The herald., 1897-01-03
A Rich Agricultural and Mineral
Section
A FINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM
Room for Thousands of Farmers and
Fruit Growers
Randsburg, Mojave and Other Mining
Districts-Smelters Needed to Work
Up Low Grade Ores.


valley, and is bounded on the north by
Tulare county, south by Ventura and
Los Angeles counties, east by San Ber-
nardino county and west by San Luis
Obispo county 1t is surrounded on TIE
east, south and west by mountain passes
and lofty hills, hence is peculiarly free
from fogs. sweeping winds or storms of
any kinds The grandeur and sublimity
of its many Wonderful canyons and wild
gorges, with the great Whitney range
as a superb, background renders this
county the delight of.tourists who have
once witnessed its picturesque beauty
and awe.inspiring scenery. This is par
ticularlyF true Of the Kern river canyon.
The immense alluvial valley of Kern
river greatly resembles the delta of the
Nile ipFitsiw onderfully fertile soil. luxu-
rious Vegetation and geographical posi-
tion III
PRODUCTIONS
Wheat, barley and other cereals grow
llxuriantly. and the quality is excellent.
This is probably the best alfalfa county
in the state. the acreage of that valuable
product aggregating over 100, 900 acres.
Vegetables of all kinds grow as large. as
good in quality and as much to the acre
as anywhere in the United States. All
fruits and nuts of the temperate zone
grow in this county to perfection. and
citrus fruits do we'll in sheltered valleys.
1t is confidently asserted that there is
not grain. vegetable, fruit or nut
grown anywhere in this state but can be
found growing successfully in Kern
county. The raisin industry is rapidly
coming to the front. and the quality Is
unsurpassed This county will have
the largest acreage of wheat and barley
fhP c0nniDo- in, II bi-
tory owing to the present high prices of
those cereals. Several thousand acres
of new land have been brought under
the plow this season, especially at TETON
and along the foothills. Stockrasing is
a very important industry in Kern
county, especially the raising of fine
horses cattle and sheep, for which the
county is unrivaled as demonstrated in
the wonderful success achieved on the
SrOckdale and Bellevue ranches near
Bakersfield. Fine mules. Shetland po-
nies and goa is are also among the spe-
cialties of the famous Stockdale ranch
the home of William S. Tevis. vice -presi-
dent of the Kern County Land company
This company has several hundred
thousand acres Of fertile land, all under
Il magnificent canal system
Feeding Arizona and Mexican cattle
for the San Francisco and LoN. Angeles
markets is now a we'll established ard
extensive business.
The mineral wealth of Kern county is
enormous. and on the eve of great de-
velopment, as shown in articles else
where.
The fruit crop of 1896 was fairly good
and brought better prices than for sew
eral years past. The raisn crop sold at
from 2 to cents peyfJourd in the sweat
box, the first time in many years that
the crop could be sold outright, as here
tofore all such crops have had to be cor
signed to eastern commission houses
The timber wealth Of Kern county is
enormous. The mountains east and
north of Bakersfield are heavily wooded
Will sugar pine and tamarack. besides
occasional belts of fir and cedar. The
waters of Kern river afford an excellent
opportunity for fluning the logs to Ba-
kersfeld and vicinity
CLIMATE
The climate of Kern county will com
pare favorably with that of neighborine
counties. 1t has at least 300 sunny days
in the year, practically no fogs and no
storms. and it enables the farmer or
fruit grower to work in the field or orch
ard every day in the year except when
it rains.
WATER SUPPLY.
Kern county has the largest and most
complete irrigation system of any coun-
~ III the Stdl anu Wn1C0 is aCmlrCd by
all who have seen ii.
Kern river. a noble stream. which has
its source at Mount Whitney, the lofti-
est peak in the United States. distant
100 miles northeast from Bakersfield
furnishes sufficient water to irreate ev-
cry acre of land in the county For 120
miles Kern river runs in the heart of the
Sierras, its two forks splitting the great
mountain chain parallel with its trend
hHf0rR q I nj TO, 10 t.,l !
Through the mountains on it's course to
the valley. This gives Kern river an
immense watershed, aggCegating 3145
square miles, and the confieuratlon.
moreover, is very favorable for water
storage in the high mountain meadows
an advantage that will eventually be a
matter of the greatest Importance
No other river in the state offers such
an excellent opportunity. nor is there
anywhere else in the state or the United
States, such g complete and extensive
irrigation system. The water of the
Kern river is very rich in fertilizing ma
terial and when used for irrigation. sup
pies plant life with those chemical con-
stituents that are the most needed At
the same time the grade of the surface
of the valley is such that it is almost an
inpossibility that the water should ever
run 50 rapidly as to carry away the con-
stituents of the soil
Artesian water exists in abundance
in some parts of the valley, notably in
the Union Avenue colony and vicinity,
but it is used only for domestic purposes.
1t is about thirty miles from the riv-
er's channel from where it enters The
foothills to the head Of the irrigation
system of Kern county. The flow tor
twenty miles of this distance is through
high, sandy and gravelly banks For
the remainder of the distance the bank
are shallow. as they continue 70 be from
this point to Buena Vista Lake reser-
voir, twenty-five miles away
The point in Kern river which has
been selected as the head of the irriga-
tion system, and from which the first
canals are taken, is high enough to Gov
er or makatirrigable about COO 900 acres
of land in this delta. This has a general
slope of from five to eight feet to the
mile, to the south and west.
Up to date the total expenditure on the
Kern County Land company s irrigation
system amounts to nearly $4,000 coo
There are tWenty-SeVen main canals
in this system. These have an agere-
gate length of about 800 miles There
are more than 100 miles of bitches and
laterals fed from these main canals
This does not include the arms of bitches
used to convey the water to each TWEEN
ty-acre lot in the colonies.
DETAILS OF THE SYSTEM
Speaking of this wonderful irrigalic.
system, VIM. lrelan, jr.. late state min.
eralogist for California. in one OF h
reports said: From this stream Nhe
Kern river) thirty large irrigatirg ca
IL.