The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1885-12-31
THE GOLDEN SLOPE.


Napa Valley is about fifty miles
from the coast, 50 miles in length,
and is from 3 to miles in width.
If you were to travel through the
valley and see the great improve
ments of every kind which have
been made by the hands of the
white race, the beautiful farms, the
magnificent vineyards, the immense
wine cellars, The lovely towns and
cities which appear every few miles
along the well built railroad with
its engines putting by SO often with
their heavily loaded tranis of both
passengers and freight you would
scarcely think that it was only "a
years ago that George c. Yount
built his little cabins there, the
first white man who ever attempted
to live among the Indians and wild
animals of that valley. 1t must
have been a happy people that
George Yount found there, for ma
ture had so provided for them that
they had nothing to do but pluck
and eat. OF course they were lazy,
as no ambition lured them on in
the great race Of life, and no desire
for riches enticed them into labor
of any kind either mental or physi-
cal. At that time the valley must
have been beautiful indeed to a
lover of nature, in its wild and I'M
cultivated state. Now most all the
Indians and wild animals that once
roamed the mountains and valley
have passed away before the hands
of the industrious white men who
are making homes for the thou
sands. 1 have been told by old
settlers who went there 80 and 40
years since, that they could tie the
wild oats over a horses back any
where in Napa Valley, and that the
stock lived on them and kept fat.
In places that are not cultivated
you can still see the wild oats
which make splendid PASTURE
They seem to be of very indie
pendent mature. When they
fall from the stalk they find their
way into the ground by some
means and come again the next
spring. They have a very long
beard on them which resembles a
grasshopper's leg somewhat. When
you pour water on them, or when
it rains on them, they Whirl round
like something that has life in 1t,
and it is strange that they always
manage to get the large end turned
downward and and go either into
crevice in timber or in the ground.
l have seen pieces of timber lying
on the ground and every crevice
would be filed just as close as they
would stick, and looked as if some
one had placed them there with the
fingers. None of our grasses grow
there without irrigation, unless in
low wet places. Where they do ir-
rigate they can can grow clover,
alfalfa, timothy, and suppose al
most any other grasses they wish
to grow. They irrigate but very
little in Napa Valley. At least l
never saw anything of the kind ex-
cept in gardens. The people raise
great deal of hay for the market
but not like our hay. 1t is com
posed of wheat, barley, and oats.
They consider it. splendid feed,
while the people here would not like
it. All kinds of grasses grow well
there and bring about the same
price as here.
Corn grows splendidIy consider
ing it gets no rain from the 10th of
May until November to amount TO
anything. l think If the people
there would plant their corn early
enough and cultivate it as we do
here, they could make just as much
to the acre as we do. OF course it
is more easily cultivated as they
have no grass to impede them in
their cultivation oft. 1t IS lust
fun for one man to take a cultiva-
tor and cultivate 60 acres in corn.
l think people feed mostly on
ground barley, as it is better feed
for work stock than corn.
Irith potatoes grow well and keep
well. Sweet potatoes decay within
a few days after being taken from
the ground but why they do so
am not able to tell. Vegetables
grow very well without irrigation,
but grow much better with it.
There are but few people who raise
vegetables, especially in the por-
ton of the valley where they |
make a business of raising grasses. |
They can buy their vegetables very
cheap from wagons that go round |
once or twice every week. All |
kinds of stock are considerably |
higher than here. Horses sell at
from $25 to $50, per head higher
than they do in Tennessee. Mules
sell at from 5000 to $500 per span.
Good graded mich COWS will bring
as much as 500 each. l am not
able to give you the price of beef,
pork and mutton, but from what /
was told know that they sell sew
eral cents higher In the pound there
than here. Such a thing as hog or
chicken cholera has never been
known there. Chickens large
enough to eat. Sc to 50 per dozen
turkeys from $I2 to $50; ducks
from SIS to SIS. Land can be
rented in Napa Valley on the same
terms as here. mean by this that
one can get land by paying one
third of the crop if they furnish
themselves, and if the land holder
them they give half.
10 not know about paying money
rent, for 1 never heard any one say
RoB'T d. GRIGsBY.
Death of Hon. las. E. Bailey.