River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1891-08-20
CALIFORNIA LETTER.
SAN JOSE, Cal. July 81, 1891.


in our beautiful summer land.
am better prepared TO tell you of
some of its beauties than if had writ
ten earlier, because of some delight
full trips out where the peaches grow,
at the Willows where cousin lives
and to Berryessa, the home of Ii. +.
Lord ana j. Moe.
1t is always the unexpected that
happens, It's said, and this was very
pleasantly proved to my satisfaction
the other morning when Mr.. j. III.
Lord called for me to go out to their
ranch before l had eaten my break.
fast. Hastily swallowing cup of
coffee, / was soon seated behind his
high spirited horse and swiftly carried
out into a new world.
Driving in among the apricot trees
we came upon lively and busy scene.
Johnnie Moe and his neighbor, Mr..
Grant. have gone to drying their
fruit. and beneath large shed were
men, women and children to the mum
Der of sixty engaged in pitting the
fruit, and spreading it on trays to be
carried out and laid in the Gal. sun to
dry. From the various tables came
pleasant greetings from Della, Grace,
Mark and Cleon, who were among the
busiest OF the group.
Mr.. Lord pointed out a granger, as
he called him, and on nearing him we
beheld the familiar face of Hersie,
whom we had last met selling goods
at D. A. Hale's, but the needs and
pleasures of his orchard home have
won him from the store.
My lap was soon filled with the lus-
cious fruit by Jay Moe, who, by the
way, has grown up into young man
hood, and l scarcely think would be
recognized by his River Falls friends.
His fathers right hand man, was the
impression we gained by what we
saw.
After interviewing them all, we
drove on among the trees and gathered
apricots unchallenged by any one; but
the peaches, although presenting IA
lovely color, were nevertheless hard
and uninyiting to the taste. TOO
early" seemed TO be written on each.
We called on Alice, but she was away,
and we did not wait. but drove on
past j. Ii. Flickenger's large orchard
and cannery, the j. Ii. +. whose mon
ogram you often see Oh the canned
fruit at home. tie cans his own fruit
from 800 acres and employs during the
season five hundred workers.
Passing ON we soon came to the
twin cottages belonging TO Hersie and
his father, where we found Augusta
busy with household cares and lonely
without her mother who has gone to
Washington To visit her son. The
apricots here were immense, and the
trees were loaded to their uttermost
capacity, many branches had broken
beneath their load of golden fruit and
were lying on the ground. Mr.. Lord
said they would gather thirty tons of
fruit from trees planted three years
ago last winter. Theirs were the
incest looking of any we saw.
We met Charley Coy with boxes of
the same, from which | was allowed
to Gull tie largest to bring to Mr.. X.
who is very fond of this variety of
fruit. While speaking on this subject
| must tell you his MIR R's) opinion.
lie SAYS bakers dozen before and
after meals are beneficial both as an
appetizer and help to digestion. When
you are told that the average apricot
measures six and one half inches in
circumference you may think this is
an exaggeration, but | can testify to
one dozen peaches, that friend
brought me, disappearing very sudden
ly, and on looking for them, to say
that was aStoniShed is very mild
saying. l have known of his eating
fifteen before supper but they were OF
a smaller size. | don't wonder that
he likes this climate. This is a
depression so we will go back To look
over large stack of hay which Mr..
l.. said would give them thirty tons
from five acres which he thought was
..good enough for Cal. hay CROP
l asked him if he were in any other
country if he would not call it straw
stack, and he admitted that he
should for hay here is cut from
wheat and oat fields.
look over what | have written and
realize how lille l have told you OF
the fruit and after it is told, how little
YOU can realize the amount. Think
of 100 tons Of peaches. Johnnie Moe
has sold this amount not gathered yet.
One can get better ideas by riding by
these large orchards and looking down
the long rows of trees, covered with
fruit and going into the cannerys and
dryers.
Arthur works at j. NJ. Dauson' s
where they employ between three and
four hundred workmen, and he told
me they stamped AZ thousand cans in
one day, and the San Jose Fruit Pack
ing Co. 81 thousand in the same time.
The latter Co. is the largest in this
vicinity.
only wish that you and all your
readers could eat it picked fresh from
the trees for you would not recognize
it as the same you get in Wisconsin,
for it is picked and sent there so green
that you lose the true flavor.
A while ago Mr.. and Mrs. Fortune,
the girls, and Rod McGregor called
and spent the evening and the good
things of Cal. and Wis. were fully dis
cussed. The conversation was very
interesting to one hungry for every
item of home news.
While all admitted that in many
fruit, earthquakes
&C., Cal. was superior TO Wis,
the latter was most certainly ahead in
the Injuries of cold water strawberry