Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-25
OUR NEIGHBORS.
Too Much Land in One
Body.
THE VALUE OF CLIMATE.
Kern Fruits-What Can be Done
in . s.Dry Country" "A
Lost Mine Found.
Hollister Free Lance.


II Is an open question whether or no
che average farmer of San Benito county
= not trying to cultivate more land than
- can properly attend to. OF course, If
the farmer has unlimited means at his
ahposal he con cultivate many hundreds.
q il NAV be, thousands of acres. He
ean hire small army of laborers, and
farm on scale that is simply gigantic.
Bat in this country there are comparat-
iyely few farmers who are more than or
dinarily we'll off. There are few hum
drsd, or it may be few thousand dol
Iars ahead, but that is all. Nevertheless
some Of our farmers plunge into the
husinsss in most prodigsl manner.
They rent land right and left. When
ths plowing season commences some
uan with just the smallest start in the
world imaginable. has engaged to culti'
vste very nearly five hundred or thou
raud acres. What is the result? He
bitches four or six horses to gang plow,
ond scratches up the ground a little
more than q lot of hens would do,
rashes in his wheat, and gathers his lit
tle $40 80 an acre crop.
Now contrast this with the methods
psed elsewhere. say Fresno county.
There you can find hundreds of small
farms Of twenty acres each, the main
eharacteristic of which are, in the first
ulace, that every acre is thoroughly cul-
3ivated. aud secondly, that the little
fveuty-acre farm has an appearances OF
general prosperity. The ground is not
srratched-it is plowed. Having been
plowed to a sufficient depth, it is not
left to take care of itself. grow weeds
and bake up, but it is cultivated, not
I nnoe or twice, but often. The houses
are kept in repair and painted, the
fences are neat, the grounds are tasty
and ornamepted with trees and shrubs,
5 the ranch is so managed that every one
of its twenty acres, after the first four
Years. Yields not 5000. but from Sl00
% 1900 profit. This is just the differ
ence between some of our San Benito
county farmers and their neighbors,
Who. though farming a much smaller
acreage, are obtaining much larger re-
turns. Though living in country fully
q favored by nature as that inhabited
by our neighbors living just BE-
yond the mountains, many OF our farms
oe 200 acres, though cultivated for years,
have not the neat, tasty, well-cared-for
md prosperous appearance of many of
fhe ranches of our neighbors. Now
these may be unpleasant truths to some
people, but they are truths, and will be
oontradictod by no one who has travelled
over and studied the different phases OF
farm life as presented in different Sec
f5ous Of California and by different peo-
pIs. OF course there are exceptions. In
ban Benito county can be found prosper
ous and well-kept ranches which are
yisldine large returns to the acre, and,
q the other hand, in Santa Clara, Fres-
no, Los Angeles, San Barnardino and
pfher counties which I've naiionai
reputation for prosperity, can be ,oana
ranches that bear every indication OF
neglect, or lack of systematic and judi
efous cultivation.
San Bsnito county, especially as re-
CARDS its valley and foothill lands, ought
% contain as profitable ss;.d as well'kept
sanches as can be found in the State. and
If our farmers would cultivate less land
more thoroughly and make it produce
what it ia capable of producing, we be-
ieve their condition would compare
favorably with that of the most prosper
pus farmers in California,
VALUE OF CLIMATE.
4 The exceeding loveliness OF the wealth
q il in strong contrast with that report
sd in the Atlantic Coast States, and we
can little wonder at the great hegira OF
pilcr. ms to this coast to enjoy the bright
sun aud balmy atmosphere OF our win.
ter. In this vast difference of climate is
the superiority and wealth OF our State.
The III yards of the East blow green
backs to California. We have not the
dependence on the south winds and
rains rs Of former years. No drought
can now bring universal distress. While
rains have their value, in their absence
let US enjoy the bright sunshine and pro-
At by the lovelinesslof the weather that
brings tens of thousands of tourists to
share Ii with US. They bring millions of
dollars for expenditure and investment.
MANY look for soil, but more look for
climate, and where soil and climate of
the choicest quality can be found to.
rsther, Us in this county, there will
their choice be made if opportunities
are offered and invitations given for OBJ
tanning the one and enjoying the other.
Some matter.of-fact people ridicule the
eastern capitalists who have been payiog
$1,000 an acrs for land in the southern
counties as paying 1895 for climate and
IS for the land. Let us enj y some of
that ridicule. San Luis Obispo has the
climate of perfection, aud there are
added the opportunities OF comfortable
living and pleasure and amusement and
cosy coming aud going. there clima'e is
worth much more than soil. Possibly a
dry winter is before u, although there
il plenty OF time yet for abundant
rain, b1t ii so there need be no dis
hearteni.g, no cessation of business,
nor hesitation of enterprise. As
We s,id before, no distress as oi
former years can now prevail. The
great ranches have been divided into
ANAL farms, grazing is not the sole de
pendence, hay aud straw and grain O
the mas. year are in abundance, springs
and wells and streams afford limited ir
rieation for gardens, vineyards and or
chards, and in many ways farmers cal
successfully tide over dry year. Look
ing forward to the possibility of DIR,
winter, the farmers who would be mos
distressed take precautions and act &C
oordingly. Bat in the present condition
Of the county, open and pleasant weathe
would be of great advantage The grea
necessity OF the coast is the completion
Of the new through line Of railroad, AM
we might pray for an open winter tina
this might be hastcned. Such weather
too. will be more enjoyable for our East
ern visitors who will be travelling fror
one end of the State to the other, an
thus disbursing large sums of money.
viii also advance the subject of irriga
zion and incite to many improvements
- = 49,. ~, inv ham aefs will rasult frop