The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-07-12
Letter From California.

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druggist. Guaranteed.
Letter From California.
Button Willow, California, June 6,9lOO.
EDITOR REPoRTER:-Perhaps few
lines from this beautiful land of fruit and
flowers would be interesting to some of
your readers, so will endeavor to de.
scribe as near as can some of the good
things we have.
There is great excitement here now
over the discovery of oil near Bakers
field. If the claims all prove good
Bakersfield is destined to become a big
city in the near future. Several of the
wells are paying fine and the oil is a
very good quality.
We are living in the beautiful San
Joaquin valley. We are almost sur.
rounded by the coast range of noun
tains of which Mt. Whitney is the larg.
est, its top being covered with snow
the year round. Kern county, the one
we live in, is noted for its products of
wool, fruit, grain, gold, and oil. 1t oc-
cupies the southern part of the San
Joaquin Valley, and it has greater
variety of soil and climate than any
other county in the state. The plains
in this county are mostly fertile but
there is not always enough rain fall to
insure good crops. The greater part of
the county is irrigated and then the
crops never fail.
The water for irrigation is supplied
from Kern River. There are great
many artesian wells and if the farms
are not too large they can be irrigated
from the wells.
Bakersfield, Kern City and Mohave
are the principal towns. Most any
kind of fruit or grain can be raised here
successfully. The climate is fine, all
anyone could wish for, and the most
beautiful flowers bloom the whole year.
People have Oleander shade trees 25
and 80 feet high and covered with
blooms; even the tender Begonis stands
out all winter. There is plenty of game
in the mountains such as bear, deer,
antelope, Wild cat and bob-cat and
other smaller game. Lots of fish here,
too.
This is very healthy climate. We
have no rain to speak of in the summer
time and no mud. We don't have
thunder nor lightning here in the Val
ley. 1t thunders in the mountains and
we sometimes hear a distant rumble.
We don't have cyclones here and 1 am
one that is glad of that. We have good
schools here. The country schools are
all graded. Teachers get good wages,
$50 per month is about the least wages
a teacher gets. Workingmen's wages
are good from 1926 to $50 and $40 per
month and board. There is plenty of
work and men are scarce. Improved
land on the canal can be bought for
$75 to 800 per acre. Unimproved land
can be bought for $50 per acre. It does
not take much work to get it ready for
Irrigation as most of the land is leyel.
Twenty acres of land makes very good
farm here. "A man by the name Of
Hunt bought 20 acres of land, set it out
in prunes last year and paid $1,000 for
the 20 acres. The same year he sold
his prunes and just lacked $3.50 Of pay.
ing for his far n from his prime crop.
Alfalfa pays better believe than fruit,
as there can be three crops per year cut
from it. 1t is splendid hay.
Well need not say l am we'll pleased
here for / am more than pleased. Any
thing can be raised here almost that can
be raised anywhere. The gardening is
mostly done by Cinnamon. There is
tqujte mixture Of the human race.
Chinese, Japanese. Mexicans, Spanish,
English, Dutch and most any other
nationality.
Well I'll not make my letter too long
or it may find the waste basket. We
expect to start for the coast in about
or A weeks and then perhaps I'll write
Of my adventures while ashingtor whale
send greetings to all my friends
through The REPORTER.
Respectfully,
]. g. WARNER.