THE HARVEST IN CALIFORNIA.

Temuka Leader, Volume I, Issue 81, 25 September 1878, Page 3

THE HARVEST IN CALIFORNIA.

The ' San Francisco Bulletin ' of August Ist has the following in reference to the grass harvest in California: " The promise of an abundant harvest in California the present season has, in a great measure, been unfulfilled. Much of the late sown grain turns out to be a partial and in many instances an entire failure. The straw grew rank enough, and it was thought the crop would be a good one ; but the grain failed to fill, and whole fields may be seen with none of that drooping appearance of wellfilled wheat heads. All of the early sown grain in this section is turning out well, and the crop will be nearly up to an average. It is difficult always to determine exactly when is the best time for seeding. The rich bottom lands in this valley are usua'-ly so foul with mustard that farmers are disposed to delay their seeding until late in the season, in order to give the grain the advantage over the mustard. But we are of opinion that early seeding, with the chance of a crop of mustard occasionally, would pay better, one year with another. It is certainly always best on land free from mustard. We crowd our Jands too much in this country. Who t after wheat, for a series of years, without giving the soil a chance to rest, w T ill soon wear out the best of land. It is a good thing for us that a dry season comes along occasionally to remind our farmers of their duty in this respect. It would be better to summer fallow for wheat, which would soon destroy all foul stuff in the soil, and then seed the land dry, or as soon as possible after the first rains. Thus would the grain have the benefit of all the winter rain, and a failure would be unknown. Already what were once regarded as some of the best grain lands in this country are proving the most hazardous ventures for the renter. They have been cropped, year after year, until the grainproducing properties of the soil are exhausted, and no amount of rain or tillage can cause them to produce more than the ghost of a crop. These lands needs rest and. re-fertilising. They should be used for sheep or hog ranges for a few years, and then summer-fal-lowed, or rather winter-fallowed, which is the proper term in this country, and then seeded to wheat with the first fall rain. The result would astonish their managers. It requires as much intellectual capacity and good solid sense to till 'land properly and successfully as it does to run a newspaper, and yet there is no business in which men usually mix so small an amount of brains. The country needs more good farmers. In reference to the Chicago wheat crop a local journal of July 26th says : Intense interest is manifested in the result of the great corner in wheat now being run by Milwaukee and Chicago commission merchants. The price has been steadily advanced for two weeks, with a prospect of being maintained at the present rate> or at still higher figures, during the remainder of the month. The visible supply of whett is now about four million bushels, and short sales for August delivery aggregate nearly twenty millions. Meanwhile, although some damage has been done to crops in this section, it is believed no wide-spread or great injury exists-.

Tlier- 1 is annually imported into the United States no less than 2600 millions <>f grains of opium. Tt is sad that af:!T making full allowance f<>r the legitim to purposes of the drug, some six mil ions of grains are daily used for its narcotic effects, and that if each opium debauchee be alloted thirty grains a-day, this computation would show that there are over 200,000 of these unfortunates in the United. States. — Medical Examiner.