The hydraulic press., 1859-04-23
AGRICULTURE IN THE MINES.


time to time, such information as we can OBJ
tain relative to the progress made by our
mountain gardeners and farmers in the cul-
tivation of the soil. If the results that may
be presented should seem disproportioned to
the degree of attention bestowed upon them,
let it be remembered that only about FIVE
years have elapsed since this section of coun-
try was wilderness, inhabited only by In
dians and a few adventurous gold seekers
The man who should then have proposed to
enter upon agricultural pursuits amid these
pine hills, would have been deemed vision
ary and ridiculed for his pains. But in such
! a short period the area embraced within a
radius of one or two miles about our village,
| has become the abode of fixed and pros
porous community, whose minds are not
wholly engrossed by the desire for material
success which first drew them here, and
some of whom now begin to turn from the
uncongenial pursuit of mining to the nobler
occupation of tilling the soil. Nearly every
instance of this kind that we shall have to
record, is of very recent occurrence. Indeed
it is only within the last twelve months that
the desire to have gardens and trees about
our homes became at all general.
| We shall commence our pleasant task
without more ado, at
Rays Ranch.
This farm can boast of considerable an
tiquity, as we understand the word in Cali
fornia, having been first taken up by one
Hunt, as long ago as 1850. Not much was
done towards testing the capacity of the soil
however, until much later day. A house
was built and used as a wayside tavern, it
being located upon what was then much
travelled highway. The ranch has been in
the possession of Mr.. Ray for four or FIVE
years. 1t is situated on what is known as
the old French Corral and Cherokee road,
about two miles from North San Juan in the
direction of Montezuma, and consists in part
of black, loamy bottom, which is surroun-
ded by gentle slopes and mounds of red soil,
the whole lying below the northern side of a
high ridge. Mr. Ray has under cultivation
about seventy-five acres, six or seven acres of
the best land being used for a garden, and
the remainder sowed with wild oats for hay,
and planted with trees and vines. The ground
sowed to wild oats will, without irrigation,
produce an average of one ton and a half to
the acre. He has 250 fruit trees, mostly ap-
ple 600 strawberry plants; 200 English
gooseberry bushes, which bore fruit in two
years from the cuttings; and 60 grape vines,
which bore for their first crop last year 200
pounds of grapes, fully equal in size and
flavor to those brought to this market from
the lower country. The garden produces
every kind of vegetables in great abundance
and of excellent quality growing better corn
than has ever been brought from the vallies,
and as much as fifty bushels of sweet corn to
the acre. The production and sale of vege-
tables from this little spot is Mr.. Rays prin-
cipal business but he has lately begun the
sheep and wool culture-having already a
flock of 400 Spanish-American sheep, from
which he will probably shear the coming
season about 1900 pounds of wool. Mr..
Ray has commodious house, barn and out
buildings upon his ranch, and as a new road
will soon be opened to it from this town it
is likely to increase considerably in value.
Hartman's Ranch.
This is situated where once stood the vii
lage of Sebastopol on the Marysville road
about mile from San Juan, and consists
mostly ofred, hillside land, having north
ern exposure. 1t is we'll watered by delight
full springs, and can be further irrigated by
the mining bitches which meander in the
vicinity. The property is owned by Mr.. A.
Hartman, true son of Scotia, who boasts
of being the father of eighteen native-born
Americans. The situation of the ground led
him to believe it peculiarly adapted to fruit
culture, and he has accordingly devoted
most of his attention to that, since he began
cultivating, which was only two years ago.
He has twenty-five acres under tillage, twelve
of which are sowed with oats for hay, one
acre with millet, four used as garden, and
the rest of the ground planted with fruit
trees and vines. There are 900 peach trees
in fine condition, 200 of which are bearing
and $50 apple trees, one and two years old.
Mr.. Hartman, like the majority of mountain
pomologists, intends hereafter to plant more
apple trees, deeming them best adapted to
our soil and to withstand our late frosts. He
has fifty orange ounce trees-a noticeable
feature-thirty of them bearing; 35 pear
trees, assorted varieties; 600 grape vines
5000 strawberry plants, choice kinds; and
considerable number of currant and goose
berry bushes, pie plants, &c. Every kind of
vegetable and tree fourishes wondrously.-
Potatoes yield fifteen pounds to the hill, and
are very fine and mealy. Mr.. Hartman has
found it best not to hill them. He plants in
holes tolerably deep, and covers them to a
hight slightly above the surrounding surface.
This plan protects the roots from drought
| and when nearly grown shields them from