1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 363 Upgrade

"Just now, farmers said that if they want their animals to work, they need to feed them fodder, and if they want the machines to run, they need to feed them coal. Coal is much more expensive than forage.

What's more, the master who drives the iron cow said that the iron cow uses white coal imported from warships. Warships can use such precious coal, but farmers can't afford it." Chen Baoliang expressed the aspirations of the farmers.

White coal or red coal is the common name for anthracite.

Anthracite is the coal with the greatest degree of coalification.

Anthracite has high fixed carbon content, low volatile component yield, high density, high hardness, high ignition point, and does not emit smoke when burning. It is black and hard, has a metallic luster, can be rubbed with grease without staining, has a shell-shaped fracture, and has a short flame when burning.

It has less smoke and no coking. It is the best fuel and the most expensive coal.

Countries generally prioritize this high-quality coal for use by warships, followed by merchant ships on high-value routes.

Even machines in factories are rarely driven by white coal. The most direct reason is that white coal is too expensive.

In later generations, people of Liang Yao's generation had very few opportunities to be exposed to the use of coal in their lives when they grew up.

When I was a child, I could still see briquettes in the streets and alleys, but when I grow up, coal is basically invisible in daily life.

It’s not that there are no coal mines in California, but the coal produced in California is mainly bituminous coal, which is a low-denatured bituminous coal and coking coal that has a lower degree of coalification than anthracite.

In fact, the coal contained in the entire western United States is mainly composed of these two types of coal, especially low-metamorphic bituminous coal.

Moreover, coal resources in the western region are concentrated in the four inland states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.

There are coal resources in the West Coast region, but they are not abundant. As for anthracite coal, every anthracite coal mining area must be protected to prepare for future emergencies.

In short, with the coal resources and types in California, Liang Yao cannot have the luxury of opening up anthracite coal to farm tractors.

The United States, which has a vast land and abundant resources, naturally has anthracite coal, and it can also produce anthracite coal now.

During the expedition to Japan, Perry also sent several ships of anthracite coal to Liang Yao.

Liang Yao also asked the navy sailors that the navy's white coal was provided by Pennsylvania.

To be precise, it is provided by the Lehigh River Silent Coal Producing Area, which is one of the world's famous anthracite coal areas.

The development and growth of the steel industry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has helped the United States surpass England in steel production, become the world's number one, and win the title of the world's steel capital.

The anthracite coal from the Lehigh River played an important role.

However, this anthracite coal production area is located in the Apalachee coalfield area, which is the eastern region.

In order for Pennsylvania's high-quality and low-priced anthracite coal to enter California in large quantities, it is only possible to wait until the Pacific Platform Railway is completed. However, the Pacific Railway has only just started construction less than half a year ago.

Coal is a bulk cargo, and without efficient freight logistics, Pennsylvania's anthracite coal Liang Yao will no longer be able to count on it for a while.

Liang Yao might as well hope to find anthracite coal in Qing Dynasty if he was counting on anthracite coal from Pennsylvania.

Daqing's coal reserves are the highest in the world, including anthracite.

However, the coal fields of the Qing Dynasty are mainly concentrated in the north, and the anthracite coal is concentrated in Shanxi and Guizhou. The anthracite coal reserves in Shanxi and Guizhou provinces account for nearly 70% of the total anthracite coal reserves of the Qing Dynasty.

At present, Liang Yao's hand can only barely reach Guangdong and Fujian provinces in the Qing Dynasty, and cannot reach the inland and north of the Qing Dynasty.

Fujian and Guangdong provinces also have anthracite coal, but the situation is the same as California, and the reserves are only a fraction of the country's anthracite coal reserves.

Therefore, considering the anthracite coal in Fujian and Guangdong provinces, it is better to send people directly to explore for anthracite coal in California and nearby areas.

"Can this steam tractor run using the ordinary coal we produce in California?" Liang Yao turned to ask Walter and others.

"It can run. We have also tested it with ordinary coal, but the effect is not as good as white coal, and it will reduce the speed of the steam tractor." Walter said.

"How fast can you run using ordinary coal?" Liang Yao continued to ask.

"It can run about 6 miles per hour on flat ground." Walter replied.

Although Liang Yao advocates the use of metric units in California, old craftsmen like Walter, who have used imperial units since childhood, are still more accustomed to using imperial units.

Converting a speed of 6 miles per hour into kilometers is about 10 kilometers per hour. Although this speed is very slow, it is not unacceptable.

"Then use our own coal. I'll ask the Coal and Steel Alliance to allocate some coal to provide cheap agricultural coal to farmers in California," Liang Yao said.

"On behalf of the farmers in California, thank you." Chen Baoliang shook Liang Yao's hand gratefully.

"Increasing California's agricultural output is the best thank you to me. I hope that in the near future, California will not only be self-sufficient in food, but also be able to export and earn foreign exchange. I am eagerly waiting for this day." Liang Yao said with a smile.

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As California's immigration rate grows faster and faster, food production has not been able to keep up with the growth rate of immigrants, and it is still unable to achieve self-sufficiency.

Of course, this is not a bad thing from another perspective. In the United States, human resources are the most valuable.

After visiting the steam tractors and wheat fields, Liang Yao decided to take a walk around now because it was still early.

The boundless golden wheat fields and the patchwork rice fields on both sides of the San Joaquin River make you feel happy.

The nearby water conservancy facilities are also in very good condition.

Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture told Liang Yao about their ambitious plan, which is to reclaim the wasteland along the San Joaquin River into farmland, rivers and vegetable gardens within three years, making this area the breadbasket and vegetable basket of California.

Chen Baoliang also took the opportunity to propose the establishment of Stockton as a city to Liang Yao.

"What is the current population of Stockton?" Liang Yao asked.

"It depends on how you calculate it. If you only count the town's population, Stockton has 9,000 people. If you include the scattered farmers around it, it must be over 10,000." Chen Baoliang said.

"Stockton is a town with a mainly agricultural economy, and the population certainly cannot be as concentrated as Jinshan and Los Angeles."

When the population of Stockton reached 8,000, Chen Baoliang proposed to the state to upgrade Stockton's administrative level from a town to a city.

However, at the beginning of its founding, California established a law that only settlements with a population of more than 10,000 residents could establish cities.

The United States has a low population density, which is particularly evident in the southern and western regions.

In the western region, not to mention a population of 9,000, a settlement with a population of 1,000 can call itself a city.

"Congressman Fremont, what do you think?" Liang Yao turned to look at Fremont aside.

At this time, Fremont was indulging in admiring the pastoral scenery of Stockton.

After coming back to his senses, Fremont smiled and said: "Stockton now has a population of 9,000. With the current population growth rate, the population of Stockton will exceed 10,000 after Christmas at the latest.

Minister Chen’s request to apply for city establishment is not unfounded. California now has three industrial cities, and it also needs an agricultural city to attract more immigrants to invest in agricultural production activities.”

Fremont was also in favor of Stockton's upgrade to its administrative level. Fremont was also very surprised by the rapid development of the agricultural areas on both sides of the San Joaquin River.

(End of chapter)