Los Angeles herald., 1890-10-10
FORTUNATE FILLMORE.
MILK AND HONEY DISCOUNTED By
BEANS AND POTATOES.
ple-Some Figures as to the Profits of
Vegetable and Fruit Raising.

merchandise store has been opened,
one or two others increased in size, and
seem to be doing better business than
they did last year. One or two saloons
have disappeared. A handsome new
school building, costing about 81 900, is
being completed, and, from appear
ances, about twice as much business is
being done here today as was done last
season at this time. Some fifty cars OF
fruit were dried here during the past sea-
son. Considerable corn and several car
loads of potatoes have been shipped
from the station, and during the next
few weeks good many more will fol-
low.
A great many orange trees have been
planted within the year and they are
doing we'll. Other fruit trees have also
been put out and all seem to be grow
ing finely, showing that both citrus and
deciduous fruits are at home in this To-
cality.
Fillmore has had prosperous year
and bids fair to continue to grow. 1t
was told your correspondent that three
or four families are on their way from
the east at the present time and the
only roof to cover their heads is over a
hall, with grocery store underneath the
hall.
Bardsdale, across the river, is also in
creasing in population and wealth.
Some Of the stories told by the farmers
in that vicinity seem almost incredible,
Following are few, and for fear that
the many readers of the HERALD will
think your scribe is an inveterate Cali.
fornia story teller, 1 will give the names
of the farmers who are so fortunate as to
own land at Bardsdale, 80 if anyone
questions my veracity they can refer by
letter or in person to the producers
themselves.
Last May J. G. Wilson, who looks like
a man of ''sterling qualities planted
three acres to Irish potatoes. In August
he dug and loaded two cars with 2l0 cen.
tails each, kept 25 centals for seed, and
sold his neighbor SO centals-481 centals
from three acres. Sold for 81 per GENITAL
AS soon as the ground could be prepar-
ed, it was irrigated and again planted to
potatoes, and the prospect for an equal
ly good crop next January is favorable.
The probability is that potatoes will be
worth at least fifty, if not a hundred,
per cent. more then than they were in
August. If this be so, Mr.. Wilson will
make more from his three acre potato
patch than many man will make in
New England from his splendid farm Of
one, two or three hundred acres. And
l fancy there is many a business man,
with thousands of dollars capital and a
score or more of clerks, who would be
glad if his ledger showed as favorable a
balance.
w. T. Robertson. another prosperous
farmer in the same neighborhood, put
in 7 acres of barley in February last and
from this he cut 301s tons of hay, which
he sold at $40 per ton, and Immediately
planted to potatoes, which will yield
from 125 to $50 centals per acre.
Martin Stoll has done about the same
on portion of his land in the vicinity.
r. Hassee is making his fortune from
lima beans, which did we'll in this part
of the valley.
r. G. Surdam, after cutting two tons
of hay to the acre, irrigated and planted
to black-eyed beans, which will yield
one and half tons to the acre. Some
of this land, from which the barley was
cut, has produced $500 pounds Of pink
beans to the acre, and other portions of
it from 80 to 100 bushels of corn to the
acre. One of the most remarkable places
of this whole section is that of
Henry Clagus, who began his
place two years ago last spring, setting it
to prunes, peaches, apricots, plums and
grapes. Around his grove OF thirty
acres he set eucalyptus trees, which are
now thirty feet high, and from his five
acre vineyard two and half years, from
muscat cuttings, he has gathered fifteen
tons of grapes. Among the trees, during
this time, he has raised splendid crops
OF beans. There are in and around this
thrifty valley some thirty or more
prosperous farmers owning from ten to
forty acres each and raising all sorts OF
profitable crops, but paying more par
ticular attention to potatoes.
T. j. Roberts has very handsome
four-acre orange grove two years old in
bearing. w. S. lie Valle has also a
pretty young orange and lemon grove
only two years old, and many OF the
trees in bearing and looking as
is one that beats them all, and it comes
from G. G. Riley, little way out from
Bardsdale. He has a small grove OF a
little less than four acres which yielded
$500 pounds of dried fruit per acre,
which at ten cents per pound, means
$3.50 per acre, or about 81 400 from this
little grove. G. w. Edwards has small
grove equally as good. Brice Grimes,
whose productive ranch is located far
ther up one of the fertile cafions leading
out OF the Bardsdale valley, has prune,
peach and other fruit trees which have
made most remarkable growth and pro-
duced fruit of the most superior quality,
and in quantities which would surprise
the natiye Californian. Beans are not ex-
tensively cultivated around Bardsdale
and Fillmore. Why this is so is aprob-
lem, as they seem to do as well here as
further down the valley. Corn is cul-
tivated extensively and produces abun-
dainty. A good many cabbages. sweet
potatoes and onions are also grown in
the vicinity with profit. Farther back
in the caiIons are many very profitable
bee and stock ranches. With the fav-
orable condition of the horticultural
and agricultural interests of this Sec
tion and with the oil districts on either
side of it, and with it's immense brown
stone quarries located but mile or two
up the Sespe, it looks as though Fillmore
might some day become town OF no
little Importance.
A lodge of the Independent Order
of Forresters was organized here
last Friday evening with the following
list of officers; VIM. Shields, G. ID. III.
G. r.; Erastus Nichols, r. s.; VIM.