, and though it 

 grows anj'whore, and the bees woi-k it 

 constantl)' for at least three months, I 

 have doubts as to the quality of honey it 

 produces. If any of your readers can 

 enlighten me on that subject they will 

 confer a favor on me and many others. 

 Jas. — . 



PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR 

 CRAFTING CRAPE VINES. 



BV G. M. WHITAKEE. 



Ed. Cai-ifornia AoBicuLTnnisT : The 

 article in your July number on grafting 

 vines calls out this jotting o( in-actical 

 experience, and if it should be of any 

 benefit to others they will be welcome. I 

 have tried all modes of grafting with but 

 little success except the one I herewith 

 submit, and I have had good success 

 with this form, not losing more than one 

 out of fifty. 



I cut my scions in Februaiy, from last 

 year's growth, long enough to include 

 three or four buds, and keep them in a 

 dormant state until the vines I graft in 

 are well started to grow — say one or two 

 inches long. I then remove the earth 

 from the vines down to, or near, the first 



roots; then nib off all the old loose bark, 

 and saw off' from one to three inches 

 above the first roots. With a saw, make 

 one, two or three straight cuts down into 

 the stump. If the stump is small I only 

 make one cut in it, but if the vines are 

 large they will admit of two or more cuts. 

 Each saw cut will admit of two scions, 

 one each side of tho stump. With a 

 sharp knife, trim the saw cuts out the 

 proper shape for a wedge graft. Trim 

 the scion to fit accurately, leaving a 

 small shoulder on each side of the scion; 

 then insert in tho stump, being sure to 

 push it down to the shoulder, and also 

 make a connection with the bark of tho 

 scion and the bark of the old stock. Cut 

 the scion down to two buds. When fin- 

 ished, fill up with fine dirt level with the 

 top of the ground, leaving one bud of 

 each scion uncovered. Drive a stake as 

 near as I can without disturbing the 

 grafts. The stake should bo as high as 

 it is desirable to grow the vine, and be 

 fore the gi-afts have grown large enough 

 to bend over on the ground, I tie them 

 to the stake, keeping the sprouts pulled 

 off during the first and second years, 

 when the grafts are one year old, in the 

 pruning season, say in January or Feb- 

 ruary, prune out to one and two grafts. 

 This process, with such other necessary 

 treatment as any fruit grower will ob- 

 serve from time to time, will insure a 

 cro]) of fruit tho second season after 

 grafting. I dig up all the stumps that 

 fail to grow grafts, as it is useless to tiy 

 to graft them over. 



Santa Eosa, July, 187G. 



EASTERN CORRESPONDENCE- 



Nkw York, July 8, lu'li. 

 S. H. Herring: J)ear Frieml: I thought 

 a few words from an old friend might not 

 be amiss. Having crossed the plains in 

 '49, and lived in the Willows near San 

 Jose since '52, myself and wife conclud- 

 ed to improve the Centennial year by 

 visiting friends in the East. I noticed 

 at difl'erent points near the overland rail- 

 road the old immigrant road over which 

 I traveled long ago. Of course, we went 

 to Philadelphia to see 



THE WON'DEES OF THE WOKLD. 



For me to give a description of what I 

 saw would be useless, as doubtless you 

 have read in the newspapers of the miles 

 of machinery of all kinds, the statuary, 

 the paintings, and all kinds of goods, 

 from diamonds worth thousand down to 

 a machine for making brick. The stock 

 of all kinds on exhibition is splendid, 

 and so is everything you can mention. 



I am at present visiting near the Cats- 

 kill mountains. New York. They look 

 very much Uke the mountain range near 

 Los Gatos, California, with perhaps more 

 timber. Everywhere I have been 1 heai- 

 the same complaint, 



" HARD TIMES," 



Farmers say they cannot raise enough 

 to "bring the year about and pay taxes," 

 and I don't wonder at it. They sell 

 their hay for $12 per ton, and rye straw 

 for $18 "to $20 per ton to make paper 

 (an item our straw burners should make 

 a note of). The consequence is, there 

 is no manure to go back on the farm, 

 and of course the land is lean and there 

 is no sale for real estjitc. Farms that 

 could be sold for ton thousand doll.ars 

 eight years ago, could not bring five now. 

 Nobody wants to buy. While Duchess 

 county raises stock, sells little hay, and 

 manures the land, the farmers are fat, 

 their land rich, and no mortgages. It is 

 no use to theorize abont "hard times." 

 No one is wholly to blame for the hard 

 times. Some blame the President, some 

 Conf'ress. The Democrats blame the 



Republicans; the Republicans, the Dem- 

 ocrats, and I have no doubt they are 

 both right. The truth is, we are ail to 

 blame. Everybody has been extrava- 

 gant, and almost everjbody has tried to 

 get rich — some honestly, others dishon- 

 estly. Some have gone out of business. 

 Alen who were doing business on bor- 

 rowed capital have failed. AVe are get- 

 ting down to "hard pan." The conse- 

 quence-is everyone gets hurt some, and 

 some a great deal. The price of provis- 

 ions keeps up. The ])oor suffer. Just 

 think of it. Flour sells here from $8 50 

 to $12 50 per barrel. Wages in the har- 

 vest field, to men working fourteen hours 

 a day, is $1 50, and the farmers think 

 that is too much! Articles of clothing 

 were never cheaper. Suits of clothes 

 you ask $22 to $25 for in San Jose, can 

 be bought here at $14 to $15, Teams of 

 every descrijitiou are in good demand — 

 $7 a daj' for a second-rate "turn-out." 

 The people are rushing headlong after 

 pleasure, but keep up the cry "hard 

 times." Rum shojis dot the continent, 

 and are filled with bloated customers who 

 cry "hard times." Politicians are noisy, 

 and aspirants to office are hopeful, and 

 still the same cry. 



Now, Mr. Editor, it is not the scarcity 

 of money that causes the "hard times." 

 There is probably more money in the 

 country to-day than ever before; but 

 money don't circulate, uud the poor are 

 made to suffer. ' 



NOW WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOCT IT? 



We can help the case some by wearing 

 our old clothes a little longer. We can 

 turn them inside out, and upside down, 

 and make them last at Iciiat until fall. 

 Don't break that $'20 for boots, but wear 

 tho old ones. Be sure and keep the 

 mortgage off, whatever you do. Keep 

 away from town except when it is neces- 

 sary to go. There is always something 

 to do on the farm. Be sure to educate 

 the children. And here let me saj', in 

 all of my travels here so far, I have seen 

 no place to come up with our San Jose 

 schools. We must live on wholesome 

 food, as our fathers and mothers did.and 

 dispense with luxuries that will do us no 

 good. Ride less; walk more. Keep ont 

 of debt. Have but few wants, and sup- 

 ply them. Trust more in God, and less 

 in politicians. We don't need as much 

 of this world's goods as we think we do. 

 There are some that have more than 

 enough of the necessaries of life, but 

 there will be equality some day. 



Now, Mr. Editor, though I am a tiller 

 of the soil, and may not be qualified to 

 theorize on this subject, yet I will g:ivo 

 you my ojiiuion. 



WE ABE, AS A NATION, TOO ESTBAVAGANT. 



Look at the millions that are squandered 

 by our Government, and so on down to 

 the lowest constable. Wo are sending 

 millions out of the country for delicacies 

 that could be dispensed with. Millions 

 more for silks, satins and flumadidels. 

 Of course our national debt is being re- 

 duced some. While Congress is appoint- 

 ing committees to investigate our affairs 

 it would pay to send over to France and 

 find out how they pay the indemnitj- to 

 Germany, and where all of the gold 

 came from that is in the banks of France, 

 and how the people economized to get 

 all of that coin. Bring such methods 

 into practice, and it need be but a few 

 ye.ars before our national debt is paid oS' 

 and our banks full of coin. Let us ex- 

 port more, and import — (I was going to 

 say nothing, as we can raise everything 

 that is required at home). But I must 

 stop for the present. We are enjoj-ing 

 ourselves very much with old friends, 

 but how many the changes since we left 

 here! J. M. Patieeson. 



