The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 18, 1898, Page 21

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 189S. 21 PROFESSOR E. W, HILGARD, HORACE DAVIS, University of California. S0 tha ugh the who remer sults this year, t lower instead of although the English market advanced, wheat here, declining later to $1 es of 1864 and counted on the wrong side of market. past year. nd flour from the Oregon. :\Washingto: bundance In consequ t 3 some ock. During the pas sent out of this port 714,837 centals of wheat E shipments for this period—and s pretty well up to the customary « I am in ed for all these stz mmerc WS, In the ier much by lack of hdrawn from their sport duty for th y from t uld naturally hav How ch grain and fic T know, for the all rail imports have the first time, wheat in 1 mountains. California bec ‘The currents of trade were rev tered into our commercial transact The of the barley market of at in 1864 s king in the barley northern neighhbc en it was settled the with s have been we flooded have been hs we have of our aver- rels of flour, which amount the period. courtesy of N than ever bef h their overflo Bates of the of f r were lessened v Pacific Mail steamers June Jul ) pe tuf and ne ome extent trast to wheat, and t producer, and Consequently uld ruin the crop here, local prices once be lue of ley here has doubled, a Rockies from Nebra And he he crop v ur ttled conditic E we are st been a ver: + QUR PROSPECTS: 2 By A. Sbarboro, <“ = ufacty and P rs' @ssociation. O State in the Union, and, indeed, few parts of the world, has such a brilliant future as the State of California. The development of and inexhausti ate h as yet barely commenced. Our been the numerous resour > continuing to give forth ith the application of 1 by scic i the »m the high rates years ago, it will be hich could not have been successfully > mines will give employment to a larger will rew d the me have of the power, which discove ked by the old systems. me 1 nu:aber o , and when p the enter ng owners and The ship-building tra near future one of the larg Oregon, Olympia and the 1d other ship yards in this cit s which e t here b sels as can be turned out in any part of "he acquisition of the Philippines and the requirements of the Rus- 18 on the comple of their railroad at Vladivostok, i the near civil 3 by opean natio eventually destined to make rtant as the Atlantic highway, and, there: v on the large water front of this city will be I nume being built by t ands of our mechanic an impetus to oth manufacturing industries of this city, and with the application o aper power furnished by electricity in the € 1ts of built at the ron Works ated to the the fa- rchant ships and war ves- and possibly by the heat f burning of the city, will enable ¢ f to compete with the other F: cturing institutions L tes. to the product of our f: nd remunerativene The 1 rising citizens and bundant wat 1 streams as will irrig acre of valley land, and thus the g San J aouin will be made to produce enough wheat to supply a large popu- tion of the earth, Co-operation among the differe roduction of food jrofitable te for eral years in a very ation was introduced the price of this ustry profitable. Through co-of and the industr nding tempora ers and the wine makers, arms, they cannot fail to E ought will classes of prodt seen the r stry of this sed condition. nce proper co- ins has so enhanced as to make make the s ago the price of wine . This industr: notwith- dissension among ‘he wine deal- [ before it. California is the only State in the Union ~which can produce fine wines. We have for our market seventy millions of our own people, several million inhabitants in the Cen- tral and South American republics, besides having alre obtained a foot- hold for our wines in England, Belgium, Switzerland Germar Our newly acquired territories are inhabited by people, and so soon as the tariff is adjusted these count A large part of the wine which is now produced in this was doubled ' T A\ 9\ N @ ® =i e & » By C. W. Wetmore. P ® @ POOP0OPODC00000000000660606660666 606666 HE of the year reveals 1t prospects -or the vine industry of California for the coming year and probably for some time The crop of vear was phenc zome. 000,000 gall a total of about 3 vious years of between 6,000,000 about 40,000 000 gallons o ind at the beginning of the is a normal market \lonkE b} tHaE There wadialt o supply in the hands of producers and deale As a natural consequence prices went down to 6 and 8 cen lon. The Winemakers’ Corporation, which h prices in the past powerle large crop on hand. Now the crop of 1898 has menally being about and 7,000,000 gollons of sweet wines re was in bond a surplus fr 7,000,000 gallons, m pre- f year. The; yout 20,000,000 s per gal- ad succeeded in keeping up at the beginning of the ycar with this ured and it is found to be only about 8,500,000 gallons of dry and 4,000,000 gallons of sweet wines. This shortage has produced the desired effect in raising prices, and wines which brought G cents at the beginning of the year now readil bring cents. With the crop of .1888 there is now on hand about or a little over one year's supply. Owing to the poor growth ; consequent on the lack of moisture. a short crop is predicted for 1899, The rainfall during the rest of the season will affect the situation, but at best the crop will hardly be an average on There will be a steady rise in prices in geason the ravages of the phylloxe because the vines were less able tc 000,000 acres of vines have been thus replanting of resistant vines is v The are . .w about 15,000,000 gallc which is quite a large proportion. Abou ers. )00 gallons, the vines the future. en more the attack stro »d in the low. Owing to the dry the hands of te producers, 10,000,000 gallons in the hands amount of wine and the low prices that have ruled have at- tracted especial attention in foreign countric Recently representati of large European deal rs have come here with the intention of makir ve purchases of red wines if prices are satisfactory. These forei have been buying in Spain in the | and the war has e \sfer of their attention. 1f such large purchas ollc the m Will be further relieved. It is likely that prices will advance te 15 18 cents. f market, the East. steadily improves. The imports of fo eign wines, except chgmpagne, show a steady falling off and this me that their place is takén by California wir The decrease in the im- ports of German, French and Spanish dry wines is a result of the keen competition of California wines. and also of the steady improvement in their quality. There is still a widespread feeling in the East that for- eign wines are the proper thing. but this is I ing all the time. In this State California wines are now greatly preferred. The manager of one of the greatest hotels in San Francisco says that he sells ten hot- of California wine to one of foreign. The manager of or of | the argest fashionable seaside resorts in the State recently told me that he had on hand $5000 worth of imported wines that he could not get rid of and that he was contemplating putting California labels on them to sell them. They are still putting foreign labels on California wines in the East, but the practice is steadily decreasing. Few people realize that in 1840, with hardly more than one-third the present population and with a less relative ability to consume wine. the United States imported as much wine as it does now. The increase in consumption is supplied by California, though the people of the country probably pay $5,000,000 annuaily for the foreign labels on their California wines. Our wines are thus rapidly gaining favor in the East, and the foreign demand is rapidly increasing. London buys nearly 3,000,000 gallons of California. wines yearly, while ten years ago it did not buy a gallon. Ehipments to Europe generally and to Central and South America, the Pa- cldc Islands and the Orient are all increasing, 7 e A. SEARBORO, = =555 C. W. WETMORE. President Manufacturers’ and Producers’ Association. & OUR FRUITS: By Professor E. W. Hilgard, University of Callfornia. E are gradually finding out that fruits that are good for the East are not so fine for California because of climatic differences. Therefore California seedlings and fruits are coming into use. They have originated in this State and so are better adapted to the cli- mate and soil. “A good many have originated through accident, but the larger number have been purposely originated by intercrossing. Mr. Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa, whose name is well known in Europe in this connection, has successfully originated a number of new fruits. It is thought that by the gradual selection of able to supply the KEast with those not repres products there. “My colleague, Professor J. Wickson, has done some very valuable work in this line. The idea is not to obtain an immense number of vagie- ties, but varieties that will have a commercial value. “The Japanese plums, which came into this country by way of San Franci ), were developed here and have been very popular with cop- sume By crossing the stouts ral new varieties have been produced. ‘New apples, peaches and pears have also been produced. Eastern fruit growe: obtain these and raise them with more or less success according to the climatic conditions. s regards vegetables, the differentiation or creation of new varieties has not been so great. But the climatic peculiarities are gradually mak- ing themselves felt. Modifications and varieties are being produced that > best adapted to our climatic conditions. “luastern vegetables often thrive better on our soil flavor and taste. The seeds from these are sent to be used there. “Celery, green peas and asparagus, that in winter time must be r under glass roofs, grow in the fields in California. If the celery is now aised under glass it is stored for winter use in cellars heated to keep out f 2 is sending carloads of th sh vegetables to the a profitable market for them. ven counting the cost of ch varieties we will be ented in the native both in point of size, During the last few years winter exportation of fresh vegetables has ly increased. The future looks very promising for this branch. he growing of vegetable seeds has already taken on large proportions. ially from Santa Clara County large supplies of seeds are furnished stern markets, proving the excellence of the California product. (he experiment station has for many years past taken great pains to obtain from foreign countries possessing analogous climates, fruits, plants and othe owths. A number of such introductions have been annually distributed to farmers and horticulturists. They have found ready acceptance “Heretofore we have found considerable difficulty in getting into effec- tive communication with foreign countries. But now, under the impulse of the cent political developments and of a progr e Secretary, the United States Department of Agriculture has organizec definite system. Its purpose is to aid in the search for and introduction of useful plants from foreign countries. cting through Consular agents the department is now di special investigators for this Iress purpos hey will study the pos- es of advantageous introductions in the various parts of the United tate It is hoped that an adequate appropriation will be provided at this session of Congress on this important work more effectively. o, 3 interested in a new exploration for the above 8 ild of the United States Department at Wash- ington has j passed through San Francisco on his way to Central and South Ame , with Porto Rico as his ultimate destination. “The region he will study corresponds to the Pacific Slope. The ex- penses of this i igation are borne by Mr. Lathrop, a public-spirited 1 of California. Another expedition of similar character in which Cali- is interested has been sent to the tern Mediterranean countries. We have alreadyreceived many valuable introductions from these coun- patching ‘It is therefore very probable that in the near future a number of new and useful plants will be offered for experimental tests to the agricultural and horticultural public.” By W. C, Ralston, Vice-President Miners' @ssoclatlon. ALIFORNIA'S production of gold, which now has amounted to over thirteen hundred and twelve miillon dolla Jjustly entitles her to a leading position in the gold-producing countries of the world. Yet California gold-producer to-day is but little known—the fact is that the average citizen of the United States believes that California is no longer a gold-producer. Why should this be? whose fault t? and what the remedy? are ques- tions every loyal Californian should ask and try to answer. Our sister State, Colorado, known but a few years ago as a silver ate, to-day outshines California in the production of gold, and why? Her press is full of mining notes, not only in general, but in detail, of every mining region no matterhow small or remote. Her railroads nublish page after page of descriptive cir- culars telling of her rich gold fields. The result has been that capital was attracted there, and having a mineral country all that was needed was capital to open up paying mines. Here in California we have a mineral country sirpassed by none, the climatic conditions which permit of mining the year round, and yet we are not able to attract the necessary capital to open up this mineral wealth. The condition of the mining properties which are being worked in California to- day is of the best. ‘Where ten years ago low-grade ores would not pay, to-day they yield handsome dividends. No better evidence can be given than the history of the Utica mine at Angel Camp, Calaveras County, which would not pay with a few stamps, but has paid enormous dividends with 120 stamps, the whole ma of ore being worked and the small rich stringers in the vein helping to increase the yield per ton. At the Stickle 60-stamp mill, belonging to the Utica Mining Company. for one year the average duty per stamp of 850 pounds per dav W five tons, and the cost of milling exclusive of power 12 cents per ton of ore crushed. Such figures were unheard of before. The Treadwell mine in Alaska cannot make such a showing, for they crushed only two and nine-tenths tons per stamp per day during the year endin, May 31, 1898. It takes large capital to open up these large low-grade mines on the mother lode and equip them. The same can be d of the drift gravel mines which underlie the lava-capped ridges of the Sierras, long bedrock tunnels being nec ry for their exploration. Hence California needs capital for her mines. There is no industry in the world which pays better wages than gold mining. Wherever a paying mine exists there you find a business town. Mine want the best of everything and are ever ready and wil to pay for it. We have to-day over 20,000 men at work in the mines. We could just as easily give employ- ment to 200,000 men if the necessary capital were only forthcoming to develop our mines. One of the great needs which has retarded development has been that of power. Electric transmission has made it possible to overcome this and it wgll be the means of openifig many mines wlich to-day can get neither water power nor fuel cheap enough to make steam. Lack of railroad t portation is also retarding the opening up of our mines. Until the S Railway of california was built from Oakdale to Jamestown, in Tuolumne County, four miles from Sonora, the county seat, and showed by its earn- ings what profits can be made by building into the mining regions, no one thought of building a road for the trade, but now other railroads are talked of to open up the mining centers. Even the Southern Pacific Com- pany is beginning to look for a market for gon pine and Castle Gate coal in the Mother Lode region. The acquisition of the Valley road by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company opens up great hopes to the miner, for this company knov hat profits can be made from mining camps. The opportunity of landing at Stockton mining timber direct from Oregon and Washington gives hope that Oregon pine will soon be de- livered at a rate which will permit of square set timbering with sawed timbers at a low cost. The association has also shown to the Land Commissioner of the In- terior Department that the land grant railroads have been trying to acquire mineral land under the claim of its-being agricultural land. ~Unfortunately for the good of the country such men S. W. Lamoreeau now and then get in an office of power such as Land Commissioner and then the public at large suffers. and in this case the State of California 1s the largest loser of land which should have remained open to location by the miner. His rul- ings worked more harm to the drift gravel mining interests than to any other. The present Secretary of the Interior has been more liberal, requir- ing the proving of mineral on each lot of 160 acres instead of upon each lot of twenty acres, as was the former ruling. California has a great future before it from her mining industry, and the people will awaken some time to the fact that we have at home within easy access & mining region second to none on earth. nlondike may be rich; there is no doubt of that, but what has been its production as compared to California’s? Klondike never will reach an annual product of eighty millions of dollars, such as California enjoyed in 1852. It Is safe to say that inside of five years California will be producing twenty million dollars in gold annually, Sty é‘@@‘)é‘é’@6@@-@@6‘@@@@@@@@@-?f@@@@@@@@\3/@@? b= — 466666 POOOOVO OO0 e ey