Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-16
THE WORLDS VIEW.
what the Great New York Daily
Thinks of California.

Thinks of California.
The New York World has had man
here for some time "doing'' the country.
In the issue of April 9TH is an elaborate
article on the great San Joaquin valley.
Here are few extracts from it:
Viewed in the month of February, as
have observed the valley, with the
memory of numerous Februarys passed
amid the biting winds and chilling tenn
perature of the East, the charms of
California winter-a winter in name
only-have been most thoroughly appre-
ciated.
As a vast ocean of verdure, thou
sands of acres of broad, level plain,
their mantle Of green waving in the
bright June-like sunlight like the lazy
motion of summer sea. stretch out till
the hszy horizon blends with the far
distant foothills. Fields equally vast lie
brown and glistening in the sunlight,
their deep, rich soil, turned by the
farmers plow, forming pleasant con-
trasts with the contiguous emerald hue.
| Vineyards and fruit orchards, their
extent calculated in square miles rather
than acres, give evidence of enterprise,
and suggest to the thoughtful observer
fabulous yearly revenues. Edifces,
which are farm houses in fact, but many
of which appear to my eyes like the
rounded by a wealth of tropical foliage,
are seen in the midst of these productive
tracts. Even the homes of more modest
size and unpretentious style are neat and
attractive IN design, mutely voicing the
| foc or nd ont of hair Mt
Different far, these farmers homes out
here on the Pacific Coast, from many
which | have seen among the hills Of
New England.
Flowers are blooming everywhere, in
the fields and gardens, and on the foot
hill slopes. The very air is filed with
the balmy perfumes of May. Whichever
way turn, Nature smiles and seems,
in the intensity OF her gladness, to
mock at the genuine surprise which
manifest at all l see.
Only when | consult the calendar can
l realize that it is winter. Men are work
ing in the fields, ploughing. narrowing
and spreading the seed for future har-
vest, and pruning vines, fruit trees and
strawberries. They are in shirt sleeves,
and straw hats predominant. Under the
broad shadows of the wide-spreading
liveoaks and the towering eucalyptus the
cattle chew their cuds while dreamily
watching the fitting butterflies. Bees
are actively engaged gathering the sweets
from brilliantly colored flowers, and blue
birds and winged larks are max
ing merry in the tree tops and on the
greensward.
Thousands of acres of wheat are al
! ready waving in the gentle breeze, and
| the alfalfa, that luxuriant and profitable
product, is higher than the knees of the
horses which are taking me through this
country of peace and plenty, while or.
, ange trees, bending with golden fruit,
: have lost their novelty from the number
of them which have already seen. The
, occasional glimpse which | catch of a
bright red strawberry by the roadside
makes me again doubt the season of the
year.
The vegetable patches are being rob-
bed of their ripened product that the fer
tile soil may nurse to life some other
vegetable product or article craved by
man.
Twelve months to plant and twelve
months to reap is the record here. Three
hundred days like the one of which
: write are experienced in this favored To-
cality.
Should it be a seasonable Sunday
morning on which these lines are read
in the great metropolis the readers will
have my sympathy; and if my story
startles those to whom the facts may be
new, beg them to bear in mind that my
picture is drawn in only the faintest col
ors at this particular time, for deem
half the truth to be quite strong enough
AS regards climate, it is heslthful ant
even. The so-called rainy season, con
sisting of occasional showers, commences
in December and ends in January, and il
followed by lighter rains in March and
April. The average rainfall during these
periods is ten inches. The thermometer
rarely if ever indicates lower tempera'
ture than thirty degrees. Bouquets o
flowers grown in the open air can be
picked every day in the year. Owing tC
the dryness and purity of the atmosphere
the summer heat is never oppressive.
Farmers work in the field during the
warmest weather with no inconvenience,
and such thing as sunstroke has never
been known here. Outdoor work can be
carried on the whole year. There are nc
, idle hours but those of ones own choos-
ing. There are no sudden changes; nc
; billiards., no thunder showers no ice, nc
snow. Owing to the mildness of the
climate, buildings of the most ordinary
character can, if necessary, be made use
) of for dwelling purposes. The summer
nights are uniformly cool, sufficiently sc
I to render blankets a necessity. | can
imagine no more delightful experience
than living where such conditions pre-.
vail. The summers and winters here are
equally pleasant.
Here is an interview the genial corre-
spondent held with the owner of a
, 20-acre farm:
} When | drove up a man in shirt
J sleeves was busy pruning grapevines.
: He ceased operations and came out to the
, carriage. asked how much land he
owned. He said twenty acres, eight and
one-half being in raisin grapes and the
rest in alfalfa. His vineyard, he said,
had not been given very much care until
last year. There were $50 vines to the
acre. Some OF them were planted in
1882 and some in 1884. In 1882 he set
tied here, and as he had no money to
speak of to commence with he worked
for his neighbors and neglected his own
property.
"When did your vines begin to bear ?'
"In '85 they bore little"
"What has been the money value of
| the uiaid ainao than ot