Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-05-04
PROGRESSIVE POMONA.
The Flourishing queen Colony o
the Ennfhilla,

The FlOur1shing queen colony o'
the Foothills.
Recently a HERALD man has made
tour of certain parts of the county, and
now that he is at home again he pro
poses to tell what he saw at one town, al
least, on his travels. That town ID 20
mona, situated just at the dividing line
between Los Angeles and San Bernar-
dino counties, and stretching from the
base of the lofty Sierra Madre range to
the lowest level of the plane at the Chino
ranch. Pomona is a place OF perhap'
5000 people, with four banks, churches
of all denominations, good schools, fine
hotel. large business blocks, occupied by
concerns that carry lines of goods OF
really metropolitan proportions. The
water supply at Pomona is not surpassed
in copious volume or undefiled purity
at any point in this section, and it is
approached in this respect by very few
of the most favored spots. Pomona is a
place rightly named. The Goddess OF
Fruits is the proper divinity to preside
over its destinies, for it is prominently
a place of fruits. Orchards of trees sur
round it for miles, and their products are
various and of the most perfect types
There is no better land in Southern
California for the culture of the citrus
fruit than here, and there are but very
few areas that can compare with the
district around Pomona. There is
plenty of water, light, friable and new
soil, slope to the rising sun that gives the
trees the full benefit Of his
vivifying rays, and at the same
time affords the most perfect
system of drainage. The people are
awake to the advantages of their situa-
ton, and have added this year 70 900 to
1OO,OOO trees to their already extensive
orange orchards. These young trees
have for the most part been imported
from Florida. The nurserymen are
planting and grating good deal of new
stock this year, so as to supply Young
three or four years before there is enough
of this sort of stock to meet the de-
mand.
On tie evening which the HERALD man
spent in Pomona there was large public
gathering to discuss the question of hand
ling the deciduous fruit crop now on the
b10Cby anu q COlluIltbCO aPpOldCOu W
gather statistics reported that there was
large crop of apricots on the trees, the
total crop promising to be $50 to 460 tons.
Peaches were reported to be somewhat
short, but it was thought that the crop
would aggregate $50 tons. There is a
large crop of Bartlett pears, good crop
of prunes, and most other fruit. 1t was
estimated that there will be in all not
10 -, 81
fruits. This is 100000 pounds
of fruit to be disposed of in some way.
This would require 100000 two pound
cans to take the crop to market. There
is cannery at Pomona, with good
building and plant capable of canning
10000 tins day. at that rate it would
require 100 days to can the crop. April
cots are ripe in the latter part of June,
and the pears and prunes are not ripe
before the fall. The only rush on the
factory will come on the apricots, OF
which there are $50 tons to can. and they
must be handled in about q month. At
the rate of 10000 cans day, it would
require seventy days to can $50 tons.
The proposition before the meeting
was to buy the old cannery and to incor-
porate with capital of $4,000. The
fruit is estimated to be worth at the can
merry $30a ton or $4,000 for the crop.
There are cans to buy and labor to pay.
But of course the apricot crop will all be
sold before the peach crop comesi in, and
the working capital will be turned over
two or three times during the season.
There is no doubt that the incorporation
will be effected and that the canuery will
be a great success. It is stated that the
Los Angeles or Cotton cannery would pay
$50 for the Pomona fruit, which called
out vigorous and patriotic expression
of opinion to the effect that it would be
better that Pomona can and sell her own
fruit.
There are several fine new blocks 60
ing up in Pomona, the handsomest of
them all being the new editice being
erected for the use of the First National
Bank, a solid and liberal institution,
whose assets like those of the Peoples
Bank, and the Bank of Pomona, indicate
q very solid financial condition on the
part of the people of that part of the val.
ley. No wonder this is so. The orange
groves of Pomona pay profits of $500 an
acre, and the prunes pay about as much.
Pomona is preparing for gala day at
. near date. Rev. G. f. Loop, one OF
the wise and energetic founders Of the
town, during recent visit to Italy pur-
chased fine statue of the Goddess Po-
mona, a copy OF one Of the masterpieces
of the palmiest days of Greek art. The
marble is expected from Italy in a few
days, and on its arrival and setting up
there will be high jinks in the town.