Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-03-11
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
Interesting Letter Concerning Citrus-fruit
Growing and Our Resources.

| DR.. Latham has received the following
letter from Hon. W. H. Parks concerning
citrus-fruit growing and other resources in
| northern California
When the article first appeared in the
I Los Angeles Herald ridiculing the idea OF
| holding a citrus fair in northern California,
and declaring that the orange and lemon
trees had been frozen to the ground, l sup
| posed that it was intended as a canard, or
bit of fun ar our expense, and was some
what astonished to see the press IN the
northern part of the State replying with SO
much vigcr, supposng that they had mis-
taken the intention of the writer IN the
Herald, but it appears by subsequent articles
that it was really intended to represent the
climate of this part of the State and the
impracticability of attempting TO raise cit
rus fruits. The author of the article must
stand convicted of gross Ignorance or of a
malicious attempt to misrepresent. There
is nothing better established than the fact
that the northern part of the State is well
suited, both in soil, climate and all the con-
ditlons that are necessary, TO make the
raising of citrus fruits profitable business.
After residence of more than 30 years
in the vicinity of Marysville, and having
been a close observer of the development
of the State, can truthfully say that there
never has been a season cold enough to
freeze the most delicate trees that bear cit
rus fruits. From the fact that the business
of this part of the State for The first ten
years of its settlement was strictly mining,
and very little attention was paid to agri-
culture or Embarrassing. the experiment was
not made so soon as in the southern Dor
ton and even up to the present time the
raising of citrus fruits has not been relied
upon to any great extent as the business of
the country, wheat being the principal arti-
Gle for export, but since the decline in the
price of wheat our citizens are looking to
diversifying their resources. and more at
tention is being paid to all kinds of fruit,
not only for home consumption, but for
export trade, and it is found that the rails
ing of citrus fruits will be one of the large
industries Of this part of the State, from the
fact that they ripen at a time when other
fruits and grains are harvested and out of
the way, furnishing employment when
most needed. Our early fruits commence
to ripen in May and continue until Sep
TENDER, and even in October. The citrus
fruits commence to ripen in November and
continue until the latter part of March
The time is fast approaching when every
farmer in this part of the country will have
his orchard, it not interfering at all with
grain or stock-raising. II is not my inten-
ton to draw comparison between this
and any other part of the State. There is
no occasion for rivalry. Each has its ad-
vantages. There is nothing more natural
than that the people in the Eastern States
should be deceived when our State is di-
vided into northern and southern Califor-
MIA. Northern TO them means cold, and
they shiver at the word, it being suggestive
In their country OF snow and ice. Then
again they have read so much about the
" snow-capped Sierras," and the eternal
SHOWS of Mount Shasta" that they can
hardly comprehend that a valley like the
Sacramento can lie at the base of those
mountains. with climate that is perpetual
spring and summer, with the temperature
seldom to freezing point, but if they will
take into consideration that it is altitude
and not latitude that marks the freezing
point on our mountains it will be easily
understood. The snow line defines as ac-
curately the altitude on our mountains as
any uncovered barometer could possibly
do, and no one need be deceived.
Northern California is not compelled to
rely on any one product for its prosperity.
1t has been demonstrated tina. all the fruits
known TO commerce Except those that are
really tropicaD can be raised with profit
to the producer; that all kinds of vegeta-
bles; that all varieties of nuts, as well as
cotton, hemp, fax, jute and tobacco can be
produced with an abundant yield; add to
this our magnificent grain fields, and our
large wool clip, and We have room to diver
sify our industries to an unlimited extent.
We have, in addition to this, inexhaustible
forests from which the finest lumber is pro-
duced. Wood and water in abundance.
LETTER FROM CHICO.
The following letter to DIR. Latham has
also been received from Rev. E. Graham, of
Chico:
[ am in receipt of yours of the 10th inst
iDquiring about the effect of frost on citrus
fruits in northern California So far as Chico
and vicinity are concerned, the insiuu-
atoms you refer to are utterly false. | have
just plucked with my own hands from
tree in my own yard dozen or two
oranges. and they do not bear one single
sign of injury, nor is there leaf or twig
on the tree, or one shrub, or tree, or flower
in or about the yard, that bears any evil
dence OF injury FROM frost. Our orange
trees have borne regularly for six years,
and the only perceptible difference that |
can notice in the amount of fruit arises not
from frosts, but from warm winds. which,
once in long while, seem to blight the
young fruit, causing it to fall off. Still
we generally have as much fruit as the
trees can well mature.
We had this year upwards of 1000
oranges on trees II years old, and they
were pronounced as good as any ever
tasted IN any market in the world
As TO trosts seriously affecting ordinary
shrubs, or even the most delicate flowers, it
is all bosh. The daphnes, the japonicas
and all kinds of seasonable roses are now
either in bloom or preparing, and there is
not vegetable of note but what is sold
every day on the streets.
| have lived in southern California
know all about it, and appreciate the adj
vantages of small sections of the country
for the cultivation of fruits of semi-tropical
varieties but in ten years they will be en-
tirely eclipsed by this valley, and no
amount of misrepresentation can pre-
vent it.