6 



' by causing periodical revulsions and distress, then the 

 gold began to glisten in the streams of California ; .thus 

 when the forests became denuded of wood, then came the 

 discovery of coal and the working of the mines ; thus 

 when the whale was being exterminated for the produc- 

 tion of oil, then came the discovery of oil in the bowels 

 of the earth instead of the bowels of the sea ; and thus 

 when the fertility of our great wheat fields, moving con- 

 tinually west, began to decline, California comes to the 

 rescue with the golden harvest of her immense valleys, 

 rivalling in importance the treasures of her golden mines. 

 Wheat is the great crop of California. More than one 

 fourth of the cultivated land is devoted to it ; and so fer- 

 tile is the soil, that frequently the grain which is dropped 

 in harvesting produces another crop without sowing or 

 tillage. This is called a "volunteer croj) ;" and although 

 it often yields fifteen Inishels to the acre, it cannot be 

 -considered a judicious method of farming. Barley and 

 •oats are raised to considerable extent, l)ut Indian corn 

 was seldom seen in our ti-avels. The annual grain crop 

 of California is about thirty millions of bushels, two 

 thirds of which is wheat. In favorable seasons the aver- 

 age yield of wheat is about twenty-five bushels to the 

 acre. Instances, however, are not uncommon where in 

 new and very fertile locations it has reached fift}^ and 

 even sixty and seventy bushels per acre. The seed is 

 large, plump, white, and so well ripened by the high tem- 

 perature, that it may be stored in bulk for months, with- 

 out danger of sweating or injury, and in fact often re- 

 quires moistening before it is ground. 



The quality of the California wheat is world-wide re- 

 nowned for its weight, strength, and whiteness. Some of 

 the districts, such as Alameda, Santa Clara, and San 

 Mateo, produce the finest wheat in the w^orld ; and the 

 quality of the whole State averages better than that of 

 the States this side of the Nevadas. As there is no rain 

 in the summer, the grain crops are left standing in the 

 fields for weeks after they are ripe. Much of the grain is 



