The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1884-02-15

curry went down TO twenty degrees pe-
low zero. The three citrus orchards of
any importance near the city, a small
one near Niles. about thirty miles from
the city, and one ON DIR. Strentzel' s
place near Martinez. about the same
distance from the city. Tho latter, we
believe, suffered considerably from the
cold weather two or three winters ago,
since which il has not made much of q
figure in the matter of production.
There is small citrus orchard at Mar
row Lands, about four miles from the
| City Hall Of Oakland. The lemons in
this orchard were maturing in Deem
Der, and were of excellent flavor. Cit
rus growing does not make much of q
figure north of Monterey Bay. Here
and there we find few trees, as in So
noma county, Solano and Butte coun-
ties. These may be cited to show the
character OF the winters. But in South
ern California the orange comes to per-
| lection. The three great counties OF
San Diego, Los Angeles and San Ber-
nardino, an area larger than the whole
of the New England States, may be
considered the natural home of the cit
rus family. On this area enough or
anges, lemons and lines can be pro-
duced to supply at least one-half of the
demand in the United States. The
limit of production cannot be stated;
because orange culture. like grape Gull
ture, is in its infancy here. This fruit
cannot be transplanted with safety
where the mercury drops down to zero.
just now we are reading about diff
ferent kind of winter in the Western
and Atlantic States. In one place in
Illinois the mercury fell to AZ degrees
below zero, and the record varies from
10 to 80 degrees below over large
area OF country east of the Mississippi
River. The winter on that side of the
country is evidently to be severe one.
Winter on the Pacific side is of a nom
descript character. People are not
concerned about the cold. The plows
are running on moist land, trees and
vines are being planted, or are bunch
ed and transported for planting. What
concerns the people most Just now is
the lack of rain. There have been no
old fashioned transforms this winter.
There have been ''drizzles, most days,
gentle rains, damp weather, cloudy
days and rain enough to wet the ground
down to depth of three or four inch
es, and more in some places, according
to the nature of the soil. This is our
record of the winter up to the 25th of
January. But the dry weather has not
abridged orchard and vine planting to
any great extent. Up to this time not
enough rain has fallen for these opera
tons. A few orders for trees and vines
may have been countermanded. The
plows are not running as briskly as
usual. Now the orchardist and vine
planter want moisture enough to go
down with the subsoil pillow from four
teen to sixteen inches. But when his
ground is only wet down four or five
inches he is compelled to wait for the
later rains.
At midwinter we are confronted with
a strong probability of a dry season.
The grass started early enough, but it
is now very short, and the hills are not
as green as usual. Now, o dry season
does not involve any such calamity as
in former times. Orchards and Vine
yards which are well advanced do not
suffer materially in such a season.
Many of the coast counties have the
best agricultural reports in such sea-
sons. The reclaimed lands along the
rivers and bays figure prominently in
such years. Besides, nothing Is GER
tain about the winter season in Califor-
MIA until il is past and the complete
record can be made up. Against all
the theories and probabilities, the last
half of winter may witness rain-storms
which will deluge the whole country.
Just now, however, the farmer looks
on the horizon and notes that 1t rains
"gingerly''--that the wind does not
stay long in the right place, that the
rain comes from the south, the wrong
direction for any great amount, that
the old-fashioned southeast gales are
wanting when the shipping danced and
chafed in the harbor and the ferry
boats in crossing the bay would sicken
hundreds of passengers.
In fact there are so many indications
Of dry season that people are begin
ming to accept the probable result, and
are preparing to make the best of it.
There will be surplus of grain and
fruits. The greater number of farmers
WILL pIOICCu 40 IL thCiO WOuiu CO ~
lack of moisture. One large farmer
said the other day: 1T is not my bus
mess to make the rain. 1t Is my bus
mess to SOW and trust to Providence
for the rains" We need fifteen inches
more of rain for fair agricultural
season. More than that amount has
fallen in this State many winters after
the 25th of January. 1t may fall this
year. The spring, or later rains may
be very abundant. If they are not,
great many sheep and cattle will have
to be driven to the mountain slopes of
the interior for preservation. A dry
season is no longer a bad one. 1t sim
ply diminishes agricultural productions
to some extent. Farm productions are
enhanced in value, and no unfavorable
mark is really left on the prosperity of
the State. The fields are green In JAN
uary. There is the first perfume of
acacia blossoms and mignonette. The
l. - -. -.