Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/611

 CALIFORNIA 605 tons. The product of barley is greater than ! that of any other state in the Union, two crops being gathered in a year. Wild oats grow luxuriantly in the Sacramento valley and to the westward ; this euros in the dry season and affords excellent fodder. In the San Joaquin valley are some of the finest wheat fields in the world. California wheat is noted for its supe- rior quality in the markets of the United States and Europe. Rye, buckwheat, and Indian corn are little cultivated, the nights being too cold for the last named. Cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane have been cultivated with success, while the marsh lands will produce rice. The sugar beet, which is planted in January, grows to an enormous size and is easy of cultivation ; it is said to be much richer in sugar than the beet of Trance. The manufacture of beet sugar has been undertaken on a pretty large scale, and has met with encouraging success. There is an extensive manufactory near Sacramento, and another at Alvarado. In 1872 the former had 11,600 acres planted with beets, and the latter 500 acres yielding about 12 tons to the acre, while the average yield of sugar is 160 Ibs. to each ton of beets. The production of beet sugar promises to become one of the lead- ing industries of the state. The climate is pe- culiarly favorable to the growth of hops, the yield being about 1,500 Ibs. per acre. Chic- cory grows luxuriantly ; there are two manu- factories in San Francisco for the preparation of the root to be used as coffee. There is little sward in the state ; a few varieties of grass grow on the hillsides. The counties forming the central coast section constitute the chief dairy district. The production of fruits is un- paralleled both in variety and amount, and in- cludes apples, apricots, cherries, figs, grapes, lemons, oranges, nectarines, olives, plums, pears, peaches, pomegranates, pineapples, prunes, quinces, bananas, limes, citrons, rasp- berries, strawberries, blackberries, gooseber- ries, currants, raisins, almonds, walnuts, chest- nuts, &c. Fruits generally attain a much larger size than in the eastern states. In 1872 there were in the state 38,991 orange trees in flour- ishing condition, 7,381 lemon, 45,655 fig, 38,- 486 olive, 59,478 almond, and 51,606 apricot trees ; besides 2,446,523 apple, 835,321 peach, 356,252 pear, 243,058 plum, and 19,059 prune trees. These, with several other varieties of tropical fruits in the southern counties, are brought to maturity with very little care, and bear abundance of excellent fruit. Cali- fornia is widely celebrated for its production of grapes and wines. There are more than 30,000 acres planted with vines, which grow both in the lowlands and on the hillsides. The average number of vines per acre is about 900, which give an average yield of 800 gallons of wine and 20 of brandy. The grape region ex- tends from the S. boundary about 600 m. northerly, with an average breadth of about 100 m., and includes three distinct wine dis- tricts : the southern, or Los Angeles, making port and other sweet wines, together with some white wines ; the Coast range, including Sonoma and Napa counties, producing white and red acid wines, hock, sauterne, claret, &c. ; and the foot hills of the Sierra Nevada, ma- king dry wines of excellent quality, sherry, ma- deira, teneriffe, &c. The wines of California resemble those of Spain, Hungary, and Greece, rather than those of France, Italy, or Germany. Of the total production of wine, 3,092,330 gal- lons in the United States in 1870, according to the census, 1,804,656 gallons were produced in California; but local returns make the amount several times larger. Raisins are also success- fully produced. The production and manufac- ture of silk form an important branch of in- dustry. The white and black mulberry trees thrive here, attaining a growth in three years equal to that of five years in France, while the yield of leaves is much greater. Two crops of cocoons are raised in the year, in May and July, the whole process requiring six weeks. The extraordinary advantages of climate ren- der artificial heat unnecessary ; the cocoone- ries are singularly free from disease. The num- ber of mulberry trees in the state in 1870, aa officially returned, was 1,609,822, and the pro- duction of silk cocoons in that year was 3,587 Ibs. A silk manufacturing company has been organized in San Francisco. Next to Australia, California is regarded as the best country in the world for sheep raising. No shelter ia needed for the flock, while the fleeces are re- markably heavy and of superior quality. It ia said that one third of the wool product is a second crop, clipped in the autumn. In 1870 California produced more wool than any other state in the Union except Ohio. The Angora or Cashmere goat has been successfully intro- duced into the state; the number in 1870 waa 24,097. There were no bees in the state prior to 1850, but they are now kept in large num- bers with great success, and the production of honey is very large. In 1870 there were in the state 6,218,133 acres of improved land, 477,880 of woodland, and 4,731,092 of other unimproved land. The cash value of farms was $141,240,028, of farming implements and machinery $5,316,690 ; wages paid during the year, including the value of board, $10,369,247 ; total (estimated) value of all farm productions, including betterments and additions to stock, $49,856,024; orchard products, $1,384,480; produce of market gardens, $1,059,779 ; for- est products, $566,017; home manufactures, $301,491 ; animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $6,112,503; livestock, $37,964,752. There were 192,273 horses, 17,533 mules and asses, 164,093 cows, 5,944 working oxen, 461,- 361 other cattle, 2,768,187 sheep, and 441,617 swine. The chief productions were 16,076,702 bushels of wheat, 26,275 of rye, 1,221,222 of Indian corn, 1,757,507 of oats, 8,783,490 of barley, 21,928 of buckwheat, 380,010 of peas and beans, 2,049,227 of Irish and 202,035 of sweet potatoes, 1,353 of clover seed, 13,294 of