Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-09-27

In her graphic illustrated article in the
October Century, on "OutdOOr Industries
in Southern California" ii. II. describes
one of the great ranches as follows: 0phe
South California statistics of fruits. grain.
wool, honey, etc, read more like fancy
than like fact, and are not readily be-
lieved by one unacquainted with the
country. The only way to get a real com
prehenSl0n and intelligent acceptance OF
them is to study them on the ground. By
single visit to great ranch one is more
enlightened than he would be by commit
ting to memory scores of Equalization
Board reports. One of the very best. If
not the best, for this purpose is Baldwin's
ranch, in the San Gabriel valley. 1t in
cludes large part of the old lands OF the
San Gabriel Mission, and is princ.ipalitv
in itself
"There are over 100 men on its nav roll.
which averages $4,000 a month. Another
$4,000 does not more than meet its rum
ming expenses. 1t has $4,000 worth ofma-
chinery for its grain harvests alone. II
has dairy of 40 cows, Jerseys and Dur
ham; 100 work horses and mules. and fifty
thOrOughbreds.
ut is divided into four distinct estates
the santa Anita, Of 10000 acres: Puente
$4,000; Merced, 10000; and the Potrero
1000, The Puente and Merced are sheen
ranches, and have 10000 sheep on them.
The PotrerO is rented out to small farm
ers. The Santa Anita is the home estate.
On 1t are the homes Of the family and of
the labOrers. 1t has 800 acres Of oak
grove, 1000 acres in grain, 900 in grass
Tor hay, 100 in orange orchards. fifty of
almond trees. sixty of walnuts, twenty
hVe OF pears, nifty Of peaches, twenty of
lemons, and 900 IN vines; also small Or
chards of chestnuts, hazel nuts, and apri-
cots; and thousands of acres of pastur-
age.
From whatever side one approaches
Santa Anita in May he Will drive through
Il wild garden-asters, yellow and white.
scarlet pentstemOns, blue larkspur.
monks-hOOd, lupines, white and blue
gorgeous nleschschOltzia, alder. wild
lilac, white sage-all in riOtOus fOwerin0
Entering the ranch by one of the north
gates, he will look southwark down gentle
slopes OF orchards and vineyards far across
the valley, the tints growing softer and
softer, and blending more and more with
each mile, till all melt into a blue or mr.
pie haze. Driving from orchard to
orchard, down half-mile avenues through
orchards skirting seemingly endless
stIetohes Oh vineyard, he begins to realize
what comes of planting trees and vines
by hundreds and tens of hundreds of
acres, and the Equalization Board statis-
tlcs no longer appear to him even large.
1t does not seem wonderful that Los An
geles county should be reported as having
,2O0 acres IN vines, when here on one
mans ranch are 800 acres. The last Equal
Izatlon Board report said the county had
256, l35 orange and Al $50 lemon trees. n
would hardly have surprised him to he
told that there were as many as that in
the Santa Anita groves alone. The effect
on the eye of such huge tracts, planted
with single sort of tree, is to increase
enormously tie apparent size Of the tract:
the mind stumbles on the very threshold
of the attempt to reckon its distances and
and they become vaster and
vaster as they grow vague"