Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1892-04-21
a GREAT CLIMATE.

"a GREAT CLIMATE.
AN ENeLIsHMAN GIVES HIS OPINION
OF CALIFORNIA.
Soras yaatnres Of = Western State Com
pared "a Engiand-Good Advice fol
rhase Who Think Of Making Theil
Home In That Marvellous Country.
am writing on Jan. ID Over in tht
mild climate of England my fellow gar
densrs are protecting their plants from
frost and sheltering carefully all those
potted plants which they are going K
force for the market. California il
large-twice the size of England,
should say. But If you want to find s
place here where you would have to d.
the like in your profession you would
have TO hunt the cool and somewhat
treacherous bay surroundings of our me
tropolis, or you would have to climb thu
peaks Of our Sierras, and then you would
have to reach an elevation of 5000 feet
before finding places with real winter
We have no winter here, and what il
generally called winter is understood t
be the rainy season. This season is very
mild, and we work at our places here il
the foothills Of the Sierras in shir1
sleeves today and call it most beaud
ful day.
Our foothills rival the valley; we have
the high mountains at the back of u!
protecting MS from the dry winds of tht
plains east of them and giving us tht
benefit of the warm reflection Of the sun
which shines here almost every day
Our grapes ripen at 1900 feet elevation
but seven days later than those from
the Fresno region; while our climate i
not SO hot, being easier reached by the
winds which blow every day from the
ocean. We can dry raisins in the sur
in spite of the occasional early rains
which set in. once in awhile in the hay
ing season, at the end Of July.
The highest temperature have re
corded for four years was 112 degs
Fair. in the shade. must say for 6
person coming from cool climate, Like
that of England, this is anything but
agreeable. But then 112 degs. up in the
mountains feels nothing like that heat
IN the valley, where no air may blow al
the time. Hot spells last usually from
three to FIVE days, and then again we
record 30 degs. to S5 degs., or even q
degs. Fahr., for weeks at a time. By
the Iime person has been living lere
for say FIVE years he gets pretty well
used to it and lives through it just like
everybody else.
A HEALTHY CLIMATE.
J. It is healthy here. The air is won
,derfully pure, and the fogs which visit
us from the ocean are quite pleasant
pure and refreshing. The Coast range
is different altogether. 1t is affected by
the evaporation of the ocean, and conse
quently cooler and temperate. The
Coast range cuts the valley sharply
from the ocean border, and its peculiar
ity is best demonstrated by alluding tt
the fact that, while the grape never
ripens at San Francisco, ten miles from
it, just behind the Coast range, there
lies the land which supplies the city
nearly all the year round with the most
delicious strawberries.
Most people who come to California
usually step and stay at San Francisco
The climate is more agreeable, and thers
are more fellow countrymen, andall tht
advantages which city life offers. Bu'
the most acceptable openings are in tht
interior. Gardeners, as rule, are peo
pie who are least afraid of anything, ant
| if they cannot get q job at their owl
trade, very well, !, they try another.
Fruit growing is ut its very best u
California, and its climate is adapted t.
every kind In every part. The grape
VIII grow and ripen, rich in alcohol o.
sour like 8 Riesling, just as you choose
| ,topick your location. The orangeis a
home south and north up to 1900 feet
and, wonderful to note, the apple viii
ripen side by side with this subtropica
fruit. Olives seem destined to shade
every hillside which now gives ground
to-pines and underbrush, and peache.
and apricots bring such wonderful re
turns that it is not surprising that Eng
lish capital seeks Investment by the
million.
GOOD ADVICE.
IF only the ground is kept cultivated
it needs no irrigation, and shoots of ten
twelve or even fifteen feet in length or
two-year-old trees are something per
son may see from the railroad car while
travelling through our glorious state.
The population Of California is still
small. One million and a quarter is al
this states census gave as the numbe,
of inhabitants. There viii be homes foi
just as many as may choose to come and
work their way. The great danger is
that the warm climate and the ease with
which the soil gives return will make
the people too lazy. The young genera
ton springing up at the present is moi
as energetic as their forefathers, from
whatever country they came. Times
have been too easy for the old folks ~
they did not make any money through
labor they did so in trading, and as 8
last and most important resource they
can fall back upon their real estate and
turn into money what the emigrants are
willing to buy. The estates are toe
large altogether at present, and the
more they are cut up the better il
will be.
The man who comes here ought to