The herald., 1897-01-03

1t is only during the past few years
that the raising of deciduous fruits for
eastern shipment in a fresh state has as
sumed much Importance in Los Angeles
county. Previously the horticulturists
of this section confined themselves al
| most entirely to the raising of oranges
| and vines. OF late, however, 1t has been
found that some varieties of declduous
| fruit. notably the apricot. prune. nec-
tarine. peach and pear will. under favor-
able conditions, pay profits little II any
less than those which are derived from
citrus fruits, while at the same time
their culture affords many advantages.
! especially to persons of moderate means.
| Land adapted to deciduous fruits may
| be purchased at one-half or even one
third the price that is asked for good
citrus land; the cost of cultivation is
| less, irrigation not being necessary ex-
| cept in some of the interior sectionsi the
| trees begin to bear earlier. and last but
| not least. it is not necessary TO ruSn
! them into market as soon as they are
| ripe. as they can be dried and held for
| good prices.
Shipments of green fruits from Los
| Angeles county to the east have been
made on a commercial scale and there
| is every prospect that before many years
this section will be an active competitor
| of northern California in line of bust
1 hitherto monopolized after the same
| fashion that Southern California has
monopoized the business of shipping or
anges to the east.
In 10 one branch of horticulture has
| more progress been made than in olive
culture. California ripe picked olives
have thoroughly established themselves
in the favor of Californians, and the peo-
pie of the east are beginning to like them
so that the demand is ahead of the sup
ply. not to speak of the oil. which conf
mands high price. y large area or
olive orchard has beenset out during the
past three years and<the nurseries OF
Pomona. the chief center of the industry,
have disposed of several hundred thou-
sand cuttings during the past season.
The outlook for this branch OF hortl-
culture is extremely bright. and II is
not too much to predict that before
many years the product of the olive
groves of Los Angeles county Will be
greater in value than the output or the
orange groves. There are thousands
upon thousands of acres in the county
we'll adapted to olive culture which may
be purchased at from $50 to 800 per acre
or even less, while the demand for pure
olive oil is practically limftless.
One of the industries of this section
which has not been developed so rapidly
as might have been expected is the
growing and shipment of winter Nege-
tables Many carloads of such vegeta-
bles are sent east every winter. but the
demand in the east is greater than the
supply III this branch of horticulture
more than any other the close watching
of the markets is of great Importance
A carload of tomatoes. string beans and
green peas may find profitable market
at good prices in an eastern city at
Christmas time but when half dozen
carloads are dumped in all at once IL
would result in a loss to the shippers.
There are several strips of land in this
county which are comparatively free
from frost and within the confines OF
these belts there is a good opening for
the growing of such vegetables for snip
ment to the east and north. Among the
most noted of these sections at present
are the Cahuenea valley. the upper part
of the San Gabriel valley, around Glen
dora. and the Eagle Rock valley. short
distance northeast of Los Angeles.
There has been no extension of the
grain fields of Los Angeles county dur
ing the past few years. nor IS 1t to be eX-
pected that there will be from now on.
as the land is too valuable for horticul-
tural products to be devoted to grain.
on the other hand there has been large
area planted to alfalfa, the wonderlul
fora ce crop or this section, which yields
half a dozen crops of hay during .iie
wear. With the cutting up OF the Dig
ranches and the spreading OF hortlcui-
ture comes an increased demand 1or
hav. and this state of affairs may be ex-
nactedl to continue from now on. Inc
owner of a good alfalfa field has little
raason to envy his neighbor, the nor
ticulturist. While he many not re-
ceive so much per acre Tor the
product of his land. he has very
uttle work to perfrom no aiiHie,!
about insect and other pests, and little
trouble to find a ready cash market al
good bgures. -.
,rhe only branch of the live stock IN
d,,strv in which there has been any
particular development during the past
two years is in the raising OF hoss:
The development of the hortlcultural
industry has made land too Va!uapie
for the raising of cattle and sheep, even
had not recent tariff arrangements mace
the latter industry generally unproft-
ahIe The establishment of large
hacking house. in Los Angeles furnlsh-
cd an excellent cash market Tor hoss.
and il is somewhat surprising that more
effort has not been made by Farmers
in this section to All the demand, which
is al present greater than the supply.
The packers say that hogs raised III thls
section are superior TO those they
handle in the east They pay good
nrice. and vet for the greater part or
their supply they have been forced to
go north of the Tehachepi range. There
is AN excellent opportunity in this coui-
tv FOR the raising of hogs either as a
separate business. or in connection with
general farming Southern California
horses have made brilliant records in
the east during the past two years, ana
If becomes mere evident from year TO
wear that this section Will soon rival
kentucky as field for the raising or
blooded stock The advantages of cli-
mate here are such that an animal
| I'gains at least year in its growth over
an eastern horse by the time it is ready
| to be put to work. and the mildness OF
| the winters has induced some owners OF
! eastern stables to investigate the ad-
| vantages of wintering their strings OF
| horses in Los Angels.
There has been some progress made
| in the dairy industry in Los Angeles
! courty during the past few years.
| Three years ago large quantities of
! cheese ard butter wee imported, but
! now much of the cheese and butter is
| supplied by local farmers. Following
| the march of improvement which has
| marked the dairy industry throughout
| the country several new creameries
| have been established in this section
/ With the rapid increase of population
| comes an increased demand for dairy
products. and the farmer who under
stands his business may rely upon max
! ing a good income out of few COWS if
! this section. After the demand fol
| butter and cheese shall have been sup
! piled. there will remain a good openins
| for the manufacture of condensed milk