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Show WHEAT FIELD INSURANCE. A Novel Remit of California Meteorological Meteor-ological Conditio"". Special Correspondence. San Francisco, June 28. The fact that it never rains in California except when it rains is generally known throughout tho country as one characteristic of this Golden state. But just why these long annual droughts occur is not so generally known. As the meteorological meteoro-logical conditions which produce the long, rainless summers ore set forth in the encyclopedias it is not my purpose to explain them. But some of the effects of this state of affairs will not be without with-out interest to eastern farmers at least. To say that except where irrigation is practiced the fields become dried up sand banks is but to relate what every una might expect. But the resulting danger from field fires and the practice of insuring tho grain in the field against loss from fires are features of this country coun-try which are novel. Grain insurance lias come to -be an extensive branch of business, and has some interesting features. feat-ures. The basis of valuation is figured at so many pounds of grain to the acre, and is insured at one cent per pound upon the estimated yield. The premiums are at the rate of one and one-half cents on the dollar of insurance, and it continues in force for three months. This is figured as sufficient time to allow the grain to ripen and be harvested after it becomes dry enough to burn in the fields. If a farmer writes insurance on the three months basis, but gets his grain in the ware house before the time expires, he is entitled to a rebate or draw back on his premiums. When tho grain is stored in ware houses it is then insurable on another basis. The soliciting insurance agent gets a commission of 20 per cent, of the premiums. To keep track of such a large number of short time policies requires an army of clerks. The salaries of these clerks, together with the commissions of agents and the profits to the companies, which are usually largo, all come down and constitute a heavy tax on the farming community. When therefore we eat hot cakes made from California wheat, and compute from the cost to tho consumer what the profits of the farmer are, we must not overlook the army which intervenes in-tervenes between the horny handed tillers till-ers of the soil and our breakfast cakes. Nature seems to have conspired with the speculative spirit of men in this case. W. O. Bkntok. |