The herald., 1898-01-02

| ton of the beet sugar factory in Ven
tura, is the undertaking of the Alcatraz
company as Sisquoc and Gaviota. The
Alcatraz company owns or controls
nearly all the asphalt deposits that are
being worked in this county During the
past year it has commenced the devel-
opment of vast fields of the material on
the Sisquoc river. At the same time the
company is building wharf and refin-
cries about two miles from Gaviota, on
the coast, and about forty miles west OF
Santa Barbara. The two points of oper-
alton are over twenty miles apart but
will be connected with a double pipe line
! the purpose of which will be to convey
| the asphaltum, liquifed by naphtha
preparation, from the mines to the re-
fineries. Through the duplicate pipe the
naphtha will be pumped back to the mines
for further use. This pipe line is now
being laid, and the wharf and refneries
and other buildings are in course of con-
struction. 1t is expected that the i'm
mense plant will be ready for operation
in few months.
The industry will give employment to
large force of men, and will greatly
increase the wealth of the county. The
asphaltum deposits are of inexhaustible
extent
THE YEARS CROPS
For the farmer the year 1897 has also
been banner one. The crops have been
large and the prices, as rule, good. The
acreage to barley and wheat was greater
than usual, although orchards are
yearly encroaching upon the grain
/ fields; but the grain fields in turn are
encroaching upon the grazing lands. In
the time that Dana describes, hides and
tallow were the main exports of Santa
Barbara; now these take minor
though not necessarily small place, and
the principal shipments, agricultural
and mineral, may be given in order of
their bulk, as follows: Asphalt, wheat,
barley, beans. lemons, walnuts, petro-
leum and mustard; and then down
through the varied and long list of other
California products, including olives and
olive oil, apples, dried fruits of all kinds,
apricots, peaches, oranges, almonds, not
to mention butter, cheese, eggs, etc, etc.
The San Francisco and Los Angeles mar
kets draw upon the Santa Barbara
ranges for beef cattle, sheep and horses.
The fisheries are yearly growing in i'm
/ portance.
I WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
In this brief resume of years prog
ress no attempt has been made to even
outline the particular advantages of the
county, or to POLITICALLY describe that
time-worn topic. the climate. But the
future commands attention.
As will be readily seen from the above
Santa Barbara is prosperous and is
| he ell
old Mexican town of 1S49 she has been
modernized, electricized and American
lied by the influx of eastern people, un-
til now nearly all the old landmarks are
gone And if Fremont could come back
to the post he captured fifty years age
he would find nothing to remind him OF
the bloodless battle save few of the
pioneers who accompanied him in his
exploits. Santa Barbara has nearly
| doubled in population in ten years, and
| the greatest increase has been during
the latter half of that period. Some time
| the city will be connected with San Fran
cisco by a direct line, and the same road
which has been in course of construc-
ton for several years, will open by far
the greater area of the county.
This, with the continuation of the in
crease in population; with the extension
of the asphalt and petroleum industries;
with the promised establishment of q
beet sugar factory at Santa Maria; with
the division and settlement of the large
ranches; with the building of the pro-
posed summer resort at the beach; with
broader markets and the natural expan-
sion of the products, leads one who is
familiar with the past and present of the
community, to say to those who are not:
Keep your eye on Santa Barbara" The
county will surely bear watching and in
spection.