178 RESOUKCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



county, had grown 125 bushels of oats to the acre; and that 

 John A. Brown, of Crescent City, had a crop of 157^ bushels 

 to the acre. According to the assessors' returns, the average 

 crop per acre of 1860 was — 50 bushels m Alameda and Yuta 

 counties; 40 in Butte, Placer, and Santa Cruz; 35 in Napa; 

 30 in Amador, Sacramento, and Yolo ; 28 in Humboldt ; 25 in 

 San Joaquin ; and 20 in Klamath, Santa Clara, and Sonoma. 

 The largest oat-growing counties in the state are — Alame- 

 da, which in 1861 produced 449,000 bushels; Contra Costa, 

 300,000; Santa Cruz, 262,000 ; Sonoma, 187,000 , and Marin, 

 174,000. 



§ 138. Maize. — Maize can be grown to advantage in only a 

 few places in California. Most of the land is too dry and the 

 summer nights too cool for it. The principal maize districts 

 are in the valleys of the upper coast, fi'om Russian River to 

 Humboldt Bay ; in Yuba county, upon the moist bottom-lands 

 of the Sacramento River ; and at the Monte, in Los Angeles 

 county, w^here the San Gabriel River sinks and fiUs the plain 

 with moisture. Sixty bushels to the acre is considered a large 

 crop ; the average is not over thirty. Corn can be grown 

 w^herever the land can be irrigated, but this is a troublesome 

 and expensive mode of cultivation, though it is not uncommon 

 in gardens near San Fransisco. Green maize, grown in the 

 open air, is in the market from June to September. 



The cultivation of rye and buckwheat differs little from that 

 of the same grains in the Eastern states. 



§ 139. Potatoes, — The potato thrives wonderfully in a few 

 places in California, particularly at Bodega, Tomales, and in 

 Pajaro valley. The average produce per acre is perhaps not 

 larger than in Ohio or England, but the tubers are larger in 

 size and smoother in skin. The average size of those sold in 

 the San Francisco market is probably fifty if not one hundred 

 per cent larger than of those sold in New York. Potatoes 

 six inches long by three inches through, and weighing a pound, 

 are not uncommon ; many have been seen to weigh four 

 pounds ; and one grew to w^eigh seven pounds. I sa^v a clus- 



