The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1884-07-04
Subscription, One Dollar per Year.
THE CLIMATE AND FRUITS OF
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

friend writes to the Germantown Teze-
gruph
- arrived at San Bernardino nearly fort
night ago, and have been here ever since
waiting to see what effect the climate will
have upon my sons health before return. I
am glad to say that the change has greatly
benefited him, SO much SO that I will try to
get to San Francisco in day or two. I say
ay to get there. [ am nearly six hundred
miles south of that point, and the rains that
were constant here for three weeks previous
to my arrival have washed away twenty-seven
bridges and caused SO many land-slides on the
Southern Pacific railroad that communication
will not be opened for fortnight The
amount of rainfall for that period was twenty
inches. Since my arrival, however, the skies
have been cioudless, the thermometer ranging
from so deg. at midday to 50 deg. at night
The air is dry and pleasant just the thing for
lung trouble, rheumatism or debility Above
all, southern California is free from that curse
of Florida malaria A week has suficed to
dry the country, and there is now no trace of
the late rainfall
San Bernardino. a town of six thou
sand inhabitants, six miles distant, is the
county seat. 1t was settled some years since
by Mormon scismatics, who differed from
Brigham Young on the polygamy business,
and who seem to have prospered better ON
the one wife system than the Salt Lake branch
have done with a multiplicity of helpmeets.
Lugonia, about six miles east of San Ber-
nardino, is colonized principally by New
Englanders, many of whom have come to OBJ
tain health, and getting it have built up the
beautiful fruit farms that are feature of
southern California The settlement is at the
head of the San Bernardino valley, table
land about two thousand feet above tide-wa-
ter, gradually descending seventy-five miles
to the Pacific, with width of from fifteen to
twenty-five miles. On the north is the snow
capped Sierra Nevada, attaining its greatest
elevation of II, 400 feet in Mount San Ber-
nardino, and the southern boundary of the
valley is the lower Coast range, about three
thousand feet high Yet such is the clearness
where it ends near Los Angeles, sixty miles
away; and Mount San Bernardino, though
twenty miles distant, looks.as if it might be
scaled in an hours walk. In this plain grow
the orange, olive, fig, apple, pear, peach APP
ricot, English walnut, almond, lime and lem
on. Numerous vineyards are also devoted to
grape culture and its products-wine and
raisins.
g As there is but little rain from May to
September. the waters of the Santa Anna
river, where it issues from the mountain can
yon, are intercepted by stone-lined bitches,
which run through the valley with side
branches to each farm, giving plenteous wa
ter supply when needed. This supply is
er-failing and has pretty appearance,
since it is very clear and resembles noun
tain stream. There are many artesian wells
through the country, giving flow of water
at the surface from a depth of one hundred
feet The fruit farms range III size from ten
to five hundred acres. The soil is deep
and not sandy loan, easily worked and re-
quiring only the use of the pillow and harrow
before planting the young trees. These are
when planted year old and bear in two
years after planting. The peach and apricot
are probably the most profitable, as I see
more orchards of these. But such thrifty
trees have never seen elsewhere. The prof
its of fruit culture vary from too to fur hun
dred dollars per acre. This may seem incred-
ible, but I have verified it in many instances.
The fruit is purchased on the trees by the
agents of nearby canneries and evaporators,
so there is no trouble about a market Ow-
ing to the climate, the thermometer very
rarely registering 80 deg, they sometimes
cut four crops of their alfalfa grass,
yielding FIVE tons and over to the acre.
The orange, though better than the Messina
and Valencia, does not equal the Florida pro-
duct The skin is thicker and pulp not as
sweet. Still, they are improving the fruit by
grating with the Florida varieties. l have
heard much of the California fruit ranches,
and thought the picture overdrawn, but for
once reality has surpassed expectation.
1.-THE southern Californian has glorious
climate with dry air that enables him to
withstand greater degree of heat than we
can in the east. The nights are cool and
pleasant all the year, the evening breeze COM
ing from the snowy Sierra, while during the
day steady sea breeze blows from the Pa