Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1890-04-26
A California Letter.
AthIone, Cal, April 5, 100


ceived always glad to hear from
you. Although / am So years old to-
day still feel that I have a share in
the old home circle. Your letter has
reused me up on the fishing question.
Would be glad to get in one end Of
the boat with you when there are
plenty of fish. / do not fish as much
now as in former years, in fact have
not been fishing for more than a year.
We are more than 20 miles from
good fishing, j intend taking fish
ing spree this spring if l can do SO.
Bye's home is near the San Joaquin
River. Her father-in-law has invited
me up to go fishing with him. l take
considerable sport with my gun; not
many days that / do not kill more or
less game, mainly rabbits and SPUR
rels. l carry my gun in cart or
spring wagon all the time when / am
on the ranch, and that is nearly every
day. Our farms are too large to walk
over for pleasure. Killed several
jack rabbits from my spring wagon
yesterday. But would rather catch
fish with hook and line than any 9th
er sport l get into. Fish are much
finer here than they used to be there.
Carry more fat. When / get time to
go fishing / will let you know, SO you
can go with us. We will take the
gun also and shoot rabbits on the
way to and from the fishing.
We are blowing and will be for
some time yet. Crop prospects are
Frightening up considerably. Even
the volunteer that looked as if it
would not make much, if any thing,
is coming out rapidly. Ibegan plow-
ing my summer fallow land when
thought it would not pay to harvest.
Think it would have made 10 or IL
bushels per acre. Will have 10 acres
Of it. Our blowing is very difficult on
account of vegetation being so large
that we can not pillow it under. Our
crops look fine. But for the fact that
much of it was drowned out we would
have the best crop we have grown,
up to this time of the year. We can
never tell what we will have here
until it is harvested. Like other
countries, subject to mishaps, but up
on the whole guess no country beats
California. The long wet winter had
very demoralizing influence on our
financial matters. Money is proba.
bly, plentiful enough, but difficult fol
many farmers to get, on account Of
being deprived of the means o.
reaching it. Hundreds of thousand;
of tons of wheat have been kept in
store on account of the continued
rains, until the prices have become
unsatisfactory, mainly for want O
tonnage to carry our surplus to mar
ket. This is the first time since ]
have been here that vessels could no
be had to carry ouf surplus produce
to market. Wheat merchants con
troll freights, owing to the scarcity
of vessels, SO that the wheat is of les
value to the farmer on account o
transportation. The Liverpool mar
7 kets would now allow us $l.30 pc
CIV t. if freights were down to thei
Y usual price. Our farmers or mer
chants will be compelled to carr.
over from two to three hundred
!. thousand tons of wheat for wan
of tonnage. / sold what wheat | hat
on hand few days ago at $1.14 70
shipping, $l.16 for milling.
/ am rather surprised that yol
have forgotten the year we came t
California. We came in the fall G
:, 1870. Arrived at Stockton on tn
10th of October. Will be 90 years lot
of next October. \ =
The boys are blowing. When 20
/ SOW oats again if you will bring you
work out here l will pillow and see
your land some afternoon. Laur
!. says we can do better than that, W
can give you hundred acres alread
headed out, will be ready to cut i
ten days. We are running 6 team
of 5 horses and mules each. Four {
our own and 2 of Mr.. Wooton's. II
is paying us back for blowing we di
for him, while our land was too W.
to plow. We pillow about 80 acres pr
- day now. 1 am done blowing m
own land first time. When we g,
done blowing forthe boys, will plo
mine again. Our work will crowd l
. this spring. Our hay crop will /
= ready for us before we are done fe
lowing.
We are pettinp well of the HpriDne