Los Angeles herald., 1891-05-26
THE PRODUCTIVE BOOM.


Boom notes-notes founded on boom
production-are very abundant in Los
Angeles of late. A reporter of the HER
AID, for instance, has learned from the
officials of the Santa Fe railway COM
pany that that corporation alone are
shipping to the east from three to eight
carloads of potatoes a day. The Santa
Fe officials admit that the Southern Pa
cifc railway company controls even a
larger area of potato producing country
than their own road, and we are thus
confronted with the proposition that
now from six to sixteen carloads
of that tuber are being daily
shipped from this county to east
ern cities. These large shipments will
continue until the first of July, when
the eastern farmers will take a hand in
the game. The same informant who
gave the reporter of the HERALD these
interesting facts states that there are
now fully $4,000 acres in potatoes in Los
Angeles county, and that the railway
average on recorded production in this
county is half carload to the acre.
Taking no account OF home consumption
this would give us 5000 carloads of spuds
as available for the eastern market.
The farming proposition in Los An
geles county is one OF unusual interest.
Take potatoes, for instance. There is
no difficulty whatever in making here
abouts three crops year of this escu-
lent. We gave an instance some time
ago of the wonderful spontaneity of our
soil down towards the Vernon district.
A Chinaman to whom Mrs. Anna P.
Spencer leased a portion OF her ranch
raised three crops of potatoes and one
crop OF peas within fourteen months.
Such miracles of vegetation are SO fre-
quent here that nobody is surprised by
them, but they would be very astonish-
ing indeed to the industrious market
gardener of the east-a class which is
greatly needed here. A farmer
in this exceptionally favored re-
gion can raise crop of early po-
tatoes, succeed it by crop of cabbages,
anu OliCu DC iCdQ1 iOI d WlhbCl OlOP VI
early potatoes. He can raise each
specially at the time when it will yield
the most remunerative returns, and he
will frequently be able to sell his cab
bages in the eastern market at ten cents
pound. At such figures man can get
rich on ten acres of land in half dozen
years. A single italian in the neigh :
borhood of Downey last year shipped
ninety carloads made up of cabbages
and caulifowers to the eastern markets,
and got fancy prices for them.
The fact is that California is destined
to supply the east in the future
with both fruit and winter and early
vegetables. While Florida may be
depended upon to produce limited
amount of oranges and some of the other
semi-tropical fruits, the very soil in
which they are grown has to be created.
The Floridian grows no vegetables.
Everything he creates he imports from
New York and other eastern ports. The
section around Norfolk, Virginia, which
gives New York some early spring vege-
tables, cannot enter into the winter COM
petition with US. Then there is the i'm
mense region between Los Angeles and
Chicago whose people must take both
their fruits and their vegetables from
Southern California. AS a matter OF
fact, no industrious man can fail to make
a handsome competency who will engage
in the fruit or vegetable business in Los
Angeles county.
We note that that monumental fraud,
Census Commissioner Robert P. Porter,
lately passed through San Francisco on
his way north. 1t is pretty comment
ary on his statement that only 500 acres
were planted in potatoes during the past
year in Oregon, Washington and Cali
fornia, that single county of the fifty
four counties of California last year
shipped east-to say nothing Of home
consumption-six hundred carloads of
that esculent, and that this year prob
ably six thousand carloads will reach
the same market from the same source.
Los Angeles is the Paradise of the in
dustrious and seli-reliant farmer. Let
him come here and be happy and as vir-
tuous as he pleases.