The record-union., 1893-04-29

| than the general farmer of the East
Here are rich, loamy bottoms that will
produce abundantly grain, grasses, roots
and fruits. Grain and stock may be the
staples upon these farms, but
THE FRUIT ORCHARD
VIII be an important adjunct Cattle are
pastured and fattened upon alfalfa. and
there is no long and expensive season OF
/ winter feeding to interfere with the
profits. Barley is sown for hay, and cut
when in the milk, giving cheap and
nutritious feed for such time as the pas
| lures are scant. Cattle and horses are
almost invariably in good condition,
which fact in itself is strong testimony
that they are in good agricultural coun-
try. | have driven day after day behind
town-kept horses, sleek and fat, that have
no food throughout the year but this bar
| ley hay, and the total cost of whose keep
does not exceed $50 per year.
This barley-hay is one of the institu-
tions OF agricultural California. Vast
areas of it are grown upon the ranches;
1t is the 'catch- crop" in young orchards;
and in the ''boom towns" where build
ing failed to keep pace with the laying
out of town lots, the interstices are sown
with it. Along the country roadsides,
where often there are no fences to sepa-
rate the farms and orchards from the
highway, the edges of the road are sown
'ihAA pAiAO01 hhAOh SGIN6S LnG uOuDlS
purpose of keeping the weeds down and
affords a bit of good pasturage for the
COWS which, by the way, are staked, and
not allowed to roam at large. This free
dom from weeds and the strips and
patches OF vivid green everywhere help
10 make the landscape very pleasing; and
| it is
a FEATURE OF CALIFORNIA LIFE,
Both in town and. country, that one meets
with little which is unsightly. Perhaps
thlS Is because the people have become so
used to presenting their best aspect TO the
| on-looker, so accustomed 10 the endeavor
to live up to" the great claims made for
their State that this best aspect has finally
become the habitual and universal one.
Aside from the conventional life and
these conventional industries of the val
leys there is an agricultural life in the
! mountains which possesses some strongly
attractive features. The two industries
followed there are sheep-ranching and
Bookkeeping. Both are suited to men
whose tastes impel them toward a some
what retired and unconventional mode
of life. The former demands the more
capital and is productive of the larger
results; but the latter is no mean indus
try when considered in the aggregate,
and is often very profitable. In all the
mountain canyons, sometimes hidden far
away from the routes of travel, the bee
AtIShCo ellC 4OuiNiY tLGy are VI any 0A-
tent, from dozen up to hundreds of
colonies. The ranch" is the whole can
yon, and the pasturage is limited only by
the flight of the bees. The wealth of the
'bee pasture' that is afforded by the pro-
fusion of wild flowers, and their uninter-
rupted bloom throughout the whole
round year, make this very nearly the
beekeeper's paradise.
1t is not my purpose to indulge in any
statistics, nor to give any estimates or
comparisons regarding the financial re-
ward which the agriculturist may secure,
but rather to suggest mot to infinitely
describe) the various phases of the apri-
culture OF this wonderful State, and its
adaptation to the needs of men who may
be most diverse in their tastes and needs.
This kindly soil and climate
RICHLY REWARD INTELLIGENT LABOR
In whatever line it may be employed.
This very 1act-that the rewards were so
easily earned - has been a stumbling
block to many. Men wholly untitled by
nature, training and disposition, dream
ers, enthusiasts. impracticables and men
TO whom the ''world owed living" have
tlocked here in times past, and have
tailed-as they would have done else
where. Because the conditions for sue
cess were so easy they even neglected the
requisites.
Let me illustrate how easy these condi-
! LlOAS SOlu6IIul0S are. 6SIorQaY l saw q
man planting a great field of potatoes.
His method was simplicity ITSELF The
land had not been broken, as he was
blowing it as the first operation. The
soil fell away from the plow mellow and
crumbllng. Behind him followed a
| helper, who dropped the seed pieces in
the open furrow. The next furrow COW
third furrow seed was dropped again,
and again covered in like manner.
Thus, without harrow or roller, without
ridger or marker or smoother, the crop
was put in. And when the work was
completed the field was level, except
where slight ridge marked the furrows,
and the seed was as perfectly bedded as it
could have been by any expenditure of
| labor whatever. But such ways are de-
luslve. An orange grove or walnut
orchard or vineyard cannot be started in
such haphazard manner.
FACTS FOR HoME-sEEKERs,
In this and other articles which have
prepared for the Independent upon the
agriculture OF the different sections of
our country l have endeavored to keep
the home-Seeker in mind, and to give
such information as might help him to
determine if a certain district would suit
his personal requirements. 1t may be
quite true that the same effort, as intelli-
gently directed, will give as good results
in one place as in another, and that the
| true FL Dorado is vet to be discovered
Be that as it may, there is always a large
contingent of our agricultural population
that is on the lookout for new fields and
new conditions. This feeling is not as
pronounced just now as it was few
years ago, when occurred that remark
able rush toward the grain fields of the
middle West, and it is perhaps tempered
more with discretion. That movement,
! while benefltlnO many indi Vi0ualS ba1 Ia
reactionary effect upon our agriculture
in general by suddenly increasing our
output of staples to such an extent as to
flood the markets of the world. Prices
were depressed so that farmers both in
the new district and the old secured only
the smallest return for their labor. This
condition is gradually righting itself,
| and such another Swarning into given
section, with such another DEVELOPMENT
of given branch of agriculture, is not to
be encouraged. With this
NOTE OF WARNING
1 would say that California offers many
attractions for the agricultural home
seeker. The immigrant to this section
should have two Qualifications moder-
ate amount of money and at least fair
physical health; that is, if he intends to
earn living from the soil. Many men
have come with little money but
| broken in health, and have not succeeded
in their enterprises. Labor is dear, and
If one must depend wholly upon that
which is bought the chances will be
against him. The man without some
capital is equally at disadvantage, be-
cause cheap lands las they are understood
IN the middle VEST are not to be OBJ
tanned here.
Interest is high, so that a man can
hardly afford to buy land on time, unless
he comes directly into the possession of