The Republican journal., 1900-03-01
The Windermere Ranch.

formerly OF Searsport, is general foreman
of this ranch, and has been for the past
fifteen months.
Nely few readers of the Times are
aware of the magnitude on which farm
ing operations are conducted in Southern
California, away from the small orchard
farms OF the foothill regions and the sub
urban localities of this part of the State.
The old Spanish fazendas, or landed es-
tates, have all disappeared, their owners
unable to contend against the inroads of
American enterprise, or 10 resist the
temptation of luxury obtainable through
the disposition of their old establishments
for cash. But the new order has not
entirely obIiterated the Dig farms, how
ever the transformation may have changed
the boundaries and brought forth new
methods OF running the great isolated
farms of Southern California. In the
early days of this country, manufacturing,
mining and stock raising were the in
dusuies most III vogue upon the great
estates of Spanish America. The activi-
ties upon these ancient haciendas imme-
diateiy succeeded the SeculaiiZation of the
old missions, if they were not pretty we'll
under way when Mexico took from the
padre appropriations the great tracts OF
land they had settled in the name of the
church. Soon after the church was COM
PEELED to give up these great Holdings,
the Anglo Saxon began to possess himself
Of the best OF them largely through inter
marriage with the daughters Of the origi-
nal grantees But the present large farms
have been Obtained mostly within the last
two decades, by individuals and syndi-
Gates Who bong bit them for the raising OF
stock, gram and fruits, the Investments
running largely into the hundreds OF
thousands and conducted with all the
modem appliances known TO agricultural
science. Such is the ranch owned by
Andrew McNally, the Chicago publisher,
and located in The southwestern portion
of Los Angeles county.
The WindeImeTe Ranch contains 24O0
acres, all in cultivation. 1t presents a
combination of fruit. grain and stock
interests that cannot fail to be edifying TO
those who have the opportunity Of visit
ing the ranch. 1t is not every big ranch
that can boast of a professional chemist,
exclusively employed on the ranch or
that has a -four making plant devoted
only to grinding grain and feed for man
and beast at home. So many novelties
are in operation upon the Windermere
ranch chat a description of some of them
must surely be of interest to the farmers
OF the country.
The ranch contains 81, 900 trees in all
OF these 80, 900 are olive, 10, 600 lemon
and 1000 grape fruit. BY acreage the
ranch has 800 III fruit trees, l, 40Oin wheat !
barley and corn, 40 in alfalfa, 10 in parks, |
- in pasturage, and the balance in yards, I
grounds, school, depot and laboratory
sites. Many a small principally has bad
1.,-. Hoo, hoo,
necessary to equip this big ranch. In all,
about 500, 600 has been employed in
purchasing, planting and equipping the
ranch. Its cultivation alone requires the |
work of twenty men, fortytwo mules and
eight horses, used principally in orchard !
work, but sufficient to plant and harvest |
two square miles of grain. In the econ !
Omy OF ranch work here, the farm has its !
own artesian wells flour mill, slaughter /
house, commissary, boarding house, black /.
smith shop, paint and wood working !
shops, laboratories for manufacturing two /
Oh three hy-products from its fruits, |
lemon curing house and dairy.
To enter particularly into the work of
this ranch would require a very lengthy |
article Tne stock department has about !!
fifty hogs, Poland and Berkshire. The /
meat is all consumed on the ranch; fifty
head Of high bred cows for the home
dairy, of the Jersey and IIolstein stock. !
There are well arranged and extensive
sheds for hog feeding, with the latest
appliances for economical fattening. The
cows are housed in modern sheds with
approved feeding stanchions and conven-
lent feed racks Convenience in groom .
ing is noticeable in every barn, where the
horses and mules are kept, and every
stable yard, CO. and hog pen drains into
large cement tanks on hillsides, where a
field tank may be backed in to receive the ,
manures for distribution to the orchards.
Nothing is wasted in the way of fertilizer
anywhere about the place, and cement
bitches and tanks are connected with tie
flow from an artesian well, SO flushing
can be done easily and thoroughly.
From the wheat and coru raised on the
ranch excellent flour and me,! are made
To supply all the bread used by the work
men and the superintendent : family. la
this connection a large field vegetable
garden is maintained, large poultry
yard and the herd furnishes the meats.
and a coed kitchen orchard the fruits
used upon the ranch In the machinery
department are found duplicate plows,
haIrows, rolling cutters, pulverzers,
everything needed for cultivatiDg the
work on farm and orchard, the blacksmith
has complete set of implements at hand
for repairs--an economical arrangement
OF great value ia rushing the work upon
the farm. One large shed is devoted en-
tilely to the storage of steam engines,
sprinklers, sprayers, farm wagons and
other vehicles, and to see the array Of
machines, implements. tools and APP
pliances is to wonder at the magnitude of
the equipment necessary for the running
of large California ranch. In addition
to all these is the immense roofage neces-
sary to protect the machinery and afford
storage for grains, forage and seed. One
of the main buildings contains the lahora-
tory for working the juices of the lemons
and grape fruit into citric acid and
"Kitro,' respectively. The building is
60As0 feet. The basement is built of
solid concrete, floor and walls. Over
head the floor of the laboratory and manu-
factory is laid upon timbers 6xS inches,
giving extreme strength and solidity to
the main floor of the structure. This
basement is devoted to the storage of
grape fruit and lemons, and the curing of
the latter, when in preparation for the
market. About $40, 900 have been invest
ed in this building, and it is one of the
most complete of its kind in the fruit
"A ,,f Nha