Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-01-30
STATE EXHIBITIONS.
WHAT THEY HAVE ACCOMPLISHED
FOR CALIFORNIA.
The Best Horses and Cattle In the
World-The Greatest Fruit
Country on the Globe.

The annual report of the State Agricult-
ural Society contains many items of inter-
est. In addition to what appeared in Sat-
urday's issue, the following notes are taken
from the introduction
The closing of the thirty fifth year of our
existence as society that was formed to
aid and encourage agriculture and me-
chanical arts, and the improvement of all
breeds of live stock. at period when Cali
fornia was in great need of an organized
and cooperative policy on the part of those
who had the forethought to inaugurate the
encouragement of these industries, that
their followers might be benefited and the
State put upon more substantial footing,
reminds us that their authorizations were
right, and that they labored not in vain.
The year just past has been one of un-
usual prosperity to our State in short, the
tillers of the soil have had an abundant
harvest, and it is safe to say that when this
character of success comes among our
community, the results in all walks of life
are gratifying.
The products of the soil that are here
reaped in abundance insures us the pros
perity we have. The opportunities and
advantages offered to the industrious leave
but little chance for failure to those who
country are the people favored with climate
soil and markets as are those of California
THE VALUE OF ANNUAL EXHIBITIONS.
The vast increase of interest taken each
| year in the annual exhibitions given by
| this Board is sure indication that our
pioneers " Duilded better than they knew
Each season brings renewed vigor, success
| fEl experiments, extended facilities, abund-
ance of products, an unusual number of
visitors from abroad and oceans of appli-
cations for information regarding our
State. In years past it required all our
energy to induce exhibits and all our tact
to attract home-seekers. The result OF this
| tenacity to make ourselves known has at
tracted strangers from all parts of the civil
| lied world.
These alluring reports have received the
| Endorsement of the newcomers, and re-
suited in our success so that praises sung
have had the desired effect, and we are no
longer looked upon as distant land where
the wanderer went to seek pastures anew,
but are known in all lands and chimes as
the land of prosperity and plenty.
| The results are made manifest in the
large increase of small homes and the cut
ting up of large tracts of land for this pur-
pose. 1t is shown by the increased in.
| quiries of newcomers for suitable loca-
tons, and by increased shipment of pro-
ducts. that we were heretofore little known
outside of our own border
| At our annual exhibitions new faces are
seen, and the ek hilarating effect upon the
stranger is noticeable at once; as in the
days of old the gold fever was contagious,
SO now the land fever, the fruit fever and
the home fever have been spread instead.
until the procession of new corners to this
State has taxed the facilities of the trans
portation companies far i'll excess of their
! ordinary capacity to accommodate the tray
elers.
| Our aim each year is to so arrange the
exhibition that it shall illustrate to the best
advantage the various productive resources
OF the entire State our constant study is to
most thoroughly inform all by actual OBJ
servatlon of the great agricultural capabili-
ties of our soil, the yield of our shops,
mines, mills and forces, to the end that the
| hesltatlng settler will be overcome by the
facts shown, cast aside all prejudices and
! become one of us.
Many of our agricultural implements are
unknown outside of our State. Our COM
bined harvesters, that cut, thrash and sack
at one operation the products of our vast
| grain fields thereby enabling the farmer to
market his yield of grain, if needs be, you
might say the day of ripening, illustrates
the spirit that predominates in our wide
| awake California farmer.
FRUIT GROWING AND SHIPPING.
The advancement in this industry dur
| ing the past year has been most prodigious
| The yield from increased acreage, that is
now beginning to bear, shows to what ex-
| tent tree planting has been in the past few
years.
| The demand has kept up for our green
fruits, and there is a very percepible in
crease of canneries and dryers.
The plan adopted by the organization of
the California Fruit Union in the handling
of fruit is, to our mind most acceptable
one. It is corporation composed of grow
ers, for the shipping and sale of their pro-
ducts in the East. They have total stock
issue OF 1868 shares, held by 400 individ-
| uals, scattered through q counties MANY.
| in fact the greater portion, have taken stock
for only one quarter their acreage, so, as
each share represents one acre of land, thew
| handle in reality the products of $1,000
| acres of land set to fruit in this State So
there is little wonder that much competi-
ton exists in the Eastern States for the
agency of the Union. This fact enables
the Union to be very careful in selection
| and exacting IN requirements CT those de-
string to represent the organization
10 per cent. for handling the fruit OF this
the agents received u per cent. tout Of
which Is paid the auctioneer q per cent. at
points when the auction method of selling
is pursued), and the remaining % per cent.
was returned by the agents to the proper
officers of the Union.
The establishing of the auction method
of selling green and perishable products is
one of the very best plans yet inaugurated
This plan will lessen the charges and
quicken the returns of all fruit handled.
This is the principal method used in selling
our products in Chicago, which is the chief
market SO far, although the prospects are
good for both New York and Boston,
which. with London for our dried and
canned fruits, will soon overcome the cry
of over production. 1t is only two years
since we made any attempt of selling our
fruits at auction in New York and Boston.
and the result far exceeded the expecta-
tons of the many.
Chicago receives about one-half of our
fruit product, and this plan of sale enables
the buyers from all places adjacent to re-
ceive their fresh supply of California fruit
without the Intervention of the middleman,
who profits to the injury of the producer,
as by the time under the old system our
fruit reached the consumer, the price
asked was almost prohibitory, so much so
that but small proportion of the people
were able to avail themselves of this COM
modify, thereby lesseniDg the demand to
the detriment of the producer. Now, the
producer, through the Union, may sell al
most direct to the consumer, and be inter-
ested in all the profits that accrue.
The shipment of carload lots of decidu-
Gus fruit 10 the Eastern States during the
year OF 1888, was about nineteen hundred
OF this number the Fruit Union, or in
other words, the fruit-growers. shipped
themselves eight hundred and fifty, gain
of ninety carloads over the preceding year.
Had grapes carried well, and as all had a
reason to believe they would from previous
years experience, the Union would have
started one hundred cars more
As shipments increase further reductions
| will no doubt, be made in freight rates,
when our shippers will be in better condi-
ton to compete with our Eastern fellow
workers in years when, as in the one just
closed, they have full crops and can afford
to sell their peaches and grapes at II cents
per pound, as they did largely the past year.
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