The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1897-07-17

So the reader will understand that ev.
erything successfully grown in this val,
ley, whether it be grass, alfalfa, grain or
fruit. is on soil artidolally watered, the
details Of which I will definitely explain
at another time. The orchards, meadows
and pastures are overapwed periodically
as needed. Rich soil, hot weather mid
plenty of water is what does the. bust
ness. : = . sszs Il IS /, =$sss:s
Every Eastern person has heard I
great deal of the wild flowers ia Cali
fornia. journeyeds across the plains q
miles to see the wonders that are pre-
sented each spring. I was repaid Tor
the trip. Bakersfield, my temporary
stopping point, is an oasis in a desert.
The town and country roundabout for
several miles in some directions is under
irrigatinR ditch. Wherever water is put
on the soil and the land intelliRently
titled, there are always satisfactory re-
suits. I was greatly surprised at tho
wonderful, the unprecedented growth OF
fruit trees, grass and alfalfa, az we'll %
many Towering plants; but after i had
ridden two hours in southeasterly d.
rection, I had left "grain.f fields and Or.
chards behind me, and was in the midst
of desert which was literally aflame
with blossom,nR wild flowers. The
spring rains and sunshine had brought
them out in profusion, and there before
me was the wild poppy, the lrpine, the
cammas, the wild ohrysanthemum, the
sand lily and baby blue eyes, not in
small clusters, nor in acre tracts, but in
whole sections, in square mile blocks, q
wealth OF blue and red and yellow and
purple as far as the eye could discern.
The earth was literally matted. Such
sight never before had I seen. could
have picked a wagon-load, and the alb
sence of those plucked would never have
been noticed. And I gazed ont across
the country and feasted my eyes upon
the panorama. Thought I, what would
Eastern and Nothern people give for an op
portunity to step into this great natural
flower garden, and pluck nossgayss ana
drink in the perfume that il beng was
ted on the desert air. + s.
Il have now been in the state loug
enough to note that everything smscks
of business here. It is the ardent desire
of every Californian to do nothing Oh 2
small scale. This is strikingly demon.
strated in the liberal roadways, extern.
sive ranches, great cattle herds, prodig-
ious orchards, the thousand.acre grain
field, the big salaries paid state and
county officers, and the many schemes
for advertising the states resources. -:
The fruits now rpening and in mar.
ket are the peach, fig, apricot, cherry,
strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, mulber-
ry, apple, orange, lemon and lime. There
are no bananas nor pineapples raised for
maket in the state. Most of tho citrus
fruits are grown in the Southern part.
The wheat and barley harvest is now
nearly over. There is very little timothy
hay grown. Alfalfa is used for stock,
feeding in the valleys, and barley and
wheat is cut quite green and fed with
out threshing by many. '*
In my next I will explain how theabig
stock ranches are conducted; my trip q
cross plains and over mountains, through
q sparsely settled country, where I put
up with ranchmen AID isolated farmers,
who 60 to market for supplies about
twice year, Respectfully, 80
e. W. HoAa. -