Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-02-05
AGRICULTURAL.
MATTER PREPARED SPECIALLY FOR
THE RECORD UNION"
Notes of Interest to the Farmer, the
Dairyman, the Stock Raiser
and the Fruit-Grower.



Farming on the Sacramento.
Just now the outlook for farming on the
Sacramento is anything but promising.
Probably not ten acres of land on either bank
Of the river from Sacramento to Knights
Landing is out of water, nor viii there
probably be more than 100 acres uncovered
for month to come. If thousand acres
are sufficiently dry to admit of blowing
before the LIST Of June, we shall be disap'
pointed. Twenty years ago this strip Of
land, say mile wide on each bank Of the
river and for distance OF thirty-fge miles
to the point named, was one of the best and
most prosperous farming sections in the State.
The came was true Of similar strip OF
country for an equal distance down the
river. making country seventy miles long
and two miles wide, or an area of q, 600 acres
Of land, every acre of which, but for its being
subject to overflow, would be worth 500 per
acre. This would give value Of $500, goo in
this distance above and below the city alone
that IS, under the present situation of the
country; and in the estimation of those VINO now
occupy it, hardly worth the taking and holding.
Compared to the whole country in the Sac
Iamento valley, the history Of which IS about
the same. ana which is similarly situated,
this small strip Is but little. 1t Is true this
country is not entirely valueless, Tor
it can be made to produce some late vegeta-
bias, and it will afford pasturage for stock in
the late summer and fall but for the purposes
of home, for improvement with any idea OF
permanency, as at present situated, 1t Is good
for nothing. With the loss of the value OF
this land has also gone the labor of the pso-
pie occupying i for the past quarter of cen
tury. Their houses and barns, their orchards
and fences, ard all other improvements made
aud accumulated in this quarter OF a century
are all to-day In ruiEs-hoating in the watery
element. As each year comes and
goes the area of country coming under
a situation similar to that we have described
is constantly growing wider and wider.
Lands which to-day are above all danger OF
food and which are worth as much as any
other lands in the State bordering the strips
of tule on either side of this river, are each
year coming under the same condition. We
might as well say at once that the whole Sac
ramento valley-the richest valley and the
richest country in the world naturally-is
surely going In the same direction that the
twomile wide strip we first spoke of has al
ready gone. Farmers in all this country
have not a very inviting future to
contemplate. They may work along,
as those on the immediate banks of the river
have worked for the last twenty We years, in
hopes that some relief may come eachyear and
each year to meet with disappointment, and
each year approaching little nearer to final
ruin. This is not very inviting picture of
the future agricultural condition of a
great country, but it is one that
is very wildly portrayed before the farmers
of the Sacramento valley, from Tehama
county to the Bay With such prospect
there is but little encouragement for exertion
on the part of the farmers in this whole
country. We viii not speak of the cause of
all this vast present ruin or future menace of
the fruits of labor; let others do this. We
only say the outlook for the farmers is any.
thing but encouraging.
Enemies TO Fruit.
The fruit growers have many enemies to
contend with just now. Heretofore they
could raise all the fruit they wanted, and
more, too. There were no insects to injure
the fruit as in other countries, and the apples
and pears and other fruit came to degree Of
perfection unknown to any other country
except California The matter of production
had no drawbacks. But while fruit was SO
easily produced and in such perfection it was
worth but little. The home market was too
limited to render the business profitable. A
market was the great thing necessary to give
value to the fruit business. For the past few
years the prospects in this direction have
greatly improved. Better modes of drying
have been introduced. and plans of working
up the fruit into commercial forms by canning
havealso come into practice. In these wayst The
one thing heretofore lacking to render fruit
culture profitable in this State has been sup
piled. A market has been found That
market is good because almost unbounded.
Fruit in cans has become almost as much a
commercial article as wheat or cotton. But
just when the market hiss been found the en-
emies to fruit have made their appearance.
The scale bugs have attacked the trees and
the codling moths have undertaken to de.
stroy the fruit, and between the two the d.
lemma of the fruit-grower is equally as en-
barrassing as il was when he could raise large
quantities of splendid fruit, but could get
nothing for it. However, the fruit-growers
even under these circumstances were not dis
courage1. They knew that the scale bug
could be destroyed and the ravages of the
codling moth be checked by the application
Of industry and insecticides. They knew also
that to render their work in this
direction effective the remedies must
IL - Ill II. l.
the insects are, so to speak, catching,
that is, they spread from tree to tree, from
orchard to orchard, and from locality to To-
eality. Under such circumstances il Weuld
be of no use in destroying the insects on one
tree unless they are destroyed on all the trees
in the orchard, and Of no use to destroy them
in one orchard unless they are destroyed in
al the surrounding orchards, and of
no use in destroying them in one
locality or county unless they are de-
stroyed in all the surrounding localities or
counties. Those who were endeavoIing to
raise fruit for a living, or who had engaged
in fruit.culture as business, would of course
apply the industry and the remedies 70. the
determination of the insects; but those
who had but few trees, and were
not dependent on fruit for
livelihood were Indifferent and would not
use the industry or the remedies, and thus
the cSrelessness or indifference OF a few stood
in the way OF the prosperity of all fruit-groW-
ers. Believing that all Governments were
formed for the general benefit of those to be
governed, the fruit growers thought there
must be remedy for the situation they were
placed in, and they believed that remedy
could be obtained through the Legislature
Theythought the Legislature could and would
come to their relief by compelling all persons
to destroy the enemies to their trees and fruit.
The fruit-growers thought that govern
ments were instituted for just this
kind of protection or to secure just these
benefits. In other words, to compel all par
ties TO so use their own property that it will
not injure the property of their neighbor
The fruit. growers IN their simplicity believed
that the men they had elected to carry out
their views in this respect would cheerfully
come 20 their aid in their battle with the
enemies of their fruit, whether il the form
Of the insects or Of persons who were harbor-
ing the insects. So they came up from all
parts of the State and counseled together
and agreed upon plan of general warfare
against their enemies-the insects. They had
this plan submitted to the Senate to be
enacted into law. But right here thew find
another enemy to the fruit businessmen an
enemy that itself destroys their fruit, but one
that stands in the way of any general and
effectual destruction of the insects An
enemy that would give any one orchardist the
right to destroy all the insects in his orchard,
but would not compel his neighbor to destroy
the insects in his. An enemy that would
give to one locality the right to destroy all