Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-01-02

in score of other lines of activity. The
lands of this magnificent region only a
few years ago unused and rated at but a
nominal figure, row command handsome
| prices and yield to every investor in grape,
fruit, berry, citrus and other culture, re-
8 turns that are not anywhere else sur
passed in the volume of reward for the
output Of the minimum of labor. Five
distinct lines of railway reach out into
these foot sections and relate them directly
to Sacramento. She is the depot of sup
| ply by natural location, by commercial
I convenience, by lines of transportation,
and by nearness, for the whole foothill re-
gion upon the northeast and southeast.
She is for like reasons their market town.
ON THE NORTH
For two hundred miles is the great Sac
ramento valley, which in extent and fer
tility is equaled by no other. Within it
are seven of the chief counties of the
State. 1t is traversed by two lines of rail-
way its entire length, the chief of which
has its southern terminus al Sacramento,
and through the vast basin flows the prin-
cipal navigable river of the State. The
great trunk line of railway, uniting the
Gulf Of Mexico with Puget Sound, runs
throughout its entire length, making it the
great highway of commerce up and down
the Pacific coast. No other section of our
common country for agricultural wealth
and capacity, in climatic invitation, in
capacity for fruit, vine, and grain growth,
IN natural water supply, or in any of the
bountles OF nature, surpasses this vast en-
pire Of valley, dotted with cities and
towns, rich in vineyards and orchards, and
destined to be in the early future the re-
eipient of population that will be num-
bered by the million. Hittel in his Com
merce of the Coast" speaks of this i'm
perial region, all of which is
NATURALLY TRIBUTARY TO SACRAMENTO,
And with which her trade is in close rela-
ton, as capable of supporting many mill
ions of people" Mailing in this great
valley upon the east are the auriferous
Sierras, with such mineral and timber
wealth as nowhere else in the Union is to
be found, And these by natural relation
and by rail lines of communication find in
Sacramento their depot of supply.
ON THE SOUTH
Are the lower strips of small fertile val
| leys of Amador and Calaveras, rich alike in
west, In the lowlands of the river. in the
bottoms of the Sacramento, are found the
finest fruit lands upon the globe, and in
state OF cultivation and use, too, that can
| not be rlvaled elsewhere upon the coast.
| Northwesterly from Sacramento are the
plains and low hills of Yolo and Solano.
with cereal and fruit production, which in
richness and volume exceed any area of
like dimensions in the State. Beyond
these rise the inner coast range, noted for
its mineral springs, its grazing lands, its
lakes and salubrious atmosphere. Thus
| we find Sacramento
THE COMMERCIAL SEAT
OF an empire of fertile territory. within
| itself possessing all the elements for sus-
tentatlon of vast population, and the
maintenance OF countless industries. With
climate of semi-tropical character. a
wlnterless winter andan endless summer the
Sacramento Valley and foothill region
presents claims and invitations which is
drawing to it population of great magni-
tude, and assuring to its people as nearly
a paradise as is possible to the earth. We
do not pause here to consider in de-
tail the climate of the region of which we
write, an article upon that specific tonic
Will be found in another column which
is from an official source and is fortified bv
meteorological proofs that permit of no
question. To that article, with its tabu.
lated showings, the reader is referred con-
| corning
THE PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY OF THE FOOT
HILL REGION.
We cannot do better than to reproduce
in part an article upon that subject pre-
pared for the RECoRD-UNIoN in 1855. and
which appeared in our columns January
l, 1856.
Every agricultural product that can be
grown in the valleys, including the semi
tropical fruits, can be grown with equal ia
cility in these foothills. Ordinarily the
land has to be cleared of the trees found
upon 1t, and cultivation must be continu-
Gus, Tor on the whole western face of the
Sierra the native trees when cut or burned
down, are rapidly replaced by a new
growth of the same kinds. These lands
are found to have all of the requisites for
the successful growth of orchards. Fruit
trees thrive better upon them than on the
lands of the valley. None of the MANY
theories advanced as to the cause of the
treeless condition of many plains and
pralrles having ample rainfall seem to be
entirely satisfactory, but experience has de-
monstrated that orchards grow best and
thrive with less artificial aid on lands that
IN natural condition are covered with
trees. The increasing exports of small
fruits, such as strawberries. blackber
ries and raspberries, from the vicinity
of Newcastle and Auburn, and their size
and quality, prove that this region is bet
ter adapted to their culture than any
place yet found on the level lands of the
valley. The peaches of Coloma have a
State reputation for flavor and size. The
apples of Nevada and Georgetown are
equal In size, taste, and keeping qualities
to the best imported from Oregon. The
orovllle oranges have been pronounced
equal to the best Los Angeles. The vine
grows with luxuriance and bears abun-
dainty wherever it has been planted
throughout all this region. The wines of
Coloma have more than local reputa-
ton. Persons competent to Judge, assert
that wine from grapes grown in the foot
hills IS free from the earthly taste that
characterizes much of the wine of the flat
land of the valleys. They also express the
belief that If ever wine is to be made in
California as light as that from the Rhine.
and as free from alcohol, the grapes will
be grown in the higher elevations of the
foothills, where snow falls and remains on
the ground few weeks each season. 1t is
said that the long summers and heat of
the valleys develop the saccharine matter
in the grape, which by fermentation is
converted into alcohol.
THE CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY
Being of rolling and rounded hills pre-
vents the possibility of very large farms. !
Experiments have shown that the soil is
more productive than the dry plains of the |
valley, but of course it does not yield crops
as largely as the deltas and bottom lands |
of the rivers. 1t is certainly better and |
more productive than lands similarly stu
ated in France, Switzerland and Italy, |
which now sustain a population of millions |
Wood is everywhere to be found, and in |
this region north of Oroville there is an
abundance water in the streams and
springs not yet appropriated. These lands J
have remained open for settlement be-
cause, up to the present time, sufficient |
Government land could be found in the |
valleys. There are million acres of
these lands on which there is no mineral
reservation, and which can be obtained by
homestead and pre-emption as cheaply as
yVare the lands in