Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-06-20
FROM Los ANGELES.
A SACRAMENTAN IN THE ANGELIC
CITY.
Adapted to Growing of Oranges
and Other Semi-Tropic Fruits.

| Eds hECORD- UNION Inc rue from SaCr3-
mento TO Los Angeles was very pleasant,
owing to the excellent railroad arrangements
and the courtesy shown by the conductors
and employees. l found great changes tax
| ing place along the road at the stations,
especially in the Mojave country; new
buildings ard settlements starting up since
last year. As water will flow 10 the sur
face from driven wells. the time is not far
distant when this land will cease to be
! called desert The road through Sole
| dad canyon is being constructed in more
substantial manner which will probably
avoid the delays caused by washouts in
years past. Los Angeles appears to be still
| booming but it is quieter than year ago ;
but property is still held at from $500 to
5000 per acre five miles from the postofice
and outside the city limits, for Embarrassing
| The newspapers are doing all they can TO
| impress new corners with the notion that
| this is the only sure place in California for
| citrus fruit culture. The Los Angeles Her
aid of the 18th instant said:
Thursdays Alto contained an article from the
| pen of J. N. Bassett on the Sacramento valley,
| in which the claim is made that oranges can be
| successfully grown there. This is no doubt true,
| but Mr. Bassett has had enough experience of
| orange-growing regions TO know in his heart
| that as Il commercial proposition there is moth
ing in undertaking 10 raise oranges SO far north.
| The orange is at the same disadvantage III the
| Sacramento valley that diStlnctively tropical
| fruits labor under in Los Angeles They can be
| raised, it is true, as the banana can here, but
they require infinite care peculiar soils and spe-
| cia exposures. The people of the northern and
| central counties OF California are building cas-
hoy f,A
| oranges for profit.
! Now cannot see that they have any ad-
vantage here in this respect over the Sacra-
1nento valley. The cold is no worse IN
| Sacramento than here, nor has there been
/ any more disastrous failures in the bust
ness At the celebrated Keller estate they
| told me water pipes had been frozen, and
| they had hard frosts, the thermometer fall
| ing to 24o-8o below freezing. | know one
| lot of land now in deciduous fruits which
| had all been planted in orange trees-160
acres in extent. The frosts OF winter killed
all but perhaps an acre of the trees, scat
tered all over the ranch There are plenty
of other instances OF great loss in this
business. Those who are successful use
plenty of water.
On one of the largest orange orchards
| they told me the frost did but little damage
in winter where the ground WAS moist; il
was on dry land where trees were killed
A great deal of water is used. Al the kel-
Ter grove $50 per month is paid for what is
| used Everything is reduced to a system
and all that is required in Sacramento is to
follow some intelligent plan Of irrigation to
succeed IN orange-growing, as they need
more moisture than most of fruits.
At Keller's they have the white cottony-
| cushion scale, which looks like small bar
nacles that grow on ships bottom. They
are about oneeighth OF an inch in diane
| ter, Ill rows all over the trees, and can be
easily detected. The orange, acacia lau-
restinus, rubber and other trees in the plaza
are loaded with this scale The red scale
| they told me, also infested the trees. 1t took
so strong wash 10 remove them that
| the fruit was cleaned OIL with them. The
| black scale IS so common and does SO lit
! tie damage in comparison TO the other
kinds. they take but little notice of it.
| Wolfskill's orchard, on the other side of
Alameda street, is infected. but not as bad
as Kellers. Some here think the insects
| cannot be destroyed, but will ruin the cit
| rus business, as it did at the Cape of Good
| Hope, in Africa. They appear to be turn
| ing their attention here to deciduous fruits,
| and l hear bat few speak of orange trees
| for new orchards
| Plums and cherries from the central part
of the State are in this market; but few
are raised here, and Bartlett pears do not
appear TO be cultivated to any extent. Late
sown grain was a failure, some not getting
the seed as return; early grain, about half
a crop.
| In San Bernardino county the crops were
| better, they told me when there. At River
| side, which IS paradise, everything looked
| fine; the bright foliage, no smut or scale
insects on the trees, everything clean; the
| clean, golden oranges were great contrast
to Los Angeles. They have shipped LOO
carloads of oranges from this colony this.
season by the railroad. 1t is a beautiful
| place and the reports of its beauty have
not been exaggerated. | do not see how it
would be possible to do so. This place is
| certainly the beauty spot of California and
| is being rapidly developed The hills are
| terraced and planted with orange trees and
vines.
In my Judgment this is no more favor
| able climate for citrus fruits than Sacra-
mento, nor do the trees look better than
with Us. The same amount of capital, care
and labor would erect as fine a place in our
! foothills as this beautiful Riverside is. We
have trees now that have not had the care
| that has been bestowed ON orchards here,
doing well and bearing good crops every
year. An orange orchard, well irrigated
and cultivated, would do as well in Sacra-
mento as here in Riverside, where they
protect the young trees until old enough to
stand their frosts by binding tules or straw
around the trees during winter.
| lam well satisfied with Sacramento when
ever l am able to compare it with other
towns 1t is neat, compact, well shaded,
and has a greater variety of trees and plants
than any place l am acquainted with. Los
| Angeles is scattered all over the country,
streets running without order, and if it was
not for their excellent system of street cars,
running everywhere, would be hard place
for a poor man &c live in.
s. H. GERRIsH.
| Los Angeles, June Is, 1885.
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