The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-02-16
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
An Interesting Description by One
who has Been There.

NUM- uInN HIIGOhNhs
An Interesting Description by One
Who has Been There.
EMPoRIA, Feb. z, 1888.
EDITOR NEws.-As all that have
written of California, and about all
that has been written by any one about
that state in the past few years was
about southern California, and as it
now looks as though the high prices
to which they have forced land in that
portion of the state will compel immi-
grants to look to the central and north
ern portion of the state for homes, and
having recently travelled through that
country, 1 will attempt a brief dis
cription~of it: In going north, the
first place of Importance is
FRESNO,
And within a few years that place
has become of great Importance not
only to California, but to all Of the
United States, by reason of its being
the center of the raisin grape interests.
Last year fresno shipped $50 car loads
of rasins, 900 boxes to the car, and as
it requires three car loads of
grapes to make one of raisins when
cured, you can see that that interest
there is immense; and it is claimed to
be in its infancy yet. The advantages
they claim there for that section is that
the soil is particularly adapted to the
grape, and the dryness of the air ena-
bles them to cure the grapes on the
ground among the vines. In that way
they save the expense of handling.
North of Fresno we soon reach the
great wheat and barley ranches of
THE SAN JOAQUIN.
and they extend to the northern limit
of the Sacramento valley, and include
the beautiful valleys around the Bay of
San Francisco and in the coast range
of mountains. That is an immense
district, the larger portion Of it beauti-
full and all very productive. But it is
as yet sparsely settled, owing to the
fact that it is generally held in very
large ranches, whose owners are
wealthy, and live in fine houses, have
large barns, and their places are well
stocked with fine horses and cattle
But the latter will admit of good deal
Of improvement yet before they will
compare favorably with the horses
The people in the north claim that they
can produce all the fruits and vegeta'
bles of the southern portion of the
state, and as to grain. everything is IL
favor of the north.
FROM SACRAMENTO NORTH,
there are two lines of railroad, one OF
the east and the other on the west side
of the Sacramento river. A ride up OF
one road to Red Blugs, and down OF
the other, is one of the finest trips fur
nished by the state. Ranges of noun
tains are at all times IN sight, on TIT
east the heavily timbered and snow
covered Sierra Nevadas, and on thu
| west the Coast Range, that are now get
ting green. From Davisville north tn,
road is perfectly level, and keep
out from the river from ten to ffteeI
miles, and is as far from the base o
| the coast range, and think that TO
over a hundred miles the road is per
fectly straight, as at least for that Ionj
distance there is not curve or bend il
| the road that can be detected by
passenger. The first thing that
ATTRACTS THE ATTENTION
| of a stranger is the beauty of the coun
| try, with the wheat just coming up an,
| furnishing feed for the countless flock
of wild geese and ducks, and the mex
is the immense grain warehouses to b
seen in every little village, and tn
/ great number Of such warehouses il
| the towns of more Importance. TIL
warehouses are generally from 800 t
900 feet long and so to 100 feet wide
But as large as they are they viii no
begin to hold the grain whel
harvested. So they have to stack tn
sacks of grain along the track, just a
we cord wood. In harvest
ing they use the heade
with threSher attached, so the
cut, thresh and sack the grain as the
go and throw the sacks of of the ma
chine, where they lay sometimes 70
L xuynnlyo hofnro ohfUnSnn fh0rn 10 N
danger of rain for eight months of tn
year and they never have any dew
Those
RANCHES ARE TOO LARGE
for the prosperity of the state, as hun
dreds of them contain thousands O
acres each. They were pointed out
me with six, eight, ten, sixteen an
twenty-five thousand acres. and on
has frontage on the river of twenty
two miles. The wheat from the latte
sold one season for S190, GOO. AS thos
they make homes for but few families
But now that the land is held SO hig
in southern California that it canno
be bought and cultivated proftably
home-seekers are turning their after
ton to this region, and man
Will go there if the owners wi
cut up the large ranches. not int.
25x100 #. town lots, but into sma
farms, say 10, so and $50 acres and Sc
at reasonable price, say at $40 to So
where they ara now held as whole a
S3n per acre. Then they would max
homes for thousands of families an
build up their towns and cite.
With all its advantages that countr
HAS IT'S DRAWBACKS.
It has been cold this winter. th
the lowest temperature being Is aboV
zero. The summers are long and yer
hot, the Thermometer often going U
to 40. The dust becomes terribl
from the north cold, and from tn
not been able to find any portion of tn
state that was not malarious. Blu
this portion is rather worse than th
rest of the state. None {
the cities of this Sectio
have improved much in population
in the last twenty-three years-th
date of my last visit-nor will they d
so under the present system. thin
that Northern California is capable o
sustaining q population of ten millioi
people, when fully developed.
THE PRODUCTION OF GOLD
is still large, but recent decisions o
the courts have stopped the work b.
the large hydraulic mining companies
The farmers won Ia that contest. Al
though like that portion of the coun
| try, can say that after q careful stud,
! of the subject prefer home ON tn
beautiful prairies of Kansas OF Ne
braska. Yours truly.