AGRICULTURE. 223 



quence is, that our wheat is now in demand in New York and 

 England, to mix with their weak grain, so that a tolerably 

 strong flour may be made. 



But the wheat of California is not all equally glutinous ; 

 some of it is much weaker than other. The most glutinous is 

 that grown in Santa Clara Valley ; the southeastern part of 

 San Mateo County ; the southern part of Alameda County ; 

 and Diablo, San Ramon, and Suisun valleys. That of Santa 

 Rosa, Pajaro, Salinas, Petaluma,and Sonoma, is much inferior 

 in glutinousness, but is better than that of the Sacramento, 

 San Joaquin, and Napa Valleys, the vicinity of Half-Moon 

 Bay, and Alameda, opposite the Golden Gate. The strongly 

 glutinous is about one-third of the crop of the State. It is not 

 known why the wheat in one district is more glutinous than in 

 another. None of that grown very near the coast is strongly glu- 

 tinous, so the moisture seems to be injurious. Napa wheat is 

 inferior in glutinousness to that of Sonoma, though farther 

 from the coast, and more free from ocean-fogs ; but the soil of 

 Napa is much more moist. 



In Oregon and Washington, where the climate is very moist, 

 the wheat is as weak as at Half-Moon Bay. In the Mississippi 

 Valley, where a great amount of rain falls, the wheat is also 

 weak ; and just in the Gallego and Haxall districts, if report 

 be true, the rain-fall is less than in any wheat district east of 

 the Alleghanies. And yet in the Sacramento and San Joaquin 

 valleys, which are among the driest parts of California, the 

 wheat is very weak. This is accounted for by those adopt- 

 ing the theory that glutinousness depends entirely upon the 

 climate by saying that those valleys are visited, while the 

 grain is in the milk, by weather so hot that the berries are 

 burned, and are prevented from attaining their perfect devel- 

 opment. It would be well if this matter were thoroughly 

 studied, for it is one of much importance to the merchant and 

 ship-owner, as well as to the farmer, the baker, and the con- 

 sumer. 



