The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-05-26
ALEXANDRIA VALLEY.
Railroad Rum0rs and Surveying
Operations.
Fruit Prospects Bartlett Pears-Ths Outlook
for Wine-The New Cannery
at Martinez.
Special Correspondent of THE MORNING CALL.

Special Correspondent of THE MORNING CALL.
After the seclusion enforced by the long
dreary winter and impossible roads the
greatest activity seems to be abroad among
the good folk OF the country.
RumOrs of new railroads fill the air. Two
mysterious corps of surveyors have been
seen at work in the neighborhood of
Pacheco and Concord busily driving stakes
and squirting through field glasses for the
purpose, no doubt. of finding the easy
grades for new railroad. One fact that
gives the rumor credit Is that there
has been an application made for
a wharf franchise at Bulls Head.
east. of Mar tinez, and one ship
ment has been made to Pacheco of lumber,
picks and shovels sufficient to supply 800
men. The application was made by the
Contra Costa Terminal Railway Com
pauy," name which is supposed to repre-
sent some large corporation. Rumor says
that the Northern Pacific is at the root of it
all; others lay it at the door of the Atchi-
son, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, but no
one really knows anything about it.
A railroad laid through the center of the
county, tapping the great valleys around
the base of Mount Diablo, a region admira-
bly, adapted for raising fruit and cereals,
would soon double the wealth of the county.
Fruit prospects tor this season are good
for most varieties. Peaches and apricots,
however, will be scarce. Here, as in other
counties, number of trees have been
killed by "sap-sour." a disease caused by
the roots standing for months in the wet
soil, oversaturated by the excessive rainfall
Of last season. A. l.. Bancroft, in IgnaeiO
Valley, has lost seven acres of fine almond
trees, l.. G. Wittenmeyer five acres of
peaches and apricots, William Cluff several
hundred trees, and Mr.. Joost
SIX HUNDRED BEARING PEACH TREES.
Many of these orchards have been re-
planted with Bartlett pears-a very profit
able crop in this county, thriving as well in
wet places as it does in drier soil.
Several hundred acres of trees have been
planted in the vicinity of Concord this year.
A Mr.. Busby has set out several hundred
olive trees, as the beginning of a sixty-two-
acre tract, which he intends devoting ex-
clHsively to olive-culture.
Grapes of all kinds promise an abundant
yield. Tokay grapes raised in the Alham-
bra Valley are OF the finest quality and
are in great demand for Eastern shipment.
Large quantities of Muscats Rose Peru,
Cornichon and Black Ferrera are raised
and shipped by the thousand boxes to Ore
gon and Washington. All Of these varieties
are firm, hard and comparatively dry,
reaching their destinations in better shape
than grapes grown in mOister. warmer
counties.
THE OUTLOOK FOR WINE
Is also encouraging. Since the vignerons
have learned that cool, substantial cellars
and careful cellar practice are essential to
the production of really choice varieties of
wine, the general quality of California
wines has greatly improved. One man in
the Alhambra Valley has constant de-
mand for all the wine he can make at
so cents gallon. His best wine is the
Medoc claret, blend Of Cabernet
smooth and of high bouquet and vi
Mostly. He also makes sweet Sau-
terne, a blend Of Semillon, Sauvgnon-
blanc and Muscadelle de Bordelais,
the three grapes of which the Chateau
Yquem is made. This sweet Sauterne when
aged will be extremely choice. Mr.. Swett's
wine-grapeS are all raised on steep hill
sides, SO precipitous that 1t seems hardly
possible that horses can pillow and cultivate
the ground.
THE LABOR is COSTLY
And the crop much less than that of bot
tom land, but the grapes become ripe, mel
low ana high favored and more than pay
for extra expense.
John Muir, the well-known writer and
explorer, owns a beautiful vineyard and
orchard next 10 that of Mr.. John SWEET.
He divides his time about evenly between
experimenting his place, writing and ex-
pIoring. He has just completed an article
on the Yosemite Valley, which will appear
in the Century" before long. There are few
descriptive writers who can portray nature
with as much vigorous ideality and at the
same time strict fidelity as Mr.. Muir. In a
month he goes East for short time, and
after his return he hopes to 60 to Alaska.
In the upper end OF the valley, Judge
Ames of the firm of Ames & DERRICK has
bought fine tract of 100 acres, which he
has planted in fruit and vines.
The AlhambIa Valley has within the
past few years become among city men
favorite spot for suburban residences,
where they can go on Sunday and holidays.
1t is less than two hours travel from San
Francisco. MIR. Huefner of the German
Dem0krat comes up once week to his de-
lightful twenty-acre farm; Colonel Bee
about as often; William Cluff of Cluff
Bros, A. L. Bancroft, Richard Gray of the
railroad and several others run up for
week at time as often as business will
permit.
movement is on foot under the ener-
getic management of A. l.. Bancroft and
few other residents OF the lgnacio Valley
to name the roads in the county and erect
posts at all crossroads. 1t is to be hoped
that they will select euphonious Names and
that they will keep the roads in a condition
worthy of the same. Contra Costa County
has great natural advantages, and were it
not for the poor roads, 1t would be a perfect
spot for
COUNTRY DWELLINGS.
The new cannery at Martinez has begun
operations. Quantities of salmon are being
packed now that the difficulties with the
fishermen have been settled. The cannery
is a large building, erected originally for
the steel works which crack brained en-
thusiast with "a new process of his own"
fondly imagined could be made to run ont
the Bessemer. The little process of his
own did not work, however, so the building
ana the costly machinery have been re-
posing in dust and rust ever since.
The cannery is thoroughly equipped with
modern appliances for economizing labor.
One cleverly constructed machine is fed at
the. rate of 1900 an hour with cans filled
with salmon. 1t crowds the covers on;
rolls the cans along with their upper edges
dipping in a trough filled with acid to
make the solder stick. They are then
rolled along a trough filled with melted
solder which Theoretically seals tho cans
The cannery will soon begin to put up
cherries.
This enterprise, IL successful, will prove
Of great value to the fruit-grOwers of the
county by enabling them to dispose of their
fruit at home. The cannery proposes to
ship green fruits to Eastern markets, where
they have already selected agents and dis
tributing points.
A queer thing happened in the upper end
of the Alhambra Valley the other day.
Two young men thought they had struck a
coal vein, so they began to tunnel into the
hillside. They found no coal, but at a
depth OF fifteen feet they struck large
volume of water, which on ANALYSIS proved
to be a mineral water containing iron, sui
phur and bOrax. If on development il
should prove highly therapeutic, there may
be a fortune in II for those two young fellows.
EMILE TRACY Y. SWEET