Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-01-21
LITTER FROM sMARTSvILLE.
A Caustic Reply Concerning Slickens
Bearing Water as a Fertilizer.

bearing w ater as a Fertilizer.
The following letter has been received
from an old resident and prominent citizen
of Smartsville, transmitting the communi-
cation following it:
You will confer very great favor on our
whole village of Smartsville by printing
the lnclosed communication. 1t is not
written with malice but desire to exon
crate ourselves before the public. Our
town has been maligned through the col
umns of the Bee and, though the RECORD
UNION is opposed to hydraulic mining, we
look to you to give us chance to explain.
You have always been liberal in your
views, and will, | know, honor us by civ
ing space to the communication signed
Miner" Respectfully,
EDS. REcoRD-U UNION knowing vour
paper Is ever foremost in promoting the
cause of justice, and willing TO aid in reftlt
ing falsehoods. venture to address YOU a
few lines relative to the communication
from The Hon. c.. f. Stone, NJ. d.. ex
Mayor of Marysville Il trust none of his
titles have been omitted), published in
Thursdays Bee. Mr.. o Brien is away from
home at present, but |, as one who knows
whereof he speaks, take the liberty of cor
rectng the misstatements made by the
Hon. ex-Aiayor. l write solely in defense
of our town and its productions. so that
visitors to the citrus fair may not go away
with the impression that our village is pro-
life in falsifiers, as one would infer from
the Bees attempted sarcasm. 1t was de-
cidedly malarial wit, and the author needs
a strong tonic Facts are stubborn things
stubborn things sometimes kick. and the
ex-Mayor may find himself astride the
wrong TACT, Result: Unceremonious exit
of said Hon. ex-Mayorn The oranges
and lemons contributed by James O'Brien
were grown at Smartsville in his private
grounds, and not on the Bonanza ranch. as
the Hon. ex-Mayor assures the deluded
public. Smartsville is situated 90 miles
above Marysville, and it is 700 feet above
tide water
Mr.. 0'Brien owns some thirteen acres
immediately surrounding his house. The
land when bought was barren and non
productive, covered with rocks and red
clay, not more than few inches in deptb.
BY constantly manuriug with slickens and
irrigating with muddy water he has sue
ceeded in rendering his land arabic. The
orange and lemon trees were planted some
fifteen years ago as an experiment TO fest
the power of slickens as a fertilizer. Some
four years ago the trees began to bear. and
since that time they have yielded album
dainty. The crop this year averaged 6 ZOO
and the oranges were the finest and most
luscious grown in the county, entirely free
from the valley pest, the scale-bug. Be
sides oranges and lemons, Mr.. O'Brien has
eitron trees, nut trees, fruits of every yari-
ETY. and an excellent VINEYARD. all
planted and grown on slickens land irriga-
ted with muddy water. Here, too, is found
the olive raised by Mr. Redfeld. whose
land was formerly a rocky waste. but is
now rich in fruits and flowers of every
kind. Both Mr.. O'Brien's and Mr.. Red
fields grounds are irrigated with water that
comes directly from the Excelsior bitches.
which latter supply many mines on the
ridge, and come 70 US laden with the life
giving " slickens." According to the ex-
Mayors statement, water carries little or no
dirt IN suspension, as he says the water
: from which o Brien's trees are irrigated
contains but small amount of detritus. |
which. when it reaches his hillside ranch,