Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-02-15
AROUND SANTA ROSA.
THE VARIETY. ADAPTABILITY AND
PRICES OF LAND.
Deciduous Fruits Wine Vineyards
Olive Culture-Hops-Aifaifa
and Cereals.

The country surrounding the city of
Santa Rosa is picturesque in the extreme.
The hills, some with abrupt, and others
with gradual slope, rising 10 height of 500
or 600 feet, are covered with timber growth,
and lying between are beautiful, cultivated
valleys, drained by springfield streams of
clear, sparkling water. The San Francisco
and North Pacific Railroad winds along the
foot hills which border the eastern side of
the Santa Rosa valley. which is nearly
twenty IN les long and, st the city of Santa
Rosa, about ten miles in width. This is
the principal valley in this section, and is
drained by the Santa Rosa and Laguna
creeks. Burnett valley, to the southeast,
aud Rincon valley, northeast, either within
a few minutes drive of the city, are fine
areas of fertile land, the former drained by
Matanzas and the latter by Rincon creek.
Santa Rosa creek, running west through the
CITY, and the Laguna, flowing north, some
five miles west, are the two principal
streams, and whose waters reach the ocean
by the way of Mark West creek and Rus
sian river.
There are two classes of land-foothill
and valley. The former is the peculiar
California red land. clothed in its natural
state with chemise, chaparral and forest
trees. Toe soil of the latter kind is either
adobe, alluvial or sandy loan. 1t is unex-
celled in fertility, and held at such prices
as to recommend it only TO those who feel
that they can afford to purchase cream
from the top of the pan, rather than the
milk. Several causes tend to account for
the ruling figures, chief among which may
be enumerated natural scenic beauty, near
ness to and railroad facilities with San
francisco and Sac1 amento, healthfulness,
and exceptionally enjoyable summer ard
winter climate the high order of social anu
educational advantages maintained, and
the general productiveness of the SOIL
Land within a couple of miles of the city
ranges in price from 5000 10 nearly $1,000
per acre; from two to five miles out at from
$40 10 $500 per acre, aud from five to- ten
miles distant at from $40 to $500 per acre.
The cheapest lands being the distant foot
hills in their natural state, and which cost
in the neighborhood of $50 per acre to sub
jugate. Almost any of this soil can be
made to yield liberal income on an in
yestment of $500 per acre, but only by
liberal expenditure of capital, patience and
lntelligently directed cultivation. The best
orchards of French prunes and Bartlett
annual average of 5000 an acre and even
more but it takes at least seven or eight
years to bring this about, and not ever land
owner is a skilled orchardist. A person
OF wealth and leisure who can wait in i
luxury for the returns, can, if the taste
runs in such direction, watch the devel-
opement OF fruit farm with an immense
amount of satisfaction, and in time point
with pride to the beauty and proftableness
of the result.
1t is essentially fruit section, and yet
not over Is per cent of the land is devoted
to that purpose. The hills pasture much
dairy stock, and the valley lands are mainly
utilized for wheat, barley, hay, vegetables,
and hops. Excepting in case of the last
mentioned, which on the alluvial lands
along the creeks yield an average of i 800
pounds to the acre, that market at good
prices, the land is not used for the pur-
poses for which it is best adapted, and, as
cultivated the net yield will more often be
less than $40 per acre than over that amount
Owners of these lands complain that values
are too high, and that the land is not
worth prevailing prices, but it is only evil
dence that they are non-progressiVe. and
not alive to the opportunities at their COM
mand. All deciduoUs fruits thrive to per-
fiction, but the French prune Bartlett pear
and the vine for light, dry table wines are
classed as specialties and challenge COM
parison either in quantity or quality of
yield with any section of the world.
OF course not all fruits thrive equally
well Gin all these varieties of Soils Expert
ments have taught that the black adobe,
cold but very strong soil, to the south and
southwest, while not adapted to grape cul-
ture, can show as fine prune and pear or
chards as can be grown; the rocky hilltops
east of town = lands that few years
since would have been classed as wholly
worthless-are covered with olive orchards
six and eight yeare old and bearing. and
! which it does not seem possible could be
excelled, and the sioping hillsides, with
their perfect drainage, stand at the head
with grapes for claret. Riesling, port and
sherry wines. The production of the grape
for these wines is the chief industry in the
fruit line, and although not profitable to
satisfaction the past season, there is that
expression of faith in the ultimate success
of this speciality that manifes,s itself in
the enlarging of old vineyards and the
planting of new ones.
Vines come into bearing at three and
four years, but are not considered as ma
ture until the seventh or eighth year, at
which age the vineyards average from three
and half TO four tons to the acre. A
ton OF grapes presses out from lao to 200
| gallons of wine. The vince cellars of Santa
Rosa are numbered among the most ia
| nous Of the new world, and their manu-
| facture for The season OF 1888 from grapes
r.ised IL the immediate vicinity amounted
t. over geo 600 gallons.
The tendency of the present time is to-
wards the subdivision of the largest hold
ines The time has come when men can
not afford to pasture cattle and raise hay,
wheat and barley on lands so valuable.
Tracts ranging in size from one acre to
forty are fairly plentiful in the market, the
smaller tracts of one and two acres lying
adjacent to the city and intended for SUBJ
urban villas 1t is not expected that less
| than eighteen or twenty acres would be de-
sirable to one who sought for profitable
investment for home and upon which to
make living for his family. To person
,, in search of such home, with capital suf-
ficient to choose location capable of salts
&