Los Angeles herald., 1890-05-22
CALABASAS.
A Newsy Letter from Very Pictur-
esuue and Fertile Region.

esque and Fertile Region.
EDITORS HERALD-The above-named
place is just thirty miles northwest from
Los Angeles, and is located on what was
known as the Las Virgenes grant. Set
tiers began taking up claims on this
grant about three years ago, and after a
long treat at litigation they finally OBJ
tanned the land by decision of the su-
preme court of the United States. At
the time this decision was made it found
many of the settlers financially embar-
rassed, they having used nearly all their
means in prosecuting their claims in
the courts, and none made any progress
in improving the claims, because no one
had faith enough to work piece of land
that rested on uncertainties.
Now that litigation is settled, so far as
the ownership of the land is concerned,
each settler has gone to work with a vim
that shows that Calabasas some time in
the near future will play conspicuous
part in the products of Los Angeles
county. Much of the farming has been
experimental this season, as many of the
settlers did not know just what kind of
produce this foothill soil would
yield best.
Mr.. Ijams, the genial postmaster ard
station-keeper, has just harvested a
large crop of barley hay that yielded two
tons per acre. He has also small crop
of wheat that will go twenty-five bushels
per acre. Mr.. Ijams has faith in these
foothills as a fruit-growing district, and
has planted variety of fruit trees. He
has made an addition to his dwelling
house by building room, which will be
used for the postofice.
His prepossesslng daughter, Miss Net
tie, can always be found at her post of
duty, tending to the mail.
Mr.. Douglas has taken the lead in the
planting, he having planted more than
anyone in the neighborhood. The varie-
ties planted by Mr.. Douglas are the
apple, peach, plum, apricot and pear,
than any other kind. Mr.. Douglas has
ing locality.
Mr.. Grannis has a fine crop of wheat,
which we think if harvested and threshed
would be gigantic yield; but how to
get wheat threshed is the question, as
there is no threshing-machine in this
part OF the valley. Why don't some one
district? We think that such an invest
ment would be safe, as many would SOW
grain if they were sure of getting it
threshed.
Mr.. McAbebs is engaged in diversified
farming, and will tell us what kind of
crops are best adapted to this soil.
Mr.. Gates raised a small flock of
turkeys last year. and sold them in the
Los Angeles market. He found after
deducting express that he had fair
margin left, and so he has gone into
turkey raising on more extensive scale
this year. Mr.. Gates thinks that foot
hill ranch well set in wild oats is the
best place to raise turkeys.
Mr.. French has just harvested crop
OF barley hay that yielded three tons
per acre.
Mrs. French is making twenty rolls of
butter per week from six COWS. She is
raising lots of ducks as an adjunct to
her dairy business. She had a reservoir
made near the house for the ducks 1t
is quite amusing to look at the aquatic
feats OF the ducklings in the reservoir
while the old mother hens run up and
down the bank after their broods.
Mr.. Hill, of Pasadena, is teacher of the
Calabasas school. He is we'll liked and
considered an efficient teacher. The
school closes this month. The advanced
class in arithmetic will not get
through the arithmetic this tenn as
they had expected.
Mr. Fletcher is reading Bellamy's
''Looking Backward" and has grown
enthusiastic over society as described in
the twentieth century. He was con-
vinced long ago that this cut-throat
policy OF competition in our business, in
which one man survives over the ruin OF
another, is all wrong and that change
should be made as soon as possible.
Mr.. Fletcher has been going around
among the neighbors trying to infuse
nationalism into their craniums, but
some of them tell him that he is regu-
lar crank on political economy, and that
his ideas of putting this government into
grand joint stock company, in which
every man, woman and child will be an
equal shareholder, are chimerical, and
will never be realized by the present
generation.
Mr.. Lorden has finished his store
room and has bought stock of goods
and is now ready to supply the settlers
in groceries, farming implements, etc.
Mr.. Lorden is determined that the
Calabasas boys shall not go dry these
hot summer days, so he has put up q
sideboard in little back room, where
the boys can get beverages to suit the
taste. FOoT HILL SETTLER.
Calabasas, San Fernando valley, May
IS, 1890.
The Very Latest