The record-union., 1897-11-02

as the factory people are impressins
upon the farmers the Importance of
plowing in the tops Tor fertilizing. and
am Informed that upon land thev own
or control they insist that this should be-
done.
John MCGOWAN had in 100 acres 0i
beets, and his son. w. J. McGoWau.
whose place is on the same road. tnnusli
nearer town. a someW hat less quaint
~, varying year by year They g.
tated beets with potatoes and grain
or beans. and last year got about tNra-
~ tons per acre-though they Cuna 81.
cred fifteen tons q good average. Their
land is sediment land. and is nat quite
SO expensive to work as the adobe-the
plowing being done a little cheaper
From his estimates his crop at the fac
tory costs about SOS 30 per acre, based
upon a fifteen-ton estimate. w j.
MCGOWAN. with his experience with
beets, considered land too high at $500
per acre for the raising of the same.
j. E. Trafton has land adjoining that
OF MIR. McGowans for which he paid
S23l per acre about three years ago.
Ii is considered first-class beet land,
and is reasonably well improved, being
fenced and containing two-story house,
barns, etc. This land produces an av-
erage crop of fifteen tons, and being
sediment land the cost of producing
and harvesting the crop will be about
the same as upon Mr.. McGowan's. The
rental value is also S15.
From what / learned and saw of the
gentlemen l met, / believe them to be
representative men of the successful
beet-raiSer class over there--men who
have made as great average success as
is possible with present methods. The
information obtained from each prac-
tically tailed with the estimates of his
neighbor.
AS to the price of land, I failed to
find any one who had heard of a sale
at 81 ,000 per acre. although I made
numerous Inquiries both in the town
and of the farmers I met G. W. Sill,
real estate agent, told me he had good
beet land, five and six miles from town,
at from 500 to S125 per acre; and land
that was frst-class beet land, one and
one-half miles from town, at from $50
to $3.50 per acre. He also told me that
he had a very choice tract of land of
125 acres about one mile from town and
one-half mile from Pajaro Station, ele-
gantly located. upon main county road,
that is watered every day throughout
the summer, with small dwelling, small
bearing family orchard. at $500. He
declares that this is of the choicest beet
land and is in every respect as good as
can be had anywhere.
r. p Quinn, real estate agent, has
on his list twenty acres of choice beet
land. two miles from town, at $3.50 per
acre: thirty acres of fine beet land,
also two miles from town, at $500 per
acre, and forty acres of good beet land,
four miles from town, at $3.50 per acre
all of which he AYERS will produce
crops of beets averaging from twelve
TO twenty tons per acre.
I inclose you herewith a clipping
which may be of interest to you, con-
tanning a statement of the cost of rails
ing beets in the vicinity of San Juan
upon a tract of land farmed by renters
The figures are furnished by the factory
people, and lii is of course only reasonable
to suppose that they have selected one
of the most profitable pieces over there
for their example. In this Mr.. Morse
recites the fact that the thinning, weed
ing. topping and loading was done by
DAVIS labor for 80 cents per ton as
against the contract price of 81 10. L
mentioned this item to the farmers IN
terviewed near Watsonville, and they
were unanimous in the statement that
at the ST per ton rate prevailing with
them contractors sometimes did not
make fair wages.