Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-06-26
CALlfORNIAWARD.
INQUIRIES FOR THE LAND OF
WONDERFUL CLIMATE.
Central California the Coming Boom
Some Comparison with East
ern Fruit-Growing.

EDS. REcoRD-UNIoN Many are the let
tiers that have received and am receiving
yet from people living east of us, asking for
information as to the resources of northern
California, and inquiring as to the best part
of the State in which to settle. Some of
my inquirers are poor men-that is, having
no means at all but their arms others are
men of small means, having for capital but
few hundred dollars, all appearing to be
willing to work and build up for them
tiful climate of ours. Some distrust south
ern California on account of the high price
of the land, while others are pretty well
taken up by the highly -colored accounts of
the " Garden of Eden" (the latest name
given to the southern portion of the State),
with its numberless orange groves and end
less vineyards.
By the way, 1 notice that the further
north a man lives the more he is stuck
after the orange groves of southern Califor-
MIA: and nothing better advertised the
upper part of the State than the citrus fair
held at Sacramento last winter.
have invariably answered my inquirers
that our State was certainly large enough
to mold them all that they could very well
build up home for themselves and make
comfortable living here, but that they
had to be industrious, persevering and saw
ing that the day of making quick fortunes
had gone by gone with mining, from
which it originated; and that, without
booming our part of the State, it was my
honest opinion that the part of the State
north of the San Joaquin valley offered
greater inducements, through greater
variety of resources, to the emigrant and
man Of small means than the " Garden of
Eden itself.
There is, indeed, something wrong with
The people living east of us, for 10 those
people California may be summed up into
three things-Los Angeles, orange groves
and San Francisco; outside of that they
know nothing. The tourist himself does
not know any better; he will go first to
the orange groves, then to San francisco,
and back home with avery poor knowledge
of our State. The Sierra, with its majestic
grandeur. its unsurpassed scenery, It's lakes
perched on its very summit, and so invit-
ing through the summer months: the foot
hills. the real future garden of California,
with its soft, pure, equable atmosphere,
thar renders that part of our State so de-
lightful to live in the mines, where gold is
extracted, so instructive and interesting to
visit, and of such easy access all those
points of interest do not exist for the East
ern tourist. He goes back home dreaming
all the way of oranges and the like, but
perfectly ignorant of the capability, re-
sources and beauties of our great State. OF
course. such a foolish way of visiting
State like ours cannot last, and Eastern
people are bound, after their dreams of
oranges and orange groves have been dis
PEELED, as the morning mist by the rising
sun, to regard our State III different and
more rational light. Among letters re-
ceived by me from Eastern people and
pointing out to such a reform, will select
one from a very intelligent gentlemen con-
nected with the agricultural station of the
University OF Wisconsin, and | have no
doubts that its reading will prove of much
interest to your many readers.
FELIx GILLET.
Nevada City, June 81, 1886.
Felir Gillet, ESQ.,, Neuadd City, Cdt.-MY
DEAR SIR: | am under many obligations
to you for the long letter you were so good
as to write to me, and also for marked
copies of several papers containing articles
written by yourself. 1t is my present plan
to be in southern California by July 4th
and after spending couple of weeks there,
to go northward and give some ten or more
weeks to looking over the country The
more look the matter up the more it APP
pears to me evident that central California
offers the best inducements to one like
myself Southern California has been
wonderfully doomed. | have talked with
many of our returned tourists, and find
that they all, without exception, have
visited Los Angeles and vicinity; most
have gone to San Francisco and with what
they can tell of these points they are done.
Not one knows anything of the foothill
country in which you live. 1t seems they
traverse this region in the night.
My plan in life has been to not follow
the crowd, and so l shall, i'll many in
stances, go off the main lines of travel and
in a quiet way enjoy myself, seeing how
the people live and what are the chances
for good homes with you. By spending
two or three months in comparatively
limited area, / can get much more enjoy
ment than by hurrying from point to point
by long stages. Our party from this place
went from here to the City OF Mexico,
thence to Los Angeles, San Francisco and
on to Salt Lake, and home, 5000 miles in
eight weeks Well, man can eat his din
ner in about no time if he tries, but who
cares to try such feats? only Americans.
Just now Wisconsin is most beautiful to
the eye. Blue grass forms dense sod
everywhere, along the woodsides, in pas
lures and woods where not too densely
shaded. Then there are all the clover and
grass fields for hay and the spring grains.
The corn planted in squares shows green.
Look where you will you see the deep.
almost tropical vegetation. Many of our
pastures are like well-kept lawns. By the
time get to you l shall find dust enough
and no green sod, l suppose. But the
fruit All, there you have u.s. Winter
before last killed probably one-third of all
the bearing apple trees i'll the State, or so
injured the trees that they are dying. We
are cutting out trees every little while that
have given up. Only the Duchess of
Gutenberg (simmer) and Peter NJ. Gideon's
beautiful Wealthy (fall have stood the
test, and the latter not always The
nurserymen are all at sea, and the farmers
disheartened. / have been in the State six
years and have never seen pear on tree,
no, nor a peach. A few of the hardy
plums do well enough, but are not much
grown, strangely enough. But few cher
ries of the hardest varieties, grapes-Con~
cord, Worden and Delawares-do well in
some localities. but sometimes do not get
fully ripe With little care many could
be grown in the aggregate though. Small
fruits do well.
1t seems strange that our people do not
give more attention to what they can raise.
Many farmers in comfortable circumstances
do not raise quart of fruit-all corn and
hogs, steers and grass. Strawberries are
sold with us now at from 10 to IL cents per
quart box, in large quantities, coming now
from southern Illinois. 1t has not rained for
two weeks, and our half mature crop is
suffering for water.
Saw very fine fresh-looking Newcastle,
Cal. red cherries in Milwaukee last week,
selling at % to 40 cents per pound-sonce at
so cents.
Hoping to visit you this summer, though
circumstances may prevent, and again
thanking you, am yours. w. A. II.