AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES 133 



with more or less success. In the first decade of 

 large exports (1860 to 1870), they undertook to 

 ship wheat for growers' account but they lacked con- 

 trol, capital and experience, and commercial competi- 

 tors triumphed and never afterward yielded control. 

 They did, however, achieve much for fairer financ- 

 ing and storage in the following decade when, largely 

 through the Grange, they secured from the legisla- 

 ture a law providing for negotiable warehouse re- 

 ceipts for grain in storage in the country and they 

 built many warehouses at interior shipping points 

 which relieved them from immediate sale or ship- 

 ment to metropolitan storage at high cost. When 

 wheat was greatest the growers had, however, the 

 spirit of cooperative organization but were handi- 

 capped in realization of permanent organization by 

 the fact that in the public mind as well as in their 

 own apprehensions, wheat-growing was regarded as a 

 passing phase of production and not as an enduring 

 industry. If, however, the current revival of interest 

 in wheat should endure, there is every reason to be- 

 lieve that growers will control the product by as- 

 sumption of cooperative relations among themselves 

 as so many other groups of producers have done 

 during the last decade, as will be shown in detail in 

 Chapter VII. 



Barley and wheat have had a close run for su- 

 premacy in California. On the whole, barley has led 

 in aggregate volume of production for the last sev- 

 enty years and wheat in aggregate value. Wheat 

 sprang sooner into production beyond local needs, but 



