Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-06-15

i ID.
EDITOR HERALD:-Two articles ap
peared in two recent issues of you
paper, treating a question that is o
paramount interest to the people o
this county, who are trying to develop'
our magnificent and varied resources
HIGHLY COLoRED DESCRIPTIONS.
mean the highly colored descrip
tion given ofthis country by Nordhoff
the Neu Italy, and must say of the
local press in general. Nordhof
wanted to write readable book, anC
he did it. How far he has or will ben,
eft this country time alone will de.
termite.
THE NEW ITALY.
AS to the NeW Italy, due allowance
must be made for it, as it is the adver.
tising medium of spectators in land
and if by truth or exaggeration they
succeedin inducing Immigrants with
whom they are supposed to cooper.
ate in the purchasing their lands, the
aims of the New Italy will have been
accomplished.
NEED OF IMMIGRANTS.
We want immigrants to till ou,
incompatible lands, and If people in
the Western States who wish to come
to our sunny side of the continent
were told the truth in q straightfor-
ward and practical way. and given to
understand that we have a boundless
extent Of corn land that will produce
more corn to the acre, with only about
half the labor, than the Wabash or the
Miami valley; and that their health
and that of their families is almost a
positive certainty; and that there
are unnumbered thousands of acres of
virgin soil that will produce positive
and certain crop of barley of say not
less than 40 bushels to the acre; and
that corn and barley can be converted
into pork and bacon, and become the
same basis of wealth that built up the
Western Empire in the United States,
and ii they want to make semi-trop-
ical orcharding or vineyarding Incl
dental to general farming, that they
can do SO just so far as they can devel-
ope a water supply and familiarize
themselves with the business. Tell
them this and stop ding donging in
their ears the eternal story of the i'm
mense profit of orange culture, lines
and lemons, and of our fabulous in
come.
THE ORANGE GROVES.
Orange groves are beautiful to be-
hold, but hard to possess; and there
are two ways in which man can get
an orange grove. One is to have the
money and buy it, if he can; and the
other to find favorable location
plenty of water and good bank ac-
count to start in on-ald then ten or
twelve years of bard and patient in
dustry and good management, and he
may win the coveted prize. We, Mr..
Editor, have made a small orange
grove of some 200 trees, just commenc-
ing to bear; IL grove ot lime trees in
beautiful bearing, of about the same
number; lemon grove also, besides q
splendid vineyard and many other
kinds of fruit. We have made as
beautiful and productive property,
for the number of years land nine
years ago our place was a desert) as is
to be found in any place in the world,
and aUe did it without any money to
start In on, and have had the usual
amount of bad luck and drawbacks.
Our property is now worth, for its
present and prospective productive
capacity, SIP, 900; but it is not for sale
at any price. And the question is at
ouce asked, why can't any one else do
the same? Well, maybe they can;
but if they think so, just let them try.
We happened to get fine location
and plenty of water, and these are the
main requisites in that business.
SELECT GOOD LOCATIONS.
Many who start in to make orange
groves make unfavOrable locations.
Others get discouraged in a year or
two and sell out, and verify the old
saying that "he who plants an orange
grove never eats the fruit from his
own trees" Of course there are many
exceptions to that rule. An immi-
grant coming to Los Angeles county
had better, in my opinion, especially
If his means are limited, let orange
culture alone until he learns some-
thlr of the business.
LANDS HELD TOO HIGH.
And if you will permit me to say,
in conclusion, that l think that lands
are held too high for general farming
purposes Many lands, with plenty of
water, a good water right, bitches all
made, and all that sort of thing, are
cheap at any price; but it seems to us
If land holders would offer their lanis
as good corn lands at corn land prices.
or good barley lands at barley land
prices, and then let the purchaser try
the experiment of orange culture, the
said landowners would greatly sub
serve their own interests and contrib
ute to the general prosperity.
GOV. DowNEY's FORESIGHT.
Governor Downey sold the Santa
Gertrudes or Nietos Rancho few
years ago In small farms at SO per
acre, on time at ten per cent interest,
as much as il WAS worth, and see the
prosperity that has grown up in that
settlement within these few years! 1t
is a perfect Egypt in abundance, and
I believe the Governor had the fore
sight to reserve few acres, that have
been greatly enhanced in value by the
universal prosperity, and farmers at
Los Nietos, who have within six OF
seven years paid for their lands and
grown iudependent on corn and bacon,