Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-01-01
TEHAMA.

MendoclnO on the west. Its area is 3,125
square miles, embracing 100000 acres of
land. Tehama has been distinguished as
one of the leading wheat-growing counties
of the State, but it has also variety of
important industries. 1t embraces both
valley and foothill lands, each section
ranking high in point of fertility. That it is
county which offers superior induce
ments to immigrants is shown by the fact
that but about $50 900 of its 1000, 900 acres
is cultivated annually. OF course agricult-
ure has been chiefly confined to the valley
section, along the Sacramento, where
transportation facilities have thus been
best. Farming, or rather wheat-growing.
is conducted on the same extensive scale
that prevails in Colusa and few other
counties.
The lands of Tehama are thus divided :
Valley lands, 10000 acres; lower foot
hills, ,2S0, 900; higher foothills and Sierra
Nevada, 10000; Coast Range mountains,
240.0 900 acres.
There are several small valleys in the
western portion of the county. Between
the higher ranges of mountains and the
valleys proper lies the foothill region. East
of the Sacramento river, in the northern
part of the county, the valley is narrow,
widening out below Red Bluff into
broad expanse of valley land.
WATER COURSES.
There are several streams of water cours-
ing through the county in addition to the
Sacramento river. The North Fork of
Cottonwood creek forms a part of the
boundary line between Tehama and Shasta
county, and is splendid stream Of living
water. The South and Cold forks
of Cottonwood creek, Red Bank
and others which rise in the Shasta mount
aims, and which flow northeasterly into the
Cottonwood, or southeasterly into the
Sacramento, are dry for several months in
the year-during midsummer. Battle, Dry,
Antelope, Paynes, Mill, Deer, Chico. Butte
and other creeks rise in the Sierra and
drain the eastern portion of the county.
These are all living streams. Good well
water is obtainable most places at depths
varying from 20 to 40 feet
CLIMATE
The climate of Tehama county compares
favorably with that of any portion of the
State For about three months in summer
the weather in the valley and lower foot
hills becomes quite hot at times, while in
the higher attitudes it remains cool and de-
lightful. The winters are mild in the for
mer localities, but severe i'll the mountains.
The rainfall begins often as early as Sep
TENDER, and continues until May, the aver
age fall being about % inches.
TIMBER.
The lumber business has been in the
past an important industry in Tehama.
The mountain sections OF the county
abound in splendid forests of pine, fir and
oak. Until within very few years the
lumber business employed more men than
any other in that county, but such is not
now the case. The timber is floated down
from the hills in streams and fumes. One
company alone has, or did have, flume
forty miles in length through which up
ward of 40 600 feet of lumber per day could
be fioated down from the mills to Chico.
The mills of Tehama county have turned
out as high as 100000 feet of lumber per
year.
AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.
The great fertility of soil and natural re-
sources of Tehama county are now attract
ing much attention from immigration
societies and newly-arrived persons in
search OF places to locate for the remainder
of their lives. The rich valley lands of the
county yield abundantly of all kinds of
grain, and even fruit, while the foothills
have been found to be especially adapted
| to fruit and grape culture. The harder
| fruits have been successfully grown at an
elevation of more than 5000 feet. AS a
rule irrigation is not essential to success in
horticulture, although if desired an abund-
ance of water can be had for that purpose,
the foothill section being we'll supplied with
bitches formerly used for mining. The soil
of the valley generally is a reddish loan,
while in the immediate vicinity of the river
there is strip of unusually rich bot
tom loan. In the months of May
or June, to the eve of the trav-
Il =. c..I IL. -
this portion of the Sacramento valley. He
sees before him an unbroken expanse of
level land, some 40 mules long by % wide,
covered with waving grain just putting on
its golden hue. No person can witness this
spectacle without being impressed with the
fact that section of country capable of
producing so beautifully of breadstuffs has
great and prosperous future before it. On
the west side of the valley the foothills are
better adapted to fruit culture than on the
: east side. The soil is a light, reddish, grav
ely loan. In every case where expert
| ments have been tried in fruit culture the
venture has proved success. These foot
hill lands have light growth of manza-
nita, chaparral ETC., and are cleared with
out great expense or labor.
vITIcULrURE.
The recent venture of Senator Stanford,
in establishing his great vineyard, compris-
ing several thousand acres, in the vicinity
of the town of Vina, has greatly stimulated
the grape-growing industry in Tehama.
The prospect is that, as years roll by and
the county becomes more thickly settled,
grape-growing in that section will become
one of the leading industries.
THE WOOL PRODUCT.
The mountain and bill sections of Te-
hama have heretofore been largely devoted
to the sheep industry, and the wool product
of the county has been enormous. Owing
to the fact that assessments for taxable pur-
poses are now made throughout the State
ON the first Monday in March of each year.
wool, like capital, seems to have
found SOME method Of evasion The r.
turns OF the Assessor for 1885 report no
wool on hand on the first Monday in
March. although it is q well-known fact
that Red Bluff is the most prominent wool
market in the State outside San Francisco.
1t is too early, ON the date mentioned, tor
the spring clip to beon hand, and that OF
the preceding fall seems to be usually dis
posed of long prior thereto. II is estima-
ted. however, that the average yearly out
put of wool in Tehama county is some
thing like 100000 pounds.
xUD or TRAvK1.
The Calf . sn6 Oregon Railroad