The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1875-07-23
LESSONS FOR KANSAS.
California and Kansas Conn
pared.


California ia no doubt q great
State, wealthy and powerful. Mon
ey is plenty, railroads and other
public enterprises are moving
grandly on, and the standard of val
ues is stable and sure. Aud yet the
view is disappointing to the average
immigrant. Many people leave the
vast grassy plains of Kansas and
come to California to engage in the
stock business, and are astonished
to find that three-fOurths of the
State is covered with mountains,
scantily supplied with grass; that
not drop of rain falls, in any sea-
son, from June till December; that
the soil here is, upon the average,
vastly inferior 10 that of Kansas !;
that the only point of superiority is
the mild winter, which is really
more than cOunterbalanced by the
scantY heritage and unfailing an
nual drouth. ..,---------.- .-----.--e-e.
And yet the aggregate of annual
production is enormous; the value
of last years crop of wool, wheat,
beef, and wine, was fully forty mil.
lions of dollars. It is worth while
to know what secret has wrung
such a harvest from such an unprom-
Using soil.
The secret lies in organized in dus-
try. We have wonderful straw Der.
ries upon our tables, such as ! never
saw in Kansas, but they are raised
upon land which is daily irrigated
with the most laborious care. The
same thing is true of alIthe marvels
of the agriculture of this coast, The
butter is all "gilt-edged." 7 have
not yet seen in our markets single
roll of butter that was not firm,
sweet and delicious. But it is all
made in great factories, by the most
perfect processes, and we pay 80 cts.
pound for II. The producer makes
a large profit, and the consumer
would hardly be willing to eat the
slpsh which is for gale at ten cents q
pound in Kansas markets. Every
thing see here shows the same Pc
culiar excellence, produced In the
same way. Organized industry
does it all. And here capital seems
always ready to embark in enter
prises of this sort. A company has
just been organized and chartered
for the purpose of turning the en-.
tire Sacramento river into an irriga-
ting canal more than q hundred
miles in length. tits estimated that
this will cost several millions of dol
lars, and that it will be profitable to
the company that makes it, aud to
the farmers whose lands are fertil-
ICED by it.
But If irrigation enables CalifOr-
mia farmers to grow rich, how much
more will a given sum spent in ir-
rigation, benefit Kansas2 "Kansas
drOuth" is mere hagatelle, COM
pared to that of California. From
the 10Th of June to the early part OF
Septsmber-sOme ten gEEeeks-was
the extent OF the dry period in IA
the worst year aimee 1860. One
month of irrigation would have saw
ed the corn crops. Here in Cali
fOrnia, at least twice that amount is
always necessary, and barley is the
universal substitute. Here on the
coast, the long, dry summer brings
no excessive heat, but in the interi-
Or valleys, where most of the arabic
land is, the summer heat is far
worse than in Kansas.
To sum the thing up: Kansas
has the best soil, and the most ara
BILE land the best summer climate ;
abundant grass and coal.
California has the best winter
climate, and a good supply Of tim
Der, but no coal. Kansas Is the best
agricultural State.
The wealth of California has come
from 3 wise use of capital and labor.
The poverty of Kansas has been de-
veloped by insane speculation, and
general disregard oflthe condl-
tons needful to success.
Kansas has better facilities for IT.
rigstiOn than California. She has
far more rain, on the average. ETen
in IA, enough rain was wasted in
the spring freshets, to make good
crops everywhere. II the surplus
waters were aecIm ulated in artif-
cial reservoirs, and used when
needed the average crops could GER
tainly be trebled. It is not difficult