The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1871-06-09

vate enterprise provides steam stone.
crushers and steam-roller5 and, you see
constantly, near Oakland, heavy wagons
ladened with crushed stone, which is
brought from distance of three or four
miles. We, in and about New York,
have got into such habit expecting
the town or county and state govern
ment TO do everything for us, that all
private effort and enterprise is crippled.
Here in this newer country they do not
wait for the slow moving government,
but do things themselves, which we, to
our own discomfort leave undone.
FRUIT.
One of the pleasantest sights you can
see near San Francisco is in tho San
Jose Valley. San Jose, near which lies
the New Almadcn quicksilver mine, is
fifty miles from the city. / do not
know whether people drive down there
but ii is well-worth while to go half
way down by rail. and then take car
riage the rest of the way down, and
driver who knows the country, and can
show you some of the many lovely
places which are thickly scattered over
this fair valley. If you come at this
| season, you will find yourself in wild.
erness of roses the roads are fragrant
with the bloom of the acacia the flow
er-gardens are gorgeous; and the yell
| low esckoltzia, which we with difficulty
grow in our gardens, lines the sides of
| thp rn III lrnn1 fnr m i1p- nd Iins IN, hvno1
masses of yellow and orange, which the
eye will hardly bear to look at. There
is also very long blue and white lu-
pine, which, like the esckotzia, covers
the ground in broad masses, and has
wonderfully pleasing effect.
But if the roses delight you by their
abundance, immense size and freedom
from disease and destructive insects,
the orchards will amaze you. Such
thrifty, full.bearing and welI-grown
trees | never saw before. Fruit culture
is no doubt easy here trees Of all kinds
grow with a rapidity undreamed of in
our harsher climate; / saw Norway
spruces and pines which were forty feet
| anu pttll Dul StNCI ytulS
planted and the eucalyptus, the Aus.
tralian blue gum, which is here very
justly a favorite tree, has made a growth
of fifteen feet in single season.
Nor is the variety of fruits on II sin.
gle place less remarkable. We were
shown through an orchard in which
apples, pears, plums, without the de.
testable curculio, which is yet unknown
here,) peaches, cherries-their boughs
laden down with fruit-apricots and
nectarines were growing side by side
with figs of several kinds, English wal
nuts-iine, free. growing trees-a!mond:
in full bearing; and in the vineyard,
, you find acres of the vines which We
grow only with difficulty under glass.
The camelia here remains out o
doors all winter; the heliotrope is o
stout wood shrub the gladiolus is al
ready past its bloom, and is planted il
the fall and you find it difficult t.
recognize in the massive eight.foot higl
5 shrub, whose brilliant bloom almos
: hides its foliage, and which is used as
| hedge or screen, the scarlet granium
, Even the humble little sweet alyssum
: which with lis creeps along the ground
a here rears its flower spikes two fee
X high.
s WINDMILLS.
= The windmills are a peculiar featur
t of the Californian landscape. You Sc
@ them even in San Francisco, on tn
d tops of houses but in tho ccuntr,
: every place has one. Everywhere am
pie provision is made for water ant
,. on one fine place near Menlo Park
"a was told at least half mile of wate
-. pipes were laid.
n Irrigation is not practised except i
d special cases but during the long DIR
l. season, which lasts from April to Oct
l. ber, when it does not rain ut all, the
In preserve their lawns by sprinklin:
IS and new plantations arc also frcel
d watered. Artesian wells are common
- and the windmill stands usually on to
90 of tank, from which the water Is di
70 tributcd to the house, the stables, an
al All oNtl Viz tieh'o DN''
f, placed at frequent intervals. From Il
a. hydrant hose is led to Il sprinkle
in which stands on the lawn, on tripo
e, aud sends out ,constq tq8y-a thin nj
Il. finely divided slGay. T6e gardener r
n 4 moves this from time 10 time, and thu
er the whole spacious lawn is watered an
n. kept as green and lovely as though
IN were in the White Mountains.
With such help, need not tell "
n. that the strawberry grows toperfectio
n. 1t is larger and think much sweet
an than with us. j am not, at home,
pr strawberry lover, but here l have relia
ed them without sugar. On one pla
near Santa Clara, noticed an ingenio
is arrangement for irrigating Strawber
Z bed of about three acres. A lar
rv shallow tank stood near one end of Il
Nv "patch," with its bottom nearly on
i'll level with the upper end of the row
ief From this was led IA main, which "
ay connected with pipe running alo
10 the whole upper end of the great iio
he Between every two of the rows ht
d. was made in this pipe, and this HI
as was stopped with wooden plug. I'll
,le we saw only long row of wood
ch plugs pull out any one of these, Il
or the water began Immediately to 7
I'M down the depression between the t
rows.
of THE CLIMATE.
lily OF course, all this appliance of viii
,ur mills, water-pipes, tanks and founta
,ur is possible only in country where Il
his have steady winds and no severe fro'
yes With us the tanks would burst,
is pipes would have to be deeply bur
in the ground and the whole mach
SIX cry would be continually getting ou
ost order. Yet could not help seeing t
vas our common complaint Of rusty {
| l.. I,,I.