The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1888-02-11
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA.
A Trip Through Sacramento valley, tho
Land of Sunshine. Fruit and Flowers.
fSpeciai Correepopdence

Trip Through Sacramento Valley. tho
Land of Sunshine. Fruit and Flowers.
Especial Correspondence
SACRAMENTo, Jan. f3, 1893.
Here we are in Sacramento City after
visit to the surrounding country, under
cloudless sky, the thermometer this day
standing at forty eight degrees above zero,
merchants doing business with open doors,
and people on the streets without wraps,
flowers blooming in the open nir. oranges
and lemons on trees in the door-yards OF
the cozy residences revelation to one
who arrives from the frozen east and who
has dropped down in four hours from the
summit of the Sierras where the snow is
ten feet deep and the thermometer ut 10
degrees below zero.
Sacramento City is the capital of the State,
ts located eighty-three miles northeast from
San Francisco Mt the confluence of the
American and Sacramento rivers, the latter
navigable stream, and is the railroad center
and the largest fruit shipping point in Call
fornia Fifty-four trains from seven differ
ent directions arrive aud depart daily, the
shops of the G. p. u Il. furnishing employ
meilt to two thousand echanics and litbor-
ers The city Is built upon a level plain,
wide streets running at right angles, let
tered from to Y north to south, and 1st to
31st from west to enst
Many fine buildings adorn the residence
portion of the city, but many OF the bust
ness structures with their wide awnings re-
| main as erected during the mining era OF
thirty years ago. presenting novel appear
ance to us from the East The State Capitol
| building is modelled after the Capitol at
| Washington, and cost over two million dol
| lars; is surrounded by grounds not excelled
in beauty OF landscape gardening and semi
] tropical plants by any capital grounds in
| the United States The city boasts of the
| Crocker art gallery costing over four hun
dred thousand dollars, donated to the city
| by Mrs L. b. Crocker, said gallery contain
| ing large collection of choice statuary and
| paintings, in which is in active operation
an art school This gallery, second to none
in the United States will amply repay the
| tourist who may visit it
There are many other fine buildings,
/ among which are the new Catholic cathe-
dral, Masonic and Odd Fellows temples.
different churches, school buildings, and
| two elegant theaters, numerous hotels and
business structures. The city contains
| about 30, 900 population, and has large
wholesale trade, one store having DO en-
pldyes. The city is well lighted by two
electric light and one gas company. The
| State fairs are held here in September each
year, the State Agricultural Society having
n large exposition building and mile race
| track
An exposition building adjoining the rail-
| road depot is being erected, where con-
tinuous exhibit of the products of Central
California will be shown and printed infor-
| nation relative to same distributed. The
area of Sacramento County is 62O, 900
acres The land is of three characters, foot
hill, plans and river bottom. The foot-hill
land is peculiarly adapted to the produc-
tiOn of fruits and grapes The plains lands
are mainly devoted to grain raising, and no
failure OF crops since the American occupa-
tion OF this country: In some portions of
the county fruits, berries and grapes are
| extensively produced on this class of land,
and from small farms of forty and sixty
acres considerable incomes are derived
The best lands are those on the i'm
mediate banks of the rivers, and are de-
vnfn In <,f rNrif nrrh
vegetables. The income per acre is fab
ulous, enabling the owners OF the river
bank orchards to own and manage line OF
stenmers on which their produce is trans
ported to San Francisco markets or to
Sacramento City for shipment East Pre-
vious to the last two years many of these
lands were held in large tracts; now the
owners are subdivlding them and offering
them for sale to actual settlers
For many years California was regarded
as valueless save Tor its mineral wealth,
but American enterprise has developed
that it's richness in the line OF agriculture
and fruit raising is inferior to none in the
world. From the cultivation of cereals the
step was taken successfully in the line of
fruit and vine raising, and lastly in the
growing OF oranges and lemons, consequent
ly the fruit-grower here has no waste time,
but can, II he will utilize every day in the
year He may actually gather fruit OF
some kind from his orchard every month
OF the year, as the winter fruits embrace
oranges, lemons. pomegranates, olives and
| persimmOns, which ripen during the
months of November, December and Janu-
AIRY. The spring fruits embrace strawberries.
raspberries blackberries and cherries, and
are marketed in April, May and June. The
summer fruits are apricots, plums, peaches,
figs pears and nectarines, and are marketed
| from June to October. The fall fruits are
apples, pears, grapes. ounces, prunes and
. | peaches, to which may be added almonds,
walnuts and peanuts. Hops, broom and
Egyptian corn, alfalfa, sweet potatoes etc,
are all grown with profit We who have
spent our lives east of the Rocky Mountains
can have no reasonable conception of q
country that apparently has but two sea-
sons, an autumn and spring, as it is here in
the sacramento valley. The rainfall COM
mences about November l and ends in
May, but only at intervals du ring that time,
SO that with few exceptions there is no
cause for suspension from outdoor labor.
commence--in fact, many farmers who
summer-fallow their lands in April and
May seed the same in August and Septem-
| Der before the first rains.
The change from one season to the other
is marked with no sudden or severe climat-
ic changes While seet and snow. to say
nothing of blizzards at this time of the year,
are the fortune of the people at the East,
here in the Sacramento valley the people
are basking under clear skies and can pluck
fruits and flowers The writer noticed in
one of the markets this morning the fol-
lowing fruits and vegetables, being in
formed they We're grown in this immediate
vicinity: Asparagus caullfiower. cabbage,
, celery, artichokes, sweet potatoes, sprouts,
spinach peas, satisfy, s!ring-beans, new
potatoes onions oranges lemons, persim-
mons, English walnuts. almonds and rails
ins In an interview with the signal service
officer located here, am informed that this
present winter has been an unusually cold
one-in fact, the coldest in the past thirty
four years.
A few days since snow-storm actually
swept over the valley and snow fell to the
ment to men, women and children durin
the few hours it lay upon the ground. H
, | also informed me that Sacramento Countn
shows n warmer winter, spring, and ve1rly
: average temperature and about tb same
summer and autumn temperature that the
. great citrus belt in Northern Italy does, as
shown by the following table which he
kindly furnished me: