Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1884-04-05
From California.

try, and it would seem that ] could
find time to write, but there is always
something to do on the farm, wet or
dry. | wish you could see this country
now just as it is. | knqo7 you would
be delighted. 1t is one vast flower
garden now, the wheat looks so fine.
The geese have left and the wheat is
up now, so the breezes wave it like the
waves of vast lake of water. Every.
thing looks fine. We have had plenty
of rain ever since the 2Sth of January.
Up to that time it was very dry. At
this season of the year it is much like
Texas. Some mornings after the sun
gets up everything seems to stand at
least five feet above the ground. A
neighbours fence and shade trees, two
miles off, don't seem.to be one mile off.
1t is two and One,half miles to the rail-
road, and ordinarily the car wheels
look low, but now they appear to be
five feet high. Again, at other times
they seem to be very low and look as
though they were on the ground. Just
so with the people. With the present
prospects before them they stand 5 feet
higher now than when | came here in
September. Now they look and feel
as if a fortune was just ahead of them,
almost in sight. Yet, perhaps, it is a
long ways off. But they are hopeful
that it will come very soon. We al
ways hope to be better off next year.
Hope keeps us up in this life and makes
us feel that we will eventually reach
that land of bliss. | wish | could
write like DR.. D. W., | could tell
you many things that would be of in-
terest. The country here is beautiful
and the health good. l hear of nobody
sick. This valley, from what | learn,
is the garden spot of California. There
are three grades of land, or three quail
tiles; one level, another black, sticky,
much like the Texas lands, and the
other is what is called the rough or hog
wallow lands. The country is level,
and this rough land looks like one vast
potatoe patch, the hills having been
dug; the hills seeming to be from ten
to thirty feet across them. There are
various opinions as to which is the
best land, some favor one class while
others think differently. The level
land is very sandy and nice to work.
1t plows much like the sandy bottom;
along your rivers. The rough is of g
copper sandy and plows like an ash
bank when in case, but gets hard quick
er; when once plOwed it never gets
hard. There is what is called "harC
pan" ten to fifteen inches under the
top of the ground, sometimes so neal
the top as to be seen; again it is some,
times two or three feet deep. 1t is a
petrifed rock and as hard as limestone
but sandy. 1t makes plows fly. l have
been trying it this week. We are now
done seeding, and are now summer fal
lowing. This is what you call break
ing land. We pillow it now and let i
lay until fall and then seed it. Some
seed as they plow but it is getting to-
late now. We have in about 400 acre
of wheat and barley. That portion
. plowed in looks the best. It is her,
. like all other places, it pays to put il
we'll. They beat us down about Mer
ced making wheat. l think the caus
; is they pillow now and seed in the fall
. Your brother tells me that this is tn
way they do. have not found tim
! to go to see him yet. This is tn
greatest place for man to put in al
his time at work / have seen; but littl
e time for resting. If you have an
:, idlers who really want to work sen
them out here and they will take hold
If any one comes here who does nc
f like to work. he gets ashamed OF hin
self and goes to work. The countr
: is so level we can see our neighbors fc
K three miles around, and if any of ther
r are not seen out blowing, the suppos
d ton is that he or they are sick. Whe
n the husband goes in to dinner he wi
say to his wife: Don't you reckon Nj
A. is sick? He is not out blowing t,
r day. You had better hitch up Moll