Volume 20 (1870) (454 pages)

JANUARY 22,1870. ] SCLBNTIEIQ, PRESS: 55 Transplanting Trees—Good Advice. Mr. W. F. Kelsey, of Kelsey's Nursery, in Oakland, makes the following sensible remarks in his descriptive catalogue, recently pnblished : Tt is nniversally admitted hy experienced orchardists, that nursery trees grown withont irrigation are better adapted to stand transplanting in our dry soils, and hot climate, than irrigated trees. Trees so cultivated are not forced to grow out of season ; the wood and huds are well ripened, and the bark is fresh and healthy. They are not overgrown, are in better root, in stronger stock, and in more fnlly matnred growth. In the selection of trees, a good stocky tree, of stont and vigorons hahit, with unimpaired constitution, of neither stnnted nor of forced growth, young and healthy, should be chosen fur orchard planting. In the preparation of the soil, that whieh is deeply and thoroughly tilled is the hest. Where the trees are to have little or no irrigation, the ground must he plowed deep, and kept very light by eultivation. Capillary attraction operates to bring the moisture from the snbsoil to the surface. Could the moisture collected be retained in the soil, it would supply the plants during onr long dry summers. A loose surface prevents the moisture beneath from soon escaping in the air. Allow no grain, grass or weeda to grow among them, as snch plants exhaust the soil of moisture, to the damage, if not the death of the tree. And to further insnre the tree against the dronth of snmmer, a few inches of litter or coarse manure, asa mulching, will be of great service. If thesupply of moisture is very ‘plentiful, vegetables may be cultivated in the orchard, bnt not otherwise. In moving, handling, etc., care should be nsed so that it shonld be done without tearing, twisting or breaking the roots, and the roots should never be allowed to get dry. When moved to a distance, they should be carefnlly packed together, and bundled with straw, or some material that will exclnde the sun and air from the roots and protect the tree from getting bruised. At all times avoid exposing the roots to the son, dry air, frost and brnising. Keep covered and moist. Before planting, all broken roots should have the ends smoothly trimmed with a sharp knife. Ifa tree should get badly dried, lay it down and bury it root and top for two or three days, or until it fills with sap, and the bark looka fresh. Then, when planted, the trunk should be protected from the snn and winds. Every young tree, excepting evergreens, when first transplanted should have its branches cnt back to within a few inches of the trnnk. Enongh buds should be left to make new branches, and supply the tree with leaves. Itis also expedient to ent the free back to the height at which the head is desired to form. A new and vigorous growth is preferable to old limbs in a transplanted tree. Fresh bark and rich foliage are certainly better than thin, scattering leaves and sun-bnurnt branches. Leaves are the lungs, and must be healthy, or the tree will suffer. They are also ashade for the branches and trunk, keeping the bark fresh jn snmmer. Ona newly-transplanted tree the leaves are most likely to be strong and luxuriant when started quite close about the trunk, while iflong, slender limbs are allowed to remain, the hark gets shriveled, and the leaves are sickly. Te Stanpisa Steast Prow.—An interesting communication, under the above head, will be found on another page of our present issue, from a well known civil engineer. It was received too late for our last issne. We bespeak for it the consideration which the importance of the subject deserves. We regard the success of the Standish steam plow as intimately connected with the agricultural prosperity of this State, and fully indorse the remarks of the writer with regard to its practicability. If California fails to render the necessary aid to this invention, the honor and ohief profit of the enterprise will eventually be enjoyed by some other locality. Give your Stock Goop Warer.—Stagnant or foul water is injnrious to all animals. It causes blood poisoning, and this leads to many febrile oomplaints, and is one of the great canses of abortion in cows and other animals, Herdwick or Navarre Sheep for the Sierras. BY PROFESSOR ROWLANDSON, F. G. 8. L. It is claimed that there exists in California not less than 40,000,000 acres of soil, suitable for arable cultivation. This wonld still leave a halance of 120,000,000, the possible employment of which merits some consideration. If we dednet one-third from the latter named figures for forests, naked rocks and snow-covered monntain tops, there will remuin 80,000,000 acres susceptible of agricultural ntilization. The question is, ‘‘How can this be most economically and rapidly accomplished ?” My reply to this qnestion is, that it can in no way be hetter done than by covering our elevated lauds and steep declivities with the Herdwick or Navarre sheep. The identity of the two has been apparent to me sinee I perused the artiele in the Scientiric Press, describing the latter as having been introduced into Missouri, and at the same time noticing some of their prominent qualities. I have, since last noticing the subject, obtained additional and strongly corroborative proof of the correctness of this pre-formed theory of the origin of the Herdwicks. A California Witness. Knowiug and being personally known to a considerable number of the French sheep butchers residing in this city, Ihave, since my attention has heen re-drawn to the subject, taken advantage of this acquaintance, with the object of ascertaining whether any of these persons were acquainted with the indigenous sheep of the mountainous district around Navarre. Amongst others, I have conversed with M. Jean Bayle, who informed me that he is a native of the department of the Pyrennes, where he has lived until he came to America. M. Bayle, being to my personal knowledge a well-informed, observant and truthful person, it will be seen that it was fortunate that I met with him, so far as further elucidation of the origin of the Herdwicks is concerned. He describes the Pyrennian sheep as possessing long necks, ‘‘rimy” faces, and ‘‘rimy” and speckled legs, and active travelers, So active are they that in a country celebrated for the athlectic character of its natives, the possession of any extraordinary anount of this quality by any one is commonly locally descrihed ag being as lishe asa Herdwick. He concluded his observations, without any prompting, to the effect that when penned (that is, folded,) they will not feed, a quality also pertaining to the Herdwicks. Respecting the anatomical peculiarity of possessing au additional rib as compared with the generality of sheep, M. Bayle could not afford any information, as he never had his attention drawn to the suhject. If, on future examination, it ig found that this extra rih is common to both Herdwick and Pyrennean sheep, the identity of the two races will be reduced to a certainty. In any event, however, this fact appears certain—that, identical or not, the Herdwick and Navarre breeds of sheep form the species of stock hest adapted to the secondary and still greater inferior soils of our more elevated foothills and Sierras. Possibilities of Sheep Raising in California. Assuming 80,000,000 acres of our mountainous tracts to be available for rearing and feeding the breeds of sheep under notice, and making the large allowance of eight acres to each ewe, wether or buck, of two years aud upwards, along with their due proportion of younger animals, the space named would amply suffice for feeding 10,000,000 grown animals, with their natural quota of yearlings and lambs, the annual value of which may be estimated as follows: drafted ewes @ $7,500,000 Sale of 1,500,000 lambs @ $1 1,500,000 Sale of 40,000,000 Ibs wool @ 12%¥c. 5,000,000 [ETE cies Oe OO CE OEE $14,000,000 From which deduct: Wages and rations for 5,000 shepherds, assistants, etc., at $50 per month, or $600 per anUUs eee cer ere ++. $3,000,000 Sundry other charges, say... 600,000 ———— $3,500,000 Net annual return....0.,.-.++-++ . $10,500,000 This magnificent aitiount, be it reflected, ig capable of absolute realization, proving, in the most remarkable manner, the truth of the old Spanish proverb, ‘‘ That whereever the foot of the sheep treads, the land is turned into gold.” No danger here arising from “rebellious ores” (which, however, is only another name for metallurgie ignorance), ‘caving in,” being drowned, or petering ont; for nature annually renews the verdant snpply. Briefly Summing Up. Amongst other concomitant advantages may be mentioned these prominent ones, viz: The mutton would be in constant demand; as it would be the finest iu the world, superior to Southdown, it wonld also be most convenient to the hest markets -—the mining districts. Ihe wool of a qnality suitahle for blanketing and coarse elothing; adjacent to water power, that could economically manufacture it into the necessary fabrics, and also near to where these goods are chiefly in demand, The actual protits, however, would be nmiore than those set down, when the land hecomes fully stocked, as the amount of lambs that might he annually drafted would amount to more than the number above set forth. The very limited area previously known to me, on which are domiciled the variety of sheep possessing in so eminent a degree the fitness for mountain pasturage, is one reason why I never urged this subject on the flock-masters or the owners of Scottish moorlands, seeing] the diffienlty that existed in producing a change of breed, within auy reasonable period; forit isto he borne in rememhrance that such lands are already occupied by another—the blackfaced breed. As, however, I learn now, almost to a certainty, that auy number of similar sheep can be procured from the Pyrennes, it is my intention to call the attention of the proprietors of Scotch and Welsh mountain sheep walks to the benefits that would accrue to them by energetically pio noting the change of breed which 1 have indicated—a task which to them will not he ao easy aa to residents of the United States; because the latter have only to begin de novo. But in Britain they will also require to extirpate the pre-occupants. The Pacific Railroad Company, Possessing, as it does, such an immense area calculated for no other variety but sheep and goat husbandry, is particularly interested in this matter, and ought to vigorously promote the object recommended. To do so advantageously, however, in place of the allotment of alternate sections of 640 acres each, larger ones of our more elevated mountain land should be allowed—comprising territory sufficient to feed, say 8,000 sheep per section, and give occupation to four shepherds. In such an event private sheep marks ought to be recorded, the obliteration or falsification of which should be made a misdemeanor punishahle by imprisonment. 3 The Growth of Tree-Trunks. A paragraph has been round the scientific papers stating that a French naturalist has been measuring the tree-trunks in a forest, and found them all broader in the eastwest than in the north-south direction; the cause of the unsymmetry being ascribed, not very obvionsly, to the rotation of the earth. ‘Well, another French arhorist has been similarly gauging the trees in the neighhorhood of Toulouse, and he finds that the greatest swelling of their trunks is towards the east-south-east point of the compass. The explanation offered by this second investigator is more philosophical than that of his predecessor. He refers the deformation to the early morning sun, which warms the easterly parts of the tree more suddenly than the rest, stimulates the flow of the sap, which grows sluggish during the cool of the night, and draws up the nourishing moisture from the soil in greater abundance on the excited side than on those portions of the trunk where the warming is more gradual and its effects less active. Naturally, increased vitality on one side, be it animal or plant, results in developments, or larger growth of that side. There are traditions of some plants turning their flowers toward the sun; the truth may be that the sun only promotes the growth of those blossoms upon which it sheds its direct warmth. As Dulong said, every degree of the thermometer entails a law of nature.—Lvery Saturday. Mux anv Porx.—<According to the experiments made at tho Michigan Agricultural College, the amount of milk consumed hy pigs to produce one pound of increase was, for the first week, 7.20 Ibs.; for the second week, 7.70 lbs.; for the third week, 12.52 Ibs.; for the fourth week, 10.66 Ibs. Our High Mountain Lands. The editor of the Lower Like Courier, having made a trip through some of the more elevated portions of the mountain lands of Lake county, says: Here is a large scope of country that the Government surveyors have uot eonsidered worth their while to survey; nor is it hardly worth the expeuse. It is not now, nor will it ever be, agricultural land. It will never pay to locate it in 160-acre lots, and pay Government prices forit. Still, were there some way that a person or persons could purchase a large tract in which many spots of pasturage would he inclosed, it would then he worth something to its owncrs asa stock range, and to the Statein the way of assessments. As it now is, mercly held in possession, of course no taxes are paid on it; the opeu spots of land are grazed by the stock that are driven from one to another, as the grass is eaten off them, and abandonmeut and ‘jumping” of claims held by possession ia the oceasion of frequent and bloody couflicts, and encourages a loose and lawless state of society. Were the Geueral Government to donate all lands returned by the surveyors as “bad lands” to States in which they lay—for school purposes—and the States then to auction them off in 1,000acre lots to the highest bidder, giving a title therefor, it would be a -vast improvement on the preseut state of affairs. This paragraph has an important bearing in connection with the communication of Prof. Rowlandson, in another column. We think the suggestions of the Professor and of the Courier eminently worthy of a careful consideration. Growers’ CoMBINATION FOR THE SALE or Propvuor.—The Humboldt Times recommends that the farmers of that county should do as those of San Mateo have done—form a club for their mutual benefit and protection. It says that such a combination is necessary to prevent losses and exhorbitant commissions iu the sale of potatoes and other prodnce in this city. A PooR crop requires nearly as much labor for cultivation and harvesting a3 a good one, while the profits of such a crop are annually eaten up in high wages; but a good crop leaves a handsome balance for profit. Viewing the sitnation, then, in whatever light we may, one fact is prominent—the necessities and advantages of improved farming. Aearcunrurnan Lxzcrurss.—Farmers in the vicinity of Centralia, Ill., have made arrangements to have a course of agricultural lectures delivered at that place during next month, San Francisco Market Rates. Wholesale Prices, Taurspay Evyenina, January 20, 1870, Flour, Extra, @ bbl. «S510 QS 50 Do. Superfine. . 460 475 Corn Meal, @ 100 hh: 20 2 25 Wheat, @ 100 tbs. 115 165 ats, % Bs 115 150 Barley, # 100 Ih 110 1 25 Beans, % 100 bs 2 50 3b Potatoes, 100 be. 76 119 Hay, BtONseeseeeeseees 1100 @t7 00 Live Oak Wood, # cord 9 00 14 OO Beef, extra, dressed, 7 b tL WwW Sheep, on foot.. 259 Hogs, on foot, @ Ib 5 Hoga, dressed, ® bb. 8 GROCERIES, ETC. Sugar, crushed, 7 tb Sarees, lk Wy Hawaiial 8 li 1342 @ 19 1836 19 7 90 it 125 og 10 oe 48 3 45 16 18 40 bo 40 5 20 yu @ id 4 @ ig 12 BKetail Prices, Butter, California, fresh, @ b. 50 6n do, pickled, # ib.. 40 50 do. Oregon, 7% tb. 25 30 do. New York, @ 40 Bo Cheese, # bb.. 20 25 Honey, ® b. 25 80 Eggs, oze' 60 65 Lard, pis 7 20 omg Hams and Bacon, Ke bb. 22 25 Cranberries, 2 ga luo 125 Potatoes, 7 tb.-++ 2 3 Potatoes, 5wee 2 Tomatoes, 2 3 Oniona, 2 = 8 5 Appies, No. 1, 4 6 Pears, Table, # lb 5 Plumes, drled. A > 10 12 Peaches, dried, 10 15 Oranges, jozen 60 75 Lemons, # dozen = 1¢o Chickens, aplece. 75 100 Turkeys, # Ib..» a 25 Soap, Pale andO. 0. 12 Soap, Castile, B Wrrsy.00e 20

JANUARY 22,1870. ] SCLBNTIEIQ, PRESS: 55 Transplanting Trees—Good Advice. Mr. W. F. Kelsey, of Kelsey's Nursery, in Oakland, makes the following sensible remarks in his descriptive catalogue, recently pnblished : Tt is nniversally admitted hy experienced orchardists, that nursery trees grown withont irrigation are better adapted to stand transplanting in our dry soils, and hot climate, than irrigated trees. Trees so cultivated are not forced to grow out of season ; the wood and huds are well ripened, and the bark is fresh and healthy. They are not overgrown, are in better root, in stronger stock, and in more fnlly matnred growth. In the selection of trees, a good stocky tree, of stont and vigorons hahit, with unimpaired constitution, of neither stnnted nor of forced growth, young and healthy, should be chosen fur orchard planting. In the preparation of the soil, that whieh is deeply and thoroughly tilled is the hest. Where the trees are to have little or no irrigation, the ground must he plowed deep, and kept very light by eultivation. Capillary attraction operates to bring the moisture from the snbsoil to the surface. Could the moisture collected be retained in the soil, it would supply the plants during onr long dry summers. A loose surface prevents the moisture beneath from soon escaping in the air. Allow no grain, grass or weeda to grow among them, as snch plants exhaust the soil of moisture, to the damage, if not the death of the tree. And to further insnre the tree against the dronth of snmmer, a few inches of litter or coarse manure, asa mulching, will be of great service. If thesupply of moisture is very ‘plentiful, vegetables may be cultivated in the orchard, bnt not otherwise. In moving, handling, etc., care should be nsed so that it shonld be done without tearing, twisting or breaking the roots, and the roots should never be allowed to get dry. When moved to a distance, they should be carefnlly packed together, and bundled with straw, or some material that will exclnde the sun and air from the roots and protect the tree from getting bruised. At all times avoid exposing the roots to the son, dry air, frost and brnising. Keep covered and moist. Before planting, all broken roots should have the ends smoothly trimmed with a sharp knife. Ifa tree should get badly dried, lay it down and bury it root and top for two or three days, or until it fills with sap, and the bark looka fresh. Then, when planted, the trunk should be protected from the snn and winds. Every young tree, excepting evergreens, when first transplanted should have its branches cnt back to within a few inches of the trnnk. Enongh buds should be left to make new branches, and supply the tree with leaves. Itis also expedient to ent the free back to the height at which the head is desired to form. A new and vigorous growth is preferable to old limbs in a transplanted tree. Fresh bark and rich foliage are certainly better than thin, scattering leaves and sun-bnurnt branches. Leaves are the lungs, and must be healthy, or the tree will suffer. They are also ashade for the branches and trunk, keeping the bark fresh jn snmmer. Ona newly-transplanted tree the leaves are most likely to be strong and luxuriant when started quite close about the trunk, while iflong, slender limbs are allowed to remain, the hark gets shriveled, and the leaves are sickly. Te Stanpisa Steast Prow.—An interesting communication, under the above head, will be found on another page of our present issue, from a well known civil engineer. It was received too late for our last issne. We bespeak for it the consideration which the importance of the subject deserves. We regard the success of the Standish steam plow as intimately connected with the agricultural prosperity of this State, and fully indorse the remarks of the writer with regard to its practicability. If California fails to render the necessary aid to this invention, the honor and ohief profit of the enterprise will eventually be enjoyed by some other locality. Give your Stock Goop Warer.—Stagnant or foul water is injnrious to all animals. It causes blood poisoning, and this leads to many febrile oomplaints, and is one of the great canses of abortion in cows and other animals, Herdwick or Navarre Sheep for the Sierras. BY PROFESSOR ROWLANDSON, F. G. 8. L. It is claimed that there exists in California not less than 40,000,000 acres of soil, suitable for arable cultivation. This wonld still leave a halance of 120,000,000, the possible employment of which merits some consideration. If we dednet one-third from the latter named figures for forests, naked rocks and snow-covered monntain tops, there will remuin 80,000,000 acres susceptible of agricultural ntilization. The question is, ‘‘How can this be most economically and rapidly accomplished ?” My reply to this qnestion is, that it can in no way be hetter done than by covering our elevated lauds and steep declivities with the Herdwick or Navarre sheep. The identity of the two has been apparent to me sinee I perused the artiele in the Scientiric Press, describing the latter as having been introduced into Missouri, and at the same time noticing some of their prominent qualities. I have, since last noticing the subject, obtained additional and strongly corroborative proof of the correctness of this pre-formed theory of the origin of the Herdwicks. A California Witness. Knowiug and being personally known to a considerable number of the French sheep butchers residing in this city, Ihave, since my attention has heen re-drawn to the subject, taken advantage of this acquaintance, with the object of ascertaining whether any of these persons were acquainted with the indigenous sheep of the mountainous district around Navarre. Amongst others, I have conversed with M. Jean Bayle, who informed me that he is a native of the department of the Pyrennes, where he has lived until he came to America. M. Bayle, being to my personal knowledge a well-informed, observant and truthful person, it will be seen that it was fortunate that I met with him, so far as further elucidation of the origin of the Herdwicks is concerned. He describes the Pyrennian sheep as possessing long necks, ‘‘rimy” faces, and ‘‘rimy” and speckled legs, and active travelers, So active are they that in a country celebrated for the athlectic character of its natives, the possession of any extraordinary anount of this quality by any one is commonly locally descrihed ag being as lishe asa Herdwick. He concluded his observations, without any prompting, to the effect that when penned (that is, folded,) they will not feed, a quality also pertaining to the Herdwicks. Respecting the anatomical peculiarity of possessing au additional rib as compared with the generality of sheep, M. Bayle could not afford any information, as he never had his attention drawn to the suhject. If, on future examination, it ig found that this extra rih is common to both Herdwick and Pyrennean sheep, the identity of the two races will be reduced to a certainty. In any event, however, this fact appears certain—that, identical or not, the Herdwick and Navarre breeds of sheep form the species of stock hest adapted to the secondary and still greater inferior soils of our more elevated foothills and Sierras. Possibilities of Sheep Raising in California. Assuming 80,000,000 acres of our mountainous tracts to be available for rearing and feeding the breeds of sheep under notice, and making the large allowance of eight acres to each ewe, wether or buck, of two years aud upwards, along with their due proportion of younger animals, the space named would amply suffice for feeding 10,000,000 grown animals, with their natural quota of yearlings and lambs, the annual value of which may be estimated as follows: drafted ewes @ $7,500,000 Sale of 1,500,000 lambs @ $1 1,500,000 Sale of 40,000,000 Ibs wool @ 12%¥c. 5,000,000 [ETE cies Oe OO CE OEE $14,000,000 From which deduct: Wages and rations for 5,000 shepherds, assistants, etc., at $50 per month, or $600 per anUUs eee cer ere ++. $3,000,000 Sundry other charges, say...... 600,000 ———— $3,500,000 Net annual return........0.,.-.++-++ . $10,500,000 This magnificent aitiount, be it reflected, ig capable of absolute realization, proving, in the most remarkable manner, the truth of the old Spanish proverb, ‘‘ That whereever the foot of the sheep treads, the land is turned into gold.” No danger here arising from “rebellious ores” (which, however, is only another name for metallurgie ignorance), ‘caving in,” being drowned, or petering ont; for nature annually renews the verdant snpply. Briefly Summing Up. Amongst other concomitant advantages may be mentioned these prominent ones, viz: The mutton would be in constant demand; as it would be the finest iu the world, superior to Southdown, it wonld also be most convenient to the hest markets -—the mining districts. Ihe wool of a qnality suitahle for blanketing and coarse elothing; adjacent to water power, that

could economically manufacture it into the necessary fabrics, and also near to where these goods are chiefly in demand, The actual protits, however, would be nmiore than those set down, when the land hecomes fully stocked, as the amount of lambs that might he annually drafted would amount to more than the number above set forth. The very limited area previously known to me, on which are domiciled the variety of sheep possessing in so eminent a degree the fitness for mountain pasturage, is one reason why I never urged this subject on the flock-masters or the owners of Scottish moorlands, seeing] the diffienlty that existed in producing a change of breed, within auy reasonable period; forit isto he borne in rememhrance that such lands are already occupied by another—the blackfaced breed. As, however, I learn now, almost to a certainty, that auy number of similar sheep can be procured from the Pyrennes, it is my intention to call the attention of the proprietors of Scotch and Welsh mountain sheep walks to the benefits that would accrue to them by energetically pio noting the change of breed which 1 have indicated—a task which to them will not he ao easy aa to residents of the United States; because the latter have only to begin de novo. But in Britain they will also require to extirpate the pre-occupants. The Pacific Railroad Company, Possessing, as it does, such an immense area calculated for no other variety but sheep and goat husbandry, is particularly interested in this matter, and ought to vigorously promote the object recommended. To do so advantageously, however, in place of the allotment of alternate sections of 640 acres each, larger ones of our more elevated mountain land should be allowed—comprising territory sufficient to feed, say 8,000 sheep per section, and give occupation to four shepherds. In such an event private sheep marks ought to be recorded, the obliteration or falsification of which should be made a misdemeanor punishahle by imprisonment. 3 The Growth of Tree-Trunks. A paragraph has been round the scientific papers stating that a French naturalist has been measuring the tree-trunks in a forest, and found them all broader in the eastwest than in the north-south direction; the cause of the unsymmetry being ascribed, not very obvionsly, to the rotation of the earth. ‘Well, another French arhorist has been similarly gauging the trees in the neighhorhood of Toulouse, and he finds that the greatest swelling of their trunks is towards the east-south-east point of the compass. The explanation offered by this second investigator is more philosophical than that of his predecessor. He refers the deformation to the early morning sun, which warms the easterly parts of the tree more suddenly than the rest, stimulates the flow of the sap, which grows sluggish during the cool of the night, and draws up the nourishing moisture from the soil in greater abundance on the excited side than on those portions of the trunk where the warming is more gradual and its effects less active. Naturally, increased vitality on one side, be it animal or plant, results in developments, or larger growth of that side. There are traditions of some plants turning their flowers toward the sun; the truth may be that the sun only promotes the growth of those blossoms upon which it sheds its direct warmth. As Dulong said, every degree of the thermometer entails a law of nature.—Lvery Saturday. Mux anv Porx.—<According to the experiments made at tho Michigan Agricultural College, the amount of milk consumed hy pigs to produce one pound of increase was, for the first week, 7.20 Ibs.; for the second week, 7.70 lbs.; for the third week, 12.52 Ibs.; for the fourth week, 10.66 Ibs. Our High Mountain Lands. The editor of the Lower Like Courier, having made a trip through some of the more elevated portions of the mountain lands of Lake county, says: Here is a large scope of country that the Government surveyors have uot eonsidered worth their while to survey; nor is it hardly worth the expeuse. It is not now, nor will it ever be, agricultural land. It will never pay to locate it in 160-acre lots, and pay Government prices forit. Still, were there some way that a person or persons could purchase a large tract in which many spots of pasturage would he inclosed, it would then he worth something to its owncrs asa stock range, and to the Statein the way of assessments. As it now is, mercly held in possession, of course no taxes are paid on it; the opeu spots of land are grazed by the stock that are driven from one to another, as the grass is eaten off them, and abandonmeut and ‘jumping” of claims held by possession ia the oceasion of frequent and bloody couflicts, and encourages a loose and lawless state of society. Were the Geueral Government to donate all lands returned by the surveyors as “bad lands” to States in which they lay—for school purposes—and the States then to auction them off in 1,000acre lots to the highest bidder, giving a title therefor, it would be a -vast improvement on the preseut state of affairs. This paragraph has an important bearing in connection with the communication of Prof. Rowlandson, in another column. We think the suggestions of the Professor and of the Courier eminently worthy of a careful consideration. Growers’ CoMBINATION FOR THE SALE or Propvuor.—The Humboldt Times recommends that the farmers of that county should do as those of San Mateo have done—form a club for their mutual benefit and protection. It says that such a combination is necessary to prevent losses and exhorbitant commissions iu the sale of potatoes and other prodnce in this city. A PooR crop requires nearly as much labor for cultivation and harvesting a3 a good one, while the profits of such a crop are annually eaten up in high wages; but a good crop leaves a handsome balance for profit. Viewing the sitnation, then, in whatever light we may, one fact is prominent—the necessities and advantages of improved farming. Aearcunrurnan Lxzcrurss.—Farmers in the vicinity of Centralia, Ill., have made arrangements to have a course of agricultural lectures delivered at that place during next month, San Francisco Market Rates. Wholesale Prices, Taurspay Evyenina, January 20, 1870, Flour, Extra, @ bbl. «S510 QS 50 Do. Superfine. . 460 475 Corn Meal, @ 100 hh: 20 2 25 Wheat, @ 100 tbs.. 115 165 ats, % Bs 115 150 Barley, # 100 Ih 110 1 25 Beans, % 100 bs 2 50 3b Potatoes, 100 be.. 76 119 Hay, BtONseeseeeeseees 1100 @t7 00 Live Oak Wood, # cord 9 00 14 OO Beef, extra, dressed, 7 b tL WwW Sheep, on foot... 259 Hogs, on foot, @ Ib 5 Hoga, dressed, ® bb. 8 GROCERIES, ETC. Sugar, crushed, 7 tb Sarees, lk Wy Hawaiial 8 li 1342 @ 19 1836 19 7 90 it 125 og 10 oe 48 3 45 16 18 40 bo 40 5 20 yu @ id 4 @ ig 12 BKetail Prices, Butter, California, fresh, @ b. 50 6n do, pickled, # ib... 40 50 do. Oregon, 7% tb. 25 30 do. New York, @ 40 Bo Cheese, # bb... 20 25 Honey, ® b. 25 80 Eggs, oze' 60 65 Lard, pis 7 20 omg Hams and Bacon, Ke bb. 22 25 Cranberries, 2 ga luo 125 Potatoes, 7 tb..-++ 2 3 Potatoes, 5wee 2 Tomatoes, 2 3 Oniona, 2 = 8 5 Appies, No. 1, 4 6 Pears, Table, # lb 5 Plumes, drled. A > 10 12 Peaches, dried, 10 15 Oranges, jozen 60 75 Lemons, # dozen = 1¢o Chickens, aplece.. 75 100 Turkeys, # Ib...» a 25 Soap, Pale andO. 0. 12 Soap, Castile, B Wrrsy.00e 20