Los Angeles daily herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1873-1876, 1874-06-16
Los Nietos and Vicinity.

out twelve miles, to this new thriv-
ing village, the present terminus of
the road. The road runs OH the line
of the Los Angeles and San Pedro
Railroad as far as Florence, eight
miles, thence diverging it runs direct
towards Anaheim. 1t passes through
one of the richest portions of this
great valley, and as we leave the en-
virons of the city with beautiful
orange orchards, and finely cultivated
lands on either side, with yards and
gardens filled with flowers and semi
tropical fruits, we are impressed with
the idea that no other spot on earth
possesses more charms than this; and
while we noticed the large amount of
unoccupied land all along this short
route leading directly out of this city,
the richest soil in the world, in one of
the best climates in the wOrld-wait-
ing for the Eastern husbandman to
come and settle thereon and bring out
its untold wealth, our thoughts run
forward few years to the time when
there will BE- family, perchance on
every tive-acre or twenty-acre lot of
this country, cultivating the orange
and other semi-trOpical fruits, and
growing as this soil only can produce,
all those products and luXuries which
supply our markets and furnishour
tables.
Arriving at Los Nietos, we found
nice depot, passenger and freight COM
bined, with good accommodations, all
presided over by very gentlemanly
clerk, who takes delight in contrib
uting to the enjoyment of visitors.
Near by is cluster of new buildings
and others going up, among which are
a few residences, two or three stores
and groceries, and farming imple-
ment establishment kept by Hon. j.
w. Venable, member of the Assem-
bly, from this county. Here too is
quite large lumber yard, furnishing
materials for the rising town. This is
the present Los Nietos-the nucleus
for the future little city. All these
improvements have occupied but a
few weeks time, and it's future is
bright. We accepted an invitation
and accompanied Mr.. Venable to his
hospitable home, and spent the night
in his pleasant family, one and half
miles distant, at old Los Nietos where
q settlement was first made. Here
Los Nietos College is still carefully
fOstered, and here, too, is a public
school of over one hundred pupils.
That our readers may understand the
social and moral status of the people
of this settlement, we will state, as We
were informed, the hall in which
the public gatherings are held is occu-
pied regularly by preaching, and a
very large and interesting Sunday
school on the Sabbath, and almost
every night in the week by preaching,
prayer meetings, Lodge of Good Tenn
plars, singing school and society meet
ings. This section lies in the vicinity
of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel
rivers, and is low level country,
water being reached in the rainy sea-
son at three or four feet and in the
d.y season, at eight or ten feet; thus
irrigation is not actually needed for
the production of most crops, yet
water accelerates their growth and in
creases the yield largely. Now few
facts relative to the production of the
soil here, and the prices Of these lands.
Land here with good cultivation will
yield crop of barley of from fifty to
sixty bushels to the acre, and after
wards crop of corn of eighty to one
hundred bushels to the acre; two crops
of these staple products in twelve
months. Three have been produced,
raising good crop of potatoes or cab
bage and other vegetables after the
corn crop natures. OF small grains,
barley is decidedly the crop for this
section, yielding sometimes eighty
bushels to the acre. AS a corn seq
ton, this cannot be beaten in the
country. One hundred land forty BUSH
els have been produced to the acre.
Here we saw five stalks of corn which
had been pulled from one hill, last
year, eighteen feet high, and upon
which hung thirteen well-develOped
ears, most Of them beyond our reach.
Corn has grown here over twenty feet
high.
In the month of May we stepped
into corn field, where the new Spring
growth of corn stood above our head.
Bets weighing over one hundred
pounds, squashes weighing nearly two
hundred pounds, ETC., have been raised.
In Mr.. Venable's apple orchard of
yearling trees, set out in the orchard
one year ago last Winter little
switches about the size of mans
finger and from five to eight feet high),
many of the trees now stand fifteen to
eighteen feet high, with handsome
tops hanging full of fruit. The trunks
of these trees average four to five
inches in circumference. Where can
this be beaten? Echo answers, where?
The character of the soil is sandy
loan. Itnever bakes or cracks in dry
weather, and can be worked immedi-
ately after rain. In speaking of the
quality of the soil, we might have
stated that here is land on which corn
has been produced one hundred years,
which now yields annually one hun
dred bushels to the acre.
So rapid is the growth of vegetation
that in few months settler can be
deriving small income from his
lands. We were shown places of
twenty and forty acres, opened up by
newcomers last Fall, and now, within
space of six months, say, their
grounds are set out in trees and these
same lands are bringing in quite an
income from Strawberries, vines, and
other small fruit, potatoes etc.
PRICE OF LANDS.
Outside, unimproved lands in this
vicinity are held at $50 to $40 per acre.
Lands with some improvements can
be bought for $40, and from this figure
improved farms are rated as high as
$50 and 500 per acre. These unim-
proved lands are usually ready for the
pillow; sometimes willows and other
brushwood cucumber the soil to linn
tied extent, which is easily taken off:
There is large amount of land in all