Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-01-22
The Story Not HALT Told.

flavor of .exaggeration attaches to
what it is now the fashion to write of
California. A very few years ago our
State was comparatively isolated and
was principally known rs the region
where adventurous men came to seek
sudden fortunes. Very few Califor-
mans themselves know much of the
agricultural, genealogical and other
capabilities Of State which now-a-
days exports more than half the wheat
sent from the United States to foreign
lands, and in which three-fourths of
the wine which to-day is made in the
United States is manufactured. 1t was
I'm 1857, in fact, that JOHN B. WELLS,
from his seat in the United States
Senate, said that he would not give
1.-TWO bits" for all the agricultural
lands in California. He thought he
knew the State from Alpha to Omega,
and yet how completely he was de-
ceived the record of the last seven
wears shows with luminousness that
leaves no possibility of doubt. Since
that day the Californian tried bis
"prentice hand" at farming, and his
State to-day leads the roll of produc-
ing sisterhood. 1t is really case of
Eclipse first, AID che rest newhere "
Stories of achievements in every
range of agriculture go East, and the
staid citizen of the older States is in
credulous. Mrs. CALHOUN, GRACE
GREENWOOD and NoRDHoFF came
here and confirmed the flattering tale,
and still our Eastern brethren could
not resist the belief that a race of
MUNCHAUsENs or preston JOHNS was
growing up on the Pacific coast, whose
lively imagination dwarfed the long
bsw'' Of IRvING's Dolph Heyligero.
Much such mistake as Senator
WELLER made with regard to Califor-
mia at large has been made by the
people of this State, until recently,
with reference to Los Angeles county.
1t was ranked as o "cown county.
Little good could be expected to come
out of the beautiful Nazareth which
stretched its ample domain, if not
''from the centre allround to the sea-"
at least from the borders of San Ber-
nardino county to Point Duma, reach
ing lengthwise distance of several
hundred miles. TWAS looked upon as
great region upon which to herd
sheep and horned cattle. Presently
admission had to be made in San
Francisco of the delicious quality Of
the Los Angeles table grape, which,
en- PEASANT, we may as well say, is the
finest in the world. Almost stimuli
taneously the Los Angeles orange
commended itself to an appreciation
that could not be Withheld, owing to
its unrivalled excellence. Next came
the Los Angeles wine and brandies.
Soon it began to be observed that Cal
ifornia was producing fully one-half
the wool grown in the United States,
and that Los Angeles county contrib
uted large proportion of the total
yield of California. Next, the figs,
raisins, walnuts, and last, though not
least, and perhaps destined to be the
most important, the tobacco of Los
Angeles county, fought their way to a
tardily accorded, buttriumphantly ac-
complished, recognition. Los Ange-
les has lately started in to demonstrate
the fact that, if San Francisco has a
Comstock lode, she has as good q
placer in Panamint; and two years
will not have passed before the claim
will have been conceded. Tn addition,
her petroleum wells will contest the
palm with venango county, Pennsyl-
vania. The progression we have de-
scribed docs not tell the whole story
for Los Angeles county. The tourist
for pleasure and the valetudinary be-
gan to come our way. They found a
rapidly growing city, surrounded by
every indication of Substantially and
wealth. They discovered for the irst
time that we have in Los Angeles
county a region of indescribable fer
tility and beauty,which, in the Spring
time Of the year, more than realizes
the beauties deserted by BYRON in the
poem, "Know we the land" etc. They
were in the midst of region where
the graceful palm-tree frequently lifts
itself from grove of oranges, and
where the bright, garish beauty of the
pomegranate is tempered by the deep,
cool green Of the fig. They found that
q land which had been described to
them as arid and fit only for pastur-
age, and which was supposed to be
subject to continuous and rarely inter-
mitted drouths, was in fact the most
poetical section of the United States
full Of accomplished beuuty and wealth
and unlimited in Its possibilities. 1t
Is Of those last that We design to
speak, and we intend incidentally to
discourse Of the almighty dollar.n
Az no time in the history of the place
has Los Angeles been free from croak-
ers. And yet it is singular that these
people have been unable to perceive
that their city is to-day the richest
place of its size on the American Con.
tinent. And it is not wealth that has
been centuries accllmulafinp as In the