Daily Los Angeles herald., 1881-04-14
Yns Susetes' gesatd.
what = Newspaper Man Saw In
Oar County.

ten BY one OF It's att6cn0S VINO nhs
lost made . tour Of this county:
FULTON WELLS, April 5, 1881.
Los Angeles county is divided
Into two nearly equal portions by
the San Gabriel river, which, ris-
ing In the Sierra Madre noun.
tains, about thirty miles northeast
of Los Angeles city, discharges its
diminished volume Of water
through two channels into the
ocean about twenty-five miles
south Of that city. A large popu-
lstiop, mostly engaged in viticult-
ure, agriculture and horticulture
has settled upon the lands adjacent
TO the San Gabriel river, and it is
OF these people exclusively this
communication will speak. Dur.
Ing Q two weeks ramble up and
down the San Gabriel valley, from
WILMINGTON to Ell Monte, ample
time and opportunity was afforded
to observe and study the many
modes of making an Independent
living adopted by this community.
The result of these observations Is
herewith submitted and will repay
psrusal. The people of the San
Gabriel valley have demonstrated
satisfactorily that small farms
properly managed are more pront- |
able than large bodies Of land poor.
" cultivated. None of their farms
are large, and yet there are men
accumulating wealth and living
comfortably upon farms which
would be regarded as mere garden
patches in other less-favored re-
Rlons. One old man, J. H. King,
near Downeys makes q comforta..
BILE living on three acres of land
upon which he grows fruit, corn
and vegetables, and keeps . COW
and pigs. There are scores OF farms
in this section of not more than
twenty acres each, the occupants
Of which are living comfortably
and desire no more. There are
some farms Of eighty or one hun.
dred acres In these valleys, but the
owners do not cultivate their en-.
tire area, devoting most of 1T to
grass or alfalfa.
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS.
These farmers, or those of them
who count themselves prosperous,
owe their success to q variety OF
crops. Those who have depended
entirely upon wheat or corn, or
upon any other one variety of &C.
real, are notably the failures
among the Los Angeles farming
community. The wheat or barley
growers, with few exceptions,
barely make q living here, while
their neighbors who produce fruit,
poultry, butter and pork, grow
steadily rich and independent.
Those who devoted some time and
trouble to young orchards and
vineyards when they first settled in
the land now find themselves pos.
sessed of q source of. revenue upaf-
fected by rain or drouth. / have
yet to hear the first complaint
Of hard times or bad seasons from
. farmer with o variety of crops
upon his little farm. 1t will not
be uninterssting to people residing
1t , distance to know how some
men achieve success in Southern
California, where 80 many have
failed by mismanagement. Near
Ell Monte, at the upper end of the
San Gabriel valley, the people have
. source of wealth in potatoes.
There the soil is loose and moist,
and never too dry. This is the only
portion Of the valley where pota'
toes are profitably grown. Will
liam Y. Kimball and brother raise
thousands of bushels annually.
Lower down the valley the orange,
lemon, grape and walnut divide
the attention and time eff the farm.
or. A Mr.. Boyd, proprietor OF the
Mojave Station Hotel, has an Or
ange grove near Downey, which
will compare favorably with the
best In the "orange belt" Not far
from Boyd's place is the
WALNUT PLANTATION
OF o. P. Passons. This gentleman
planted English walnuts upon six
teen acres of ground about six
years ago. Last year he sold his
crop at y cents per pound and re.
allied $1,7S0, his only labor being
the gathering OF the nuts after they
fell from the trees Near to Mr..
Passons is q five-acre vineyard
owned by J. H. Burke Of Downey.
Last year this five acres of land
produced grapes which sold at ST 10
per hundred and netted the owner
$l,2s6-this from $500 vines. Not
far from Compton the Ramsaur
brothers devote their time and at
tenti0n to horses, corn, hogs and
cows. They had forty acres Of land,
and last year sold their first crop OF
hegs. A few weeks ago they sold a
second crop of 200. In May they
will fAtten another 200 on barley,
and In the Fall another lot on corn. .
Several thrifty farmers near Flor
ence planted eucalyptus groves
seven years ago; now the wood
Yields them ready revenue of SlO0
per acre, and as they cut OF the
wood Q new crop grows up from the
old stumps, Near Artesia people
are finding wealth in dairying
. Near Wilmington, corn is the
principle source of wealth. But in
every instance where the imprint
OF prosperity is observable about
the farm, there will be found di-
versity Of production In fruits and
grain. During the past three
weeks 1T least three hundred farms
were visited, and in not one solita-
~ instance was farmer discover.
ed who had made wheat or barley
raising profitable during three sue
cessive years. Too much cannot
be said in favor Of Los Angeles
county and its natural resources.
The people Of this region express a
very bitter feeling toward the
Southern Pacific Railroad Compa-
ny on account Of Its high tariffs on
freight. They attribute all their
failures and misery to the freight
rates, which eat up the grain be-
fore IL reaches market. A very
amusing illustration of