The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-09-07
ACALIFORNIA RANCH.

A CALlEOKNlA RANChs
SAN FEancisce Firm-6OO, 900 Acres i'm
Pastures-Over 100, 900 Head of Cattle
anda5, Oo0 otl1sF stock Animals.
from the San Francisco Chronicle
10 thesgenerality of neMspaper read
ers, and especially those; OF Eastern
cities where all real estate is estimated
by the feot, the. published statements
regarding the extent of a California
ranch and the princely possessions OF
some Of our large landholders appear
as. tfeyery height of exaggeration, and
the straining of facts and figures far BE-
yond their actual bounds. IN some |
cases't the picture may have been a trifle
overdraWn, and actual miles stretched
to leagues, but there is no disputlng the
fact that here in California we have
tracts of land owned by private indi-
viduals which would put to blush the
far-famedA possessions Ofsethes princes
and landed aristocrats of the Old World.
A few weeks ago representative OF the
Chronicle, by the outesy of one OF The
owners, was enabled to travel over ana
inspect one. of the largest ranches in the
State of California, and perhaps the
largest body Of improved land owned
by any two private individuals in the
world. The ranch or series OF ranches
referred to belong to the firm of Lux u
Miller, the well known butchers and
stock dealers of San Francisco These
men, who have accumulated the vast
property they now, own by their indi-
vidual efforts, own land in twenty differ
ent counties Of the, State, and township
after township is recorded in. their
name. The first piece of property of
the firm, solltsifie of z the slaughter-
houses at Butchertown, is the ranch of
Mr.. Lux at San Bruno, a few miles
south, ofthe city, and comprising some
thing like 1900 acres. This ranch is
used as sssY9gas2 isg4SG ASKS
rss@ HEsRECEIVING DEPOTaob
for the immense droyes of cattle that
seo1i4 from the. South. :, Here the tired
Fbeeves are given afew days to recruit
before being driven to slaughter. Along
the line of road to San Mateo, San Jose
and Gilroy, various small ranches Of a
few. hundred acres Or more are found
belonging to Lux s. Miller, and 30 To-
Gated as togform stopping plaoesfo the
herds of cattle at the end Of an eight or
ten hours drive. At Gilroy, three miles
below the city, is located the beautiful
Bloomfield Ranch, the private prop
erto of Henry Miller, and including
some of the finest bottom lands of the
famous Santa Clara Valley. The area
of Bloomfield Ranch is II geo acres, di-
vided into stillage and pastnrage- land,
and as model farm it is complete in
every respect. Here MIR. Miller has
erected beautiful residence and laid
out grounds rivaling-in beauty some of
the famous places nearer the metropo-
lis. There are also buildings for the
stall-feeding of scattle,e the storage of
hay and grain, the Manufacture and re-
pairing of farming toolssand the -hous-
ing of sheep and calves. The ranch is
stocked with the finest breeds of cattle,
horses sheep and swines gFiehs of hay
and grain square miles in area are to be
seen on every side, and thes pastufage
on the surrounding hillsides .undulating
in the spring Sunshine makeup scene
thasrcan hardly be surpassedi in beauty.
A foreman is in charge of the Bloom
field Ranch, and from x35 to150 men,
including farm-hands, ordinary labor
ers, mechanics and vaqueros to care
for. the stock kept constantly employed.
=. = JUST ACROSS THE VALLEY
from Bloomfield is theSoaplake Ranch,
and south, that of Peachtree, making
"a 600 acres more, giving a sum total
for the Santa Clara Valley, in the neigh
borhood of Gilroy, of sc, 900 acres. This
magnificent body of land, however, is
but a mere bagatelle when
) compared with the ranch in the
great San Joaquin Valley, which is
reached by thirty-mile drive over the
through 4 pass 81 The Same NAME At
the foot Of the mountains @on the San
Joaquin side is located the Santa Nilla
Rancho, with the two-story adobe build
ing which the Spaniards made their
= headquarters when the plains were a
wilderness, and where they kept an out
look for the Indian marauders from. a
neighboring hilltop. This rancho con.
-tains 10000 acres, and Is given DIP Fem
tirely to grazing purposes, and furnish
es vast amount Of rich feed to the
bands of beef-eattlen before they are
} driven across the mountains to Soap
Lake and Bloomfield on their way to
San Bruno and the, city. From Santa
Nilla through Los Banos it is some SIX
teen miles to the so-called Canal Farm,
the western outpost of the immense val.
ley owned by Lux s. Miller. At the
Canal Farm agricultural operations are
carried on ~ a. manner surprising i in
their extent and completeness. Here are
to be seen from 5000 tex1O, 900 acres ull.
der irrigation, with miles upon miles d
bitches and 1evees encompassing the
acres of waving grain and llrxIrian M