Colusa County

History

THE COUNTY'S RESOURCES

CHAPTER IX.

GRAIN CULTIVATION.

    In per capita wealth Colusa County ranks first in the State of California and first in the United States; in the value of agricultural products, the first in the State of California and the thirteenth in the United States. Among the industries of California, wheat culture ranks most prominent. It was the golden product of the vast wheat-fields of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys that first gave notice to the world that California possessed possibilities in the development of agriculture, that have since thrown the riches of the mines far into the shade, and which have at the same time revolutionized the methods of the farmer. From the time when the first pioneer left the rocker, the sluice-box and the pan for the plow, harrow and reaper, down to the present moment, the production of wheat has been one of the most favored pursuits of the agriculturist in this State. It was not without many misgivings that the first crops of wheat were planted by American settlers. That a crop should be matured upon which no rain fell, frequently, after the first of March or April, was not deemed possible. When it is remembered that the absence of rain for so short a space as two weeks in the wheat-fields of the East produced a drought, and that four weeks of dry weather under ordinary circumstances would inevitably prove disastrous to the prospect for a remunerative crop, it seemed little short of folly to think it possible to successfully raise wheat upon a large scale, where for at least two months of the growing season no rain fell, and the average annual rainfall is barely fifty per cent of the amount considered absolutely necessary elsewhere for the successful maturing of a crop.

        The first wheat-growing experiments were confined to the moist river bottom lands along the rivers. The crops raised were marvelous, running from forty to sixty bushels per acre and even higher. From the river bottoms the wheat-fields extended out to the plains, and it was quickly found that the dry, parched, and apparently worthless sod, could, with proper treatment, be made to yield immense crops of wheat and other cereals. It was learned that the rainy season, with its alternate periods of storm and sunshine, was exactly what was needed for successful grain-growing upon a large scale. While the Eastern farmer must either sow his grain in the fall and then watch anxiously lest it be "winter killed," or hurry in a spring crop that may be entirely ruined by a couple of weeks' drought, the grain grower in this State has all the time from September or October until the first of April in which to put in his crops. With a single exception, in the thirty-five years that wheat has grown here, there is no trouble in putting in all that is desired, the rains only delaying the operations for a limited period, and, indeed, being welcomed, because of leaving the soil in better condition for subsequent plowing.

        Wheat-growing was introduced into this State over a century ago, the records showing that as far back as 1778, crops were grown at the San Diego Mission, which were of surprising size. All along the coast the grain was found to grow abundantly. After the American occupation, wheat-growing was the first pursuit which engaged the attention of the disappointed gold-seeker, and the crops produced by some of these pioneer farmers were most remarkable. In the Pajaro Valley as high as eighty-two and one-half bushels had been harvested from a single acre. In the Sonoma Valley eighty to eighty-eight bushels had been raised. At present, crops are raised which fully equal this amount, but this excessive result is obtained only upon the rich bottom lands along the principal streams or upon the reclaimed tule lands of the Sacramento and San Joaquin.

        The Eastern farmer draws a line of distinction between the winter and spring wheat, but no such difference is known here, and even when these varieties have been imported for seed, they soon lose all distinctive characteristics, though in different localities different varieties of seed are favored. The kinds cultivated most largely are the Chile, Proper, Club, Australian and Sonora. The two first named are the leading varieties and constitute the bulk of the crop now produced.

        As a wheat-producing State, California was first mentioned in the census of 1860, at which time the percentage of that grain grown here was only three per cent of the total crop of the country; Colusa County alone now produces two per cent of the entire crop raised in the United States. In 1870 the records show that the percentage of yield had exactly doubled, the actual amount harvested being sixteen million, six hundred and seventy-six thousand seven hundred and two bushels. In 1880 the yield had again almost doubled, and the State was then seventh in the list of wheat-producing States and first in the amount of barley grown.     From the returns made by the various county assessors for the season of 1889 (the only means for proving facts upon this and similar subjects), it is found that the wheat average and yield of the State was divided as follows:―

        This is at the rate of ten centals per acre. Expressed in bushels of sixty pounds each, the crop of 1889 was fifty million three hundred and twenty-seven thousand five hundred and fifteen bushels, or about sixteen and one-half bushels per acre. This puts California now into the front rank of wheat growers, no other State coming within several million bushels of producing so much, and shows that Colusa County is honorably maintaining her proud eminence as the "banner wheat county" of the State. But even with these astonishing figures, it should be remembered that, as every farmer knows, the returns made by the assessor are in every case below the actual, in some cases as much as forty per cent less than the actual amount. Yet, taking the figures above presented as approximately correct, a fair idea can be formed of the immense proportions which have been attained by the wheat industry in Colusa County.

        The introduction of steam in plowing and harvesting has had a direct tendency towards a consolidation of land holdings in the county, and has made it possible to produce wheat on a large scale and with a profit impossible of competition from the small farmer. As a consequence, the owners of ranches of one hundred and sixty or three hundred acres, are gradually giving them up, and their ranches are in turn consolidated with others that contain many thousands of acres. Colusa County is essentially a county of large farms, so large as to be almost imperial in the extent of their territory. A large amount of money has been made in wheat-growing in the county, and large profits will yet be made, but the facts remain that diversified farming is more desirable. The introduction of irrigation canals, together with the decline of late years in the prices of cereals, and the cultivation of horticultural products, the latter in their infancy, but surprisingly promising, must have a tendency to dismember these vast wheat estates and divide them up among colonists and home builders, who, upon twenty acres of fruit and vine land, will realize better returns than on an entire section sowed only to wheat.

        To conduct a wheat-farm in Colusa County requires no small amount of executive ability. There is such a combination of mechanical apparatus employing a small army of men and such a multitude of horses and mules, where both time and labor must be saved and utilized with a systematic economy, and hence demands administrative talent of a high order. Here the traditional and old-time husbandman who cultivated every square foot of a small area of land, disappears. He is merged into a business man, into an operator of heavy, cumbrous, yet almost intelligent machinery, while his broad fields partake of the busy, crowded appearance of a manufactory. Hardly two farmers agree as to the true way of putting in grain in this county. Some prefer early seeding, others hold that late sowing is preferable. Then, too, they differ as to the quantity of seed to be sown. But all agree as to the importance of summer-fallowing certain lands, that is, the land that has grown wheat one year is plowed the next spring and allowed to lie fallow all summer, and is sown in the fall usually before the heavy rains set in. Sometimes when the season has been favorable, the crop is permitted to "volunteer," and very fine crops are gathered sometimes from lands not seeded or plowed at all. As many as five crops have been taken from the same land in this way, the last producing as much as forty bushels per acre, but such things are rare. There are two reasons why the grain on the summer-fallowed land, even in the very best condition, should be seeded after the first rain. The seed of the wild weeds which cover the ground everywhere will then have sprouted, and the seeding, harrowing, or, better, the turning over of the top soil, will kill the young plants or hurry the seed that has not yet sprouted. The turning under of the wet top-soil is also of extreme importance, as it gives the young grain the wettest parts of the soil for the roots to grow in, while otherwise the wettest soil would remain on the top and cause a heavy and early crust. It is the weeds and the crust that are the bane of every bunch of growing grain, and with these removed, half success is assured.

        The land is plowed almost entirely by four or six-horse teams attached to a gang of two or more plows. Below is given a table showing the expense of raising wheat where horse­power is employed. This table is made up from records carefully kept and is estimated to be the average expense of producing and marketing wheat by that means, in the county:—

        The average yield per acre in 1889 was one thousand two hundred and twenty-four pounds. At the rate of one and four-tenths cents per pound for the wheat at tide-water, would give a return of $17.14 per acre. Taking from this the averaged cost of production would leave the farmer a net profit of $6.19 per acre. The year mentioned, however, was an exceptionally good one for the wheat-grower. In 1890 the total yield of wheat in the county was much less than the preceding year, the average, three hundred and eighty-six thousand acres, being less, and the crop was much lighter all over the county. The total yield was three million six hundred and twenty-four thousand and nine hundred centals, and the average yield per acre was nine hundred and thirty-nine pounds, which would make the value of the crop per acre $13.15.

        By the use of traction engines in plowing and harvesting, it is claimed that the expense of production can be materially reduced.

        In steam plowing there are ordinarily four gangs of plows, each one attached to the engine, each being attached at the side or immediately to the rear of the others. The plows used are ten inches in width, and the furrows are made at least five inches deep. The machine is run night and day, no stop being made for any purpose. At night it has two locomotive headlights, one in front and the other in the rear, so that the engineer may at all times watch the plows. A "driver" sits in front and governs the course of the machine by a tiller attached to two small guide wheels. When the soil is in passable condition to work, from forty to fifty acres are put in daily. Besides plowing the land, each gang has a seeder attached, so that by a single operation, the entire process of planting is completed. In addition, whenever the surface is so uneven as to need leveling, an apparatus is attached which does this work perfectly, and at the same time the seeding and harrowing are accomplished. The expense for putting in the crop upon one hundred acres would average about $65.

        In harvesting, the most improved devices of ingenuity are used. The combined harvester chiefly does the work. A brief description of the combined machine would not be out of place. It consists essentially of a thirty-foot header, and a thresher and separator; the header, being in front and to the right of the traction frame and extending back, is hinged to the frame, having one wheel on its outer edge to support it. The separator being on the left side and hinged to the traction frame, and having but one wheel to support its outer edge from the ground, receives the grain from the elevator of the header, and, after being threshed, the straw is delivered to the tender, where it is hi many cases used for fuel or dumped on the ground, the grain being sacked and sewed as the machine moves along. For the purpose of running the machinery, a separate engine is used, receiving its steam from the one boiler, so that the separator can be run at any speed desired without being at all affected by the motion of the machinery over the ground.

        Where engines are not used, there are teams of twenty-two to thirty-two horses or mules all hitched together, thus harvesting from twenty to twenty-five acres per day. Others use headers and have the grain threshed subsequently by steam separators of the ordinary type.

        A heavy item of expense to the wheat grower here, and which is not borne by the grain grower at the East, is the necessity for providing sacks for grain. It is estimated that five per cent of the value of the crop is consumed annually in the purchase of these sacks. At the East, the grain farmer provides himself with wagons which are perfectly tight and will not allow any of the wheat to escape. In such vehicles the grain is hauled to the railroad stations, where it is put into an elevator and thence into cars, on which it is hauled to shipping-points on tide-water. The economy in handling the grain in this manner without the use of sacks, effects a great saving. Here each sack has to be handled many times before it reaches the hold of a vessel.. It is claimed that this primitive method of handling grain is made necessary by the danger of shipping grain in bulk for so long a voyage as the one to Europe. The grain-growers of Oregon and Washington have revolted against this, and elevators are now being introduced there. If the sacking can be dispensed with in these States, it should be easily practicable in Colusa County.

        Barley is an important crop in California, its annual product being twice that of any other State, while fully one-fourth of the entire amount produced in the United States comes from this section. In the cultivation of this cereal, Colusa County stands in the third place in the State, having produced in 1889 on forty-eight thousand six hundred and eighty-three acres, four hundred and ninety thousand centals to six hundred and forty-six thousand and seventy centals for Ventura County, and six hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred for Monterey County. A fraction over ten centals per acre in Colusa is what the assessor's returns show, while the truth is the yield is nearly double that amount. This is easily proved.

        A peculiarity of farming in Colusa County is that immense amounts of barley are used in the feeding of horses, mules, hogs and cattle, the barley here taking the place to a great extent of the oats and corn fed at the East. Many farmers raise large quantities of this grain which they consume entirely upon their own ranches, and hence it never finds its way into any of the channels from which crop statistics are collected. Many thousands of acres of barley are also cultivated each year for hay, the bulk of hay used in the State being made of barley cut while the grain is in the milk. This certainly cuts down the average yield, while the fact is that a large part of the area is cut for hay, but does not so appear in statistical compilations.

        The barley grown here has a high reputation among brewers, and much of it is exported for their benefit. Two kinds of barley are grown here, the bearded and the bald, or Chevalier. The latter variety sells for the best price, but is not produced to so great an extent as the common bearded. What has been said of the cultivation of wheat may also be said in a great measure of the methods used in raising barley.

        California, much less Colusa County, has never made any pretensions as a corn-growing State, yet, according to the latest reports of the National Department of Agriculture, the yield thereof was nearly six million of bushels. In Colusa County, not including what was fed to stock, only two thousand bushels are accounted for on the collector's returns. It does well in almost any part of the county, and the yield per acre would be something almost startling in Kansas and Iowa. There are certain anomalies in connection with the production of corn in Colusa County and other parts of California which are difficult for the Mississippi Valley corn-growers to understand. The simple fact that it is possible to raise fair crops of corn here without a drop of rain between seed-time and harvest, sounds incredible, and justly so. Yet such is the fact. This has been proven over and over again in various parts of the county. When the mania for almost endless fields of wheat shall have subsided, when diversity of crops shall be the rule and not the exception, and in some localities or soils irrigation shall minister moisture, Colusa County will indulge more in corn-planting, just as Kern County and parts of Los Angeles County, and in San Bernardino County where irrigation was practiced. In these sections it was years after wheat was proved to be a profitable and stable crop that corn began in a measure to supplant it.

        Oats have never been a favorite crop in this county, barley almost entirely superseding it. It can be grown with success, however, but as barley is found to be more nutritious for stock, very little of it is cultivated.

        The assessor's report of Colusa County for the year 1889 exhibits the following returns of grain production in the county:—

HAY.

        A county where grass grows abundantly has always been a characteristic of good land. This was long ago proved in Colusa County. The most productive ranches now are those where years ago herds of cattle and horses pastured on the tall wild oats or succulent grasses. Besides the hay made of the half-ripened barley, and which is so much used in the county, alfalfa is largely raised. It is a species of lucerne and grows bountifully here. It does best on alluvial soil but thrives in almost any kind of ground, even on alkali soil it can flourish, since by its long tap-root it is enabled to reach down into the moisture below the injurious salts. It produces from two to four crops in a season, the last one being gathered towards the beginning of October. After this it is used for pasture till December. On good land with a supply of water it may be mowed five times a year and will yield two tons of cured hay to the acre at each cutting. Every kind of stock prospers on alfalfa and alfalfa hay; even a hog will eat it and do fairly well. There is very little expense in its cultivation. Once sown it requires no further seeding for a second crop. Its life seems perpetual, so much so that where the fanciful Frenchman terms it lucerne, the matter-of-fact German designates it as the "hundred-year plant." It is always refreshing and grateful to the eye and throws around the farm-home a beauty and breadth of color sometimes like a green oasis in the unbroken monotony of expanding fields in russet ripeness. Over a half a million of acres of alfalfa land are in the county. Besides alfalfa and barley hay, wheat and oats are also cut for forage.

FRUIT GROWING.

        There is scarcely a fruit that is cultivated anywhere in the State but has been successfully grown in Colusa County. The soil and climate here are pre-eminently partial to every kind of fruit that flourishes in semi-tropical and temperate latitudes. Apples, plums, prunes, cherries, pears, peaches, apricots and nectarines are of bounteous size and unexcelled in flavor. The same may be said of the smaller fruits, such as currants, blackberries, gooseberries, strawberries and raspberries. The cultivators of small fruits in the Sacramento Valley have been the most prosperous tillers of the soil. The olive and fig reach perfection, while here raisins, almonds, prunes, apricots and pears, though yet in their infancy of cultivation, have passed the period of experiment. A most noticeable result of the climate is that all kinds of fruit mature here earlier than in many portions of the State. Small fruits, apples, peaches, cherries, plums, apricots, pears and grapes, are found in the market here or abroad, from two to four weeks earlier than in the southern section of counties.

        At present only a limited area, comparatively, is devoted to fruit raising in this county. This is not to be wondered at when one reflects on the many large fortunes which have been realized here in grain farming. But the decline in the past few years in the prices of cereals has caused the people of Colusa County to look around them and observe the marvelous strides of advancement made by less-favored counties in horticultural pursuits. "Despise not the day of small things" is plainly applicable to fruit culture, for while the day of the fruit-grower, on his small twenty-acre holding, numbers the usual twenty-four hours, it has been demonstrated that each of these hours is stored with tenfold more profit and unerring promise of competence than those which encircle the daily routine of the grain farmer on his half-township of land. The wonderful increase in the fruit-growing industry in California is truly amazing. Each year increases the product more than fifty per cent, and where a few years ago no California fruit had found its way to the East, now millions of pounds and hundreds of car loads are shipped there in successful competition with foreign countries that had been sending five hundred million pounds of fruit each year. And the market for our fruits in the East is increasing with the increase of production, and the prices realized are as good if not better than those of former years. California has hardly begun yet to supply the Eastern market with fruit, and what is, by people, considered a large amount being shipped annually to the East, is hardly noticed in that great market. Outside of its large cities, California fruits are seldom seen, because they are disposed of to consumers before they reach the smaller cities. All those innumerable smaller places in the East will ultimately obtain their fruit from this State, for the reasons that the product is superior and can be produced at a much less expense than in the colder countries, in which latter some of the California fruits cannot be grown at all.

        The following table shows the number of fruit trees and vines in the county:—

        Of this number about fifty-five per cent are bearing, ten per cent will come to bearing the next season, nine per cent the following season and the remainder in 1893. The decrease of percentage is due to the unfavorable condition of the past spring for planting. In addition to the foregoing table, there are one hundred and five acres of small fruit in bearing in the county.

        The apricot is a fruit that is not as successfully grown elsewhere as in California, and this product of the State has the world for a market. It is an early fruit, easily dried by cutting in halves and exposing to the sun, and is a good article for canning. Aside from home consumption, the fruit is almost entirely canned or dried, it being almost too delicate to ship successfully to Eastern markets. The tree comes to bearing at the age of four years, and is a heavy producer, trees in the county at the age of seven years having produced nine hundred and forty -pounds of fruit in a single season. The river and foot-hill lands are especially adapted to the growth of the apricot, and with spring watering, the tree produces an excellent fruit upon the drier plains. In the warmer valleys of the foot-hills it ripens very early, and for the market this is a great advantage to the grower. The product about Colusa and within access of the cannery at that place, is nearly all canned, while that in other parts of the county, aside from what is put up for family use, is dried and sold to dealers, who ship it East. The apricot season of ripening lasts about four weeks in the early summer.

        The peach is a favorite fruit everywhere. The range of soil and climate adapted to the different varieties of peaches is greater than with any other fruit and the ripening season extends from June to November, and a ready market is to be found for the fruit, whether fresh, dried or canned. The varieties cultivated are numerous, and there is hardly a foot of soil within the county which will not produce excellent peaches. From the rich bottom lands of the Sacramento to the mountain-tops, the peach tree thrives. On the higher lands a more solid fruit is grown, which is preferred by some to that grown on the lower lands. The peach also is a heavy bearer, and produces some fruit at the age of three years under favorable circumstances.

        In the rich alluvial lands the pear gives the best results. It is a fruit that requires considerable moisture, where the tree is a rapid grower and heavy producer. Although a delicate fruit when fully ripe, it permits of picking and shipping while hard and ripens without losing its delicate, rich flavor, which makes it so popular. The favor with which the California pear, both fresh and canned, has been received all over the world, has caused the Colusa County horticulturist to recently give it more attention. The Bartlett is the favorite variety, both for the market and canning. It is not produced in sufficient quantities in this county to make drying necessary, although it makes a good table fruit in that form.

        The nectarine, as the word implies, has a delicacy of juice fit for the gods. It is of smooth skin, larger than the apricot and ripens a little later. It is not a shipping fruit, but for canning and drying possesses advantages. It can be broken into halves and the pit, which is small, taken out without the use of knife, and dries in the sun. The trees bear heavily, under favorable circumstances, and require soil and climate similar to that of the apricot.

        The almond is sure to be a staple product of Colusa County, where it yields in abundance a superior quality of nut. Almond trees are scattered through the county, some quite old. The almond is not a tree, however, that will produce well in every locality. Young almond trees are being set out, planters having been encouraged by the results obtained from old trees growing in the county.

        It is only in favored localities that the orange can be grown successfully in this county. It is a delicate tree, especially when young, and requires cultivation and attention. Although there are over four thousand trees in the county, the greater number have been planted only for ornament and what fruit they would produce for family use. The cultivation of the orange has not been taken hold of as a business enterprise, but small patches of trees have recently been set out about College City, Orland and other places in the county. Trees eleven and twelve years old are growing in, the yards of Dr. W. H. Belton, at Colusa, M. Billiou, near St. John, Samuel Cleek, at Orland, and in College City, are growing and producing each year a large yield of this luscious fruit. The orange ripens early in this county, but is improved in flavor by remaining on the trees some weeks after it turns to the golden hue.

        The fig tree can be seen sheltering nearly every farm-house in the county. It grows and produces three crops annually without attention or cultivation, and the fruit is not only a delicacy but is also a wholesome food. The black fig predominates, although there are many white figs grown. There has been but little attention paid to growing figs for the market, although it is a prolific and profitable fruit.

        Olives, cherries, pomegranates, quinces and Japanese persimmons grow thrifty and produce heavily of fruit, but there is no effort made to grow them except for home use.

        Prunes are receiving considerable attention from horticulturists. In Colusa County the prune is a heavy bearer of a large, rich-flavored fruit, and is easily prepared for the market. The fruit is growing in popularity with consumers, and the grower can realize a handsome profit by cultivating it. Over six hundred pounds of green fruit have been gathered from a single tree seven years old. As this amount gives about two hundred pounds of dried fruit, which usually commands four and one-half to five cents per pound, it can be seen, with eighty or one hundred trees to the acre, that the return to the producer is not small. It requires good fertile soil to produce the best prune, and a number of orchards have been planted, along Stony Creek, on the rich plain lands about Willows, Maxwell and College City, and bordering the river. The prune is dried for the market, and any orchardist can prepare them by exposing to the sun. About fifty-two thousand pounds of dried prunes were shipped from the county this season. The tree bears fruit at the age of four years.

        One of the branches of horticulture which is fast coming into prominence in Colusa County is the growing of the raisin grape. The county is already an exporter of raisins. In 1889, one hundred and sixty thousand pounds were shipped, and during in the past season the shipments amounted to over four hundred thousand pounds. The fine quality of the article produced, its prolific nature in the soils of the county and the handsome profits to the grower, have induced a large number to plant out the raisin grape. The vines are pruned during the winter, close to the ground, leaving but two or three buds, that produce the new growths in the spring on which grows the grape. The vine produces two years after setting out, and at the end of four years is in full bearing. The ripe grapes are cut off the vines in bunches and laid upon trays to dry in the sun. The drying requires about two weeks; after eight days the grapes are turned over to allow the opposite side of the bunches to dry. From the trays the dried grapes are transferred to the sweat-box and stored away in a cool room for about a month, when the grapes and stems become moist and soft. When cured, they are packed in boxes for the market. Small raisin vineyards are being set out in various parts of the county. About College City are a number of twenty-acre tracts devoted to this fruit, as also at Williams, Maxwell, Colusa, Orland and Willows. In the foot­hills about Elk Creek, Stony Ford and Sites are also a number of vineyards. Six miles south of Elk Creek, the Fruto Land and Improvement Company has purchased three thousand acres of valley and foot-hill land near Stony Creek, the greater portion of which the company will plant to raisin grapes. Already one hundred acres have been set out and one hundred and fifty acres more will be planted during the coming winter. Robert Watts, the manager, is a practical vineyardist of much study and observation in Australia, France and Spain, as well as in this State, and pronounces the foot-hills of Colusa County as most favorable for this industry. An acre of raisin grapes will yield, when in full bearing, from two to three tons of raisins, which are sold to the packers at about $90 per ton, thus giving a handsome return to the producer. The leading variety of raisin grape is the Muscat of Alexandria, otherwise known as the Muscatel.

        There is but little attention paid to the cultivation of the wine grape in this county. C. C. Felts, who lives five miles northwest of Maxwell, has twenty acres of Zinfandel grapes, which were planted six years ago. He makes about six hundred gallons of claret wine annually, which judges pronounce of excellent quality. His crop of 1889 amounted to one hundred tons of grapes, and the amount he did not use in making wine, was dried and sold. The crop of 1890 cleared him over $66 per acre after all expenses were paid. F. X. St. Louis, living near Willows, makes a few barrels of white wine each year, of good quality. Table wine is growing in favor, and this industry bids fair to be one of considerable importance in the county.

        M. Azevado, living near Orland, has fifteen acres of table grapes, which return him over $200 per acre annually, and F. X. St. Louis, near Willows, has ten acres from which he receives about the same amount. If not sold fresh, the table grape, of which there is a great variety, is either canned or dried.

        The home market is not supplied with its own small fruits, such as blackberries, strawberries, etc., although they grow thriftily and produce prolifically. The same can be said of vegetables. The Chinese gardens grow most of the vegetables, and the late census shows the profit from some of these gardens to be nearly a thousand dollars per acre.

LIVE STOCK.

        Aside from being the foremost county in the production of wheat and a producer of as fine fruit as the State can show, Colusa's herds figure prominently in the stock interests of the State. The county early earned the title of "cow county" from this its first industry. The last assessment roll of the county shows the number of live-stock and their value as follows:―

        The above shows only twenty-eight thoroughbred cattle in the county. In addition to these there are a large number of highly-bred cattle which are counted as American cattle. Some years ago thoroughbred cattle were introduced in the county, which were the first to be awarded premiums at the State fair, and from this stock the ordinary cattle of those days were bred up, and the effect thereof was to greatly improve the grade of this stock in the county. Since then other thoroughbred cattle have been imported, and to-day what the Colusa farmer terms "common" cattle are of better breed than that word would imply. P. S. Peterson has a herd of thoroughbred Durham cattle on his ranch near Sites, which deserves special mention. For three successive seasons a portion of his herd has been on exhibition at the State fair, and each year has been awarded premiums. Judge Bridgford and J. C. Bedell have a number of thoroughbred Durham cattle on their farm near Colusa. They have three especially fine thoroughbreds, Manunga, Manunga Second and Scotch Billy, all of which have taken premiums at the State fair, Manunga Second being the only Durham that was ever awarded the sweep-stake premium, which she received September, 1890. There are many herds of cattle which are raised for beef, the herbage of the foot-hills and mountains furnishing excellent pasturage for this stock.

        While the foot-hill and mountain ranges are excellent for cattle, they are no less adapted to the pasturage of sheep, and over them range quite a hundred thousand. These are raised principally for their wool, the clip of which for the year ending March 1, 1890, amounted to over four hundred thousand pounds. In the fall after the grain on the plains and along the river is harvested, great flocks of sheep are driven on the stubble to pick up the stray heads of grain and herbage. The Angora goat has been introduced in the foot-hills of the county, and are proving profitable flocks. Julius Weyand and Thomas J. Harlan each have large numbers, which are raised for their long, fine hair, that is valuable for making fine cloth. The extensive wheat farms of the county require many good work-horses, and

the grade of this kind of stock is better than the average elsewhere. Norman, Clydesdale and other fine breeds of heavy horses have been introduced, which have been the cause of the raising of a class of excellent draft horses. California is noted for fine horses, not only for draft and road animals, but running and trotting horses. Hon. John Boggs pays especial attention to his stable of trotting horses, and is raising some very excellent animals, principally Palo Alto stock. L. H. McIntosh, north of St. John, on his stock farm, has several thoroughbred, trotting and draft horses. Mrs. G. W. Murdock, west of Orland four miles, has a number of standard-bred mares, and Mr. Murdock, several draft stallions. F. C. Anderton has a farm on Stony Creek, twelve miles west of Orland, where he is devoting much attention to trotting horses and their breeding. He has some half dozen thoroughbreds and several standard-breds. William Merrill, of Willows, is raising and training trotting horses of fine breed. Aside from the persons mentioned, a half a hundred people in various parts of the county are taking a greater or less interest in fine horses.

        In the table inserted, the number of swine does not appear large, yet each year there are many shipped from the county for pork. On many of the foot-hills and in the small intervening valleys is a growth of oak trees, which produce large crops of acorns, that the hogs eat with relish and fatten upon. Aside from this, the stubble of the grain-fields is economized for hog feed as well as for sheep. During the winter and spring the luxuriant green herbage everywhere growing is fed off by swine. The prevailing prices for pork hogs make their raising profitable.

        Poultry raising is a paying business, where one is so situated as to provide green feed during the summer months. A ready market is obtained for chickens and turkeys at all times of the year, by shipping to San Francisco or selling for local consumption.

MINERAL RESOURCES—

BY JULIUS WEYAND.

        COPPER.—About November 1, 1863, the first discovery of copper was made in township seventeen north, range six west, on south side of Little Stony Creek, by F. M. Rice and J. B. Turner, in finding a large nugget of native copper, and also rock containing considerable copper, on the grounds located by the discoverers and five of their friends as the Mary Union claim.

        The news brought within a few days many of the people from Colusa and the county at large, and also people from other parts of the State, to the locality.

        On November 4, 1863, the Commonwealth Mining District was formed. The Mary Union lode was traced in southern and northern course, and claims were located as follows: 1, Extension Copper Hill; 2, Blue Hill; 3, Colusa; 4, Little Giant; 5, Sacramento; all south of Mary Union. On the north were: 1, North Star; 2, Indian Valley; 3, Grand Island; this comprised thirty-seven thousand two hundred feet on that ledge or lode, or seven miles long in distance by six hundred feet wide. Separate lodes were found and claims located, as: The Eagle, the Blazing Star, the Wyandotte, the Lion, the Settlers' Claim and the Pioneer. A town was surveyed and laid out on the twenty-eighth section, township seventeen north, range six west, by Judge H. W. Dunlap and others, named Ashton, east of Little Stony, situated on lands now owned by Josh. C. Smith and Jonathan Ping, two hotels, two stores, livery stable, blacksmith shop and mining offices constituting the town.

        Further discoveries required the formation of districts as follows:―

        Stony Creek District, December 24, 1863; St. John District, January 2, 1864; Snow Mountain District, January 5, 1864; Pacific Mining District, February 6, 1864; Mountain District, March 14, 1864; Lane District, also in March, 1864. In many of these locations the principals were: W. M. Rice, T. M. Rice, J. B. Turner, R. G. Burrows, James M. Berry, N. J. Greene, G. W. Keys, J. L. Howard, C. Dixon, J. Hop. Woods, Harry Peyton, J. A Rush, H. Fairchild, W. K. Estill, G. W. Ware, Amos Roberts, J. K. Weast, J. W. Lane, Gil. Roberts, Judge H. W. Dunlap, Fred Clay, Mart Gibson, H. A. Van Dorsten, A. d'Artenay, William Johnson, J. J. Lett, H. Mitchum, W. M. Gassuway, Day. Lett, Henry McCausland, J. C. Johns, A. N. Greene, Thomas Votaw, W. W. Greene, D. A. Greene, Jackson Hart, L. H. Baker, Joseph Whitlock, J. W. Goad, Stewart Harris, W. W. Noble, Charles Denmark, G. W. Noble, Joseph Ingrim, Thomas Talbot, J. W. Brim, James Taggert, A. J. Slye, and Julius Weyand, all of Colusa County, besides many persons from adjoining counties and the State.

        The agents of Flood & O'Brien, of San Francisco, had located a claim (the Ophir) running over and into the lines of the Mary Union Company, and a dispute arose between the parties, which was adjusted by a miners' meeting on February 4, 1864, deciding that Flood & O'Brien had to abandon their location. The parties did do so at once, and left for San Francisco, and, as appeared afterwards, to the injury of the further exploration of the locality. Their instructions were to spend a large sum of money before they should give up the work.

        The ores found in all this territory were native copper, red and black oxides, blue carbonates or indigo copper, and gray ore, the red oxides always carrying a trace of gold, and the gray ore a small per cent of silver. Assays run as high as thirty-three per cent copper.

        Strata of ore were found all over the country, claimed to be well-defined ledges, and as such were located, though hardly ever worked to prove their value.

All well-defined ledges ran from southeast to northwest.

        The most work was done on the Mary Union, Copper Hill, the Colusa, the Sacramento, the Pacific, the Lion; and all of them undoubtedly will develop into mines of value if worked properly.

        During the first excitement of the new discovery, there were incorporated the following claims:—

        The work in 1864 shows the Mary Union shaft about fifty feet and several cuts or short tunnels; the Copper Hill shaft, ninety-five feet; the North Star tunnel, sixty feet; the Lion shaft, forty-two feet and incline about sixty-five feet. The quantity of ore was small, the quality good. In the fall of 1864 the development of the mines was not satisfactory to the stockholders, the assessments became delinquent, and a great portion of the stock had to be taken by the company, for the assessment. Outside mining speculators and prospectors paid no more attention to our mining region, from the date of the Flood & O'Brien agents leaving the locality, and our home capitalists and stock­holders only offered to sell what they had, never offered to help develop the lodes.

        Work was suspended for the season, and several attempts were made in 1865 to resume work; the only company continuing work was the Lion, which took out some fine ore.

        A. d'Artenay, the principal owner, had assays made on Lion ore. Appearing satisfactory, he made preparations for erection of smelting works near the mine. In 1866, when every preparation for the enterprise was arranged, he died. His brother, T. d'Artenay, and Fred Schrieber, of Marysville, proceeded in behalf of the company. Professor Isenbeck erected a fire-clay cupola furnace, steam engine for crushing ore and blast, at a great expense of money. The taking out of ore, hauling to smelt the ore and coal, and running the smelting works, were only commenced when the furnace failed to do the work. A steady flow of the molten mass could not be accomplished; several trials were attempted, but all failed, and the furnace was declared unfit to smelt this kind of ore. Coffee & Risdon, of San Francisco, offered to put up a Haskell iron, water-lined furnace, warranting the same to smelt the Lion ore profitably and satisfactory. The company agreed to their proposition, and the furnace was erected, and put under the management of their agents, Mr. Johnson and Norcross, both being experienced smelters. They could run out a few copper brick in good shape, but after one or two hours' run, the metal would chill or freeze, and the furnace had to be cleared of the substance causing the failure, which proved to be asbestos, which does not melt nor flow off, and, when completely covering the surface of the furnace, will prevent its flow.

        Mr. Norcross gave his opinion that only a reverberatory furnace of the Swansea pattern could successfully and profitably smelt this quality of ore. The Haskell furnace was shipped back to San Francisco, and other attempts to smelt this ore were not made since, the trustees continued to develop their lode, and as their ore, assayed by State Assayer Hanks, showed twenty-one per cent copper, they shipped several tons to San Francisco in 1876, but did not realize enough for cost of production. The company has a quantity of ore on the dump, but cannot figure out a profit to keep at work, and therefore have suspended.

        In 1877 J. W. Brim, Jackson Hart, George Heath and W. K. Aldersley took several tons of ore from the Mary Union and Copper Hill grounds, shipped them to San Francisco, but failed to pay expenses and discontinued.

        In 1880 E. A. Frenzel, H. Gehrt, G. W. Hopkins and James W. Warwick relocated claims on the Mary Union and Copper Hill grounds, working two seasons, finding new deposits, running a tunnel to main lode, and suspended work to await a better value of copper.

        In 1883 J. L. Jordan, of Santa Rosa, and J. W. Cook, now of Maxwell, relocated the grounds of the Colusa Company, working some time, but suspended, and since that time nothing has been done in these mines.

        COAL was discovered in the foot-hills on the road between McMichaels, in Antelope, and G. C. Ingrim's, in Bear Valley, in the spring of 1855, by Isaac Howell and son, but no developments made.

        In 1865 J. B. Turner also found coal on the left bank of Little Stony Creek, near Ashton, of good quality, but never developed any of the seams.

        In 1882 E. S. Ashley, in Antelope Cañon, one-half mile east of Sites, found coal of fine quality. A tunnel was started to examine the extent of the deposit, but, not appearing satisfactory, work was stopped.

        In 1887 John Arnett discovered a good vein on Little Stony Creek, two miles southeast of Smithville. Not considering it profitable, no further exploration was made by him. As coal exists on many places in the western part of the county, the discovery of large deposits will depend on the prospector of a future day.

        GOLD AND SILVER.—In 1864 J. W. Brim, J. K. Weast and others found quartz containing both metals on Trout Creek, at the foot of Snow Mountain, situated a few miles west of Fouts Springs. They put up an arrastra, worked a few months, but returns not being satisfactory, they suspended.

        About the same time the Manzanita mine, at Sulphur Creek, was worked by Woodruff Clark and William Cherry, for gold, paying fairly well. There were other silver claims prospected, namely, the Foolcatcher, by San Francisco parties, but only to a very small extent.

        QUICKSILVER was discovered in 1865, in the western part of Bear Valley, and across the line in Lake County.

        The Abbot mine for several years paid well, the Ingrim, Buckeye and Sulphur Creek were developed and beginning to pay a profit, when the price of the metal fell to fifty per cent of former values, and the production was not profitable. J. Furth, J. W. Brim, J. Hart, W. S. Green, G. C. Ingrim and others were prominent in that industry. Their works were stopped and have never been reopened.

        SULPHUR exists in large deposits at Sulphur Creek, from whence Johnson, of Sulphur Creek, shipped a great quantity in 1866 and 1867. The shipment is now discontinued.

        PETROLEUM was found in many places in Antelope and Bear Valley in February, 1865.

        The Lane Mining District was organized at that time. Quite an excitement was created by the news, and people came rushing to the hills to locate claims, and to bore for oil. Louis Lewis bored with hand-drills, on what is known as the Glotzbach place, on Freshwater, a well about four hundred feet deep, the same now being a flowing well emitting a strong inflammable gas, burning freely if conducted through a funnel and set afire. The oil was not in sufficient quantity and the gas could not be used profitably, so the place was deserted by Lewis.

        Hughes and Mrs. Warner, of Sacramento, used a steam engine at boring for oil at Mr. Lane's, now McMichael's place. They never succeeded in finding oil worth mentioning.

        Taylor, of Virginia City, bored at the Gilmore ranch, in Bear Valley, besides several others boring in different places in the foot-hills. Not being successful, they suspended work, and no new effort has been made since to prospect for oil.

        CHROME ORE.—This ore was discovered in township nineteen north, range six west, on Big Stony Creek, by J. P. Rathbun, William Needham and others several years ago.

        Several shipments of the ore were made; its quality was reported to be good, but the work was discontinued from some cause not known. A mine is now being opened southwest of Newville.

        LIMESTONE was also found by Rathbun Brothers, in township sixteen north, range five west, two miles north of Leesville, on the Indian Valley road, in 1878.

        They erected a limekiln, and burned lime of very good quality, but the limited demand in the vicinity was the cause for stopping further prosecution of work.

        The mineral resources of the western part of Colusa County are varied and valuable, and as soon as railroads extend there, no doubt some of these discoveries will be further prospected, and with cheap freights become valuable to the county.

HEALTH RESORTS.

        These might more properly be termed health resources. Colusa County is fortunate, nay, blessed, in possessing within her limits many springs whose medical properties and curative agencies are beyond parallel as restoratives to health. They are located in the foot-hills and cañons of the Coast Ran