Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-03-01
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA.

GEM Nal CAItfOhWtHb
4 Trip Throseh saeramsnto valley. ne
Lsnd Of Sunshine. Fruit and Flowers.
Especial Correspondencc.l
SACRAExErO. Jan. Il, 1883
Here we are In SACRAMENTO City after
VISIT to the surrounding country, under
cioadiess sky, the thermometer this day
ssauuing at forty Eight degrees above z.ro,
merchants doing bus mesa with opsa doors,
and people ON the streets without wraps.
flowers blooming in the cpen air. oranges
and lemons on trees in tie door-yarGs Of
the coy residences. q revelation to one
who arrives from tae frozen east and who
has dropped down N four hours from the
summit .: the Sierras where the snow 10
ten feet deep end tho thermometer ut Is
degrees below zero. .
Sacramento City is the capital Of the State.
3 located e.sh:y-rkree miles nor ,heasc from
San Francisco st the confluence of the
American and Sacramento r.vers. he later q
naviXable stream, and Is the railroad center
and the largest fruit sh pping point in Cali
fornia. Cifty-four trains from SEVEN differ
ent directions sIrive and depart daily. the
shops Of the c. p r K turn .shing employ
ment to two thouw- n mechanics and labor
era The CITY is built upon leve: plain,
wide streets running ut right angles let
tered from A 10 Y north to south, and 1st to
Sis. from west to easa
Many tine build .ngs adorn the residence
portion OF the City, bus many OF the BUSH
ness structures with their wide awnings re-
main as erected during the mining era Of
thirty years ago. presenting mover appear
ance to cs from the East The Safe Capitol
building is modelled after the Capitol at
Washington. and cost over two million dol
lars; is surrounded by grounds not excel ed
in beauty of landscape garden M and semi
tropical plants by any capital grounds in
the United States The city boasts of the
Croker art gallery costing over four hun
dred thousand dollars, donated to the city
by MIS- L B. Croker. slid gallery contain
ing large collection OF choice sta:uary and
paintings. in which is In active operation
an art school THIS gallery, second to none
in the United States. VIII amply repay the
tourist who may visit e
There are many o5ner fine buildings,
.omong which are the new Catholic cathe-
dfal, Masonic and Odd Fellows temples,
different churches. school buildings. and
two elegant theaters, numerous hotels and
business ructureA The city contains
about 80. coo popu.at;on.' and has q large
wholesale ;rada, one s ore having 225 en-
ployea The city is well lighted Ivy two
electric light anu one gas company. The
Sta e fairs are held here in September each
year, the State Agricultural Socie having
large exposition building and mie race
track.
An exposition building adjoining the rail-
road depo5 is being erec.ed, where a con-
tinuous exhibit of the products of Central
California will be s;iOwnsand printed infOr-
NATION relative to same distributed TIE
srea OF sacramento County is 100000
Gcres The land Is OF three characters. foot
lil, p!a ms and river bottom. Inc fOoi-hil
land Ii peculiarly adapted to the produc-
tiOn Of fruits and grapes The plains lands
are mainly devoted to era n raising, and no
failure OF crops since the Amer Can Occupa-
ton OF tbs country. In some portions OF
the county fruits, berries and grapes are
extensively produced on this ass OF land,
and from small farms of forty and SKY
acres considerable incomes are derived
The best lands are those on the Inn
mediate banks OF the rivers, and are de-
voted to the production Of fruits and
vegetables. TIE income per acre is fab
ulOIs, enabling the owners OF the river
bank orchards TO own and manage Il line OF
Steamers on which their prOducs is trans
ported to S-n Francisco markets or 10
Sacramento City for shipment East Pre-
vious to tn. last two years many OF these
owners are subjividing them and Offering
them for sale TO actual settlers
For many years California was regarded
Us v.ilueieSS s:.ve Tor its mineral wealth,
hut American enterprise has developed
that it's richness in the line OF agriculture
and fruit RAISING Is inferior TO none in the
word From the cultivation of cereals the
step was taken successfully in the inc OF
fruit and vine raising, and lastly In the
growing of oranges and lemons, consequent
ly the frait-grOwer here has no waste time,
but can. # he will. utilize every day In the
year Hs may actually gather fiu.t OF
some kind from his orchard every month
OF the year, as the winter fruits embrace
oranges, lemons. pOmegr mates. olives and
pers.mmons, winch ripen during the
monlh rs OF November, December ana Janu-
airy. The spring fruits embrace strawberries.
rasp5err;es. biackberries and cherries, and
are marketed in April, hay and june The
summer fruits are apricoss, p,u MS peach g.
figs. pears and DeCiarnes, and are marketed
from June to October. TIE fall fruits are
apples, pears, grapes. ounces. prunes and
peaches to which m y be aided almonds,
walnuts and peanuts HoJs. Lroon, and
Egypt an corn, alfalfa, sweet potato etc,
are all grown with profit. We who havo
spent our lives east OF the Rocky Mountains
can have no reasonable conception of o
country that apparently has tut two sea-
SONS, an autumn and spring, as 1t IS here IN
the Sacramento valley. The rainfall COM
mences about November l and ends IN
May, but only at interv Is during tn &c time,
so that with few exceptions there il no
cause for suspension from outdoor labor.
Piowlng begins here as soon as the zains
commence-n fact. many formers who
summer-fsllow their iinds in April and
My seed the same in August and Sepsem-
Der before the FIRST ra'nS
The change from ons season to toe Cher
Il marked with no sudden or severe c;llnas-
ic changeA Wnf:e siecs and snow, TO say
nothing of tlizzards at this time Of the year,
are the fortune of the people at the East
hero in tn. Sacramento valley the people
are basking under clear skies and c1n pluck
fruits and fowerA The writer noticed in
one Of the markets this morning the fol-
lowing fruits and vegetables. being In
formed they were grown in this immediate
vicinity: Asparagus. caul,flOwer. cabbage.
celery, artichokes sweet potatoes. sprouts.
spinach. peas satisfy. gr.nG- beans. new
potatoes onions oranges. lemons, perslm-
nous, English wxlnuta. almonds snd rails
FMS In an interview with the signal service
officer located here. I am informed that this
present winter has been an unusually cold
one-sn fact, the coolest in the past thirty
four yeaIA,
A few days since . snow-storm actually
swept over the valley and snow fell TO tbs
/ A.