Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1872-07-05
ALL ABOUT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Grasses of CdEif0rnjG- Chinese
| cheap LaOOT--PiOdNcfS Of tie
SOij--InnejgFGtioH--ErGmpl
Of Success H'ORdcrJuG CrOsCths
-Pe0p5o Of California.
SAN FRANCISCO, June l.
For three years southern California
| has had less than the usual small
amount Of rain, and the effect of this
| continued drought has been not only
to give q scorched and barren appear
! ance to the face Of the country. bat to
dIshearten and drive away many who
| had been drawn hither by reports o:
tie abundant crops Of previous years.
Although the dry season has but Just
commenced, ana rain cannot be eXpec-
ted before October, l passed over vast
tracts looking as il already thoroughly
dried up and eaten close. Yet l vas
assured that cattle, and especially
sheep, would continue to find nourish-
ment on these sterile-lOOking fields
throughout the summer, requiring
food only when the rains begin TO
cause the dried grass to decay, and be-
fore tie new shoots have time TO aD-
pear. / have learns that the green
est pastures are not ways the best.
Dry and burnt q zScS will fatten
stock. The sweet ,-I,-eT, mdlva, and
other weeds are desirable fOT feed only
Nhen dry. The wild grasses appear
in succession 50 as to give constant
Pasturage, First the wild geranium,
then the burr-ei0vor, and lastly, the
taT-Wced, each growing abundantlv on
the mountains, and sought by cattle.
The hurr-clovcr IS loaded with Lurrs
filled with seeds Very ricn in nUtri-
meat, and even when dry and bnfied
in he sand, cattle will lick it up from
tie dust, and grow fat on an apparent
barren field. Tie alflaTCa is a pC"u.i-
ar plant, utterly unlike q grass, grow
Ing Wild, with liOWery leaf and stiff
stalk, bearing 4 cluster OF IOug-nniNtCd
pIn-shapCd pF0ngs, and very rich for
feed. The alfalfa grass bears Liuc or
purple biOsSOH-the wild variety yell
low, and grows very rank AID high.
j his can be rooted in seine sections,
the roots striking deep, and said TO be
almost impossible 10 eradicate. The
valleys and favored mountain sides
were green with Verdure; but general
Is along the coast the plains were bare,
though even yet the wild flowers were
scattered in luXUricnce over field and
mountain and plain. Indeed, over
the entire State no one thing impress
eS the stranger more strongly or pleas
anuy than the delicacy, brilIiancy,
and abundance Of the wild flowers
From San francisco to san Diego,
even at this unfavorablc season, it was
perpetual pleasure. Looking over
some vast plain one would notice what
seemed large lake, with purple or
other tinted surface, to find a huge bed
Of beautiful wild flowers. In extreme
Southern California, even the cactus is
not without It's flowers. and from
these, too, comes fruit quite pleasant
to the taste.
The mountain and hill-sides must
long remain sacred to the herds of
cattle and flOcks of sheep, save when
The favorable situation warrants their
conversion into vineyard and orchard.
And though the greater number OF OK
periments in both orchard and vine
yard have been made in the valleys,
there is good reason to believe that the
higher lands Will prove even better d
daptCd to them. The Oh mission loves
Of olive trees are frequently on -cirva-
ted lands. The formation OF the
valleys is such that great variety OF
exposure can be insured by cuitiyating
the sides of the canyons. way up in
the heart of the mountains. II was
remarked 10 ire OF farm Of >. 500
acres, running half way up the rocky
mountain side. of which the proper
ton of good land seemed small in
deed, that in fact there was very little !
waste land in the place.
Southern California has produced |
large crops of wheat and barley, and |
certain sections will continue to DO so /;
but this portion of California eau new |
er successfully compete with the San |
Joaquin ana other valleys in the |
northern part of the State in the pro- |
ductiOn of the small grains. At San |
Diego very candid aud intelligent !
citizen" thinking, / suppose, that i |
was a newspaper correspondent, when |
| asked him how much wheat per acre |
they expected to cut in the Cahoon |
rancho, answered: Forty or fifty /
bushels. Ifit don't thrash out thirty |
five or forty they bale it right up for
hay ~ / CHANGED TO know that while |
sixty bushels was once cut they have,
since the drought, thrashed out as low
rs eight bushels, just enough for seed,
and when they get thirty they are
happy.
The first year of TIE drought every
body at San Diego settled down i'm des-
pair till a couple Of enterprising Chi
namen leased rancho, drew water i'm
buckets from the we'll, carried ii in
half barrels swung from pole over
their shoulders to all parts of their
garden, and raised magnificent crops
Of vegetables, which they again load
cd upon their willing shoulders and
carried four and six miles to the set
Elements to market. There were not
those who loudly complained
at the ruinous influence Of Chinese |
cheap labor, but the lesson was a val
liable one from which many. have
prolited and now believe that indus
try and skin can supply The natural
wants even OF n dry season. John |
thinaman has performed one service
Tor the women Of the Pacific that
would be most acceptable to their Eas-
egu sisters. He has emancipated |
hem from the laundry, for il is rather
he rule than the exception here 10
send out the "wash to the Chinese
FISHERMEN. And their work is gem
rally well done and ut reasonable
rioos-much lower than those paid at ,
ne East.
The climate admits the culture of al |
most every variety of fruit belonging !
% the temperate and tropical zones.