Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-03-15

naval, being the best, supplies the
market. There are thousands of acres
OF these trees five to thirty feet high
and loaded with the golden fruit so
that many supports are required. Many
soil not adapted to their growth.
Many lemon trees thundreds of
acres have been taken out and orange
trees planted in their place. In one
place seventeen hundred acres were
planted to olives. Now as they come
into bearing they find they are the
wrong kind. A well known horti-
culturist planted sixty acres to smyrna
figs After twelve years eultiyating
and irrigating he now discovers that
the particular. wash that fertilizes
this kind of fig was left back in the
grape vines were planted and in a few
something imported With the vines
while the natural enemy Of this some
thing was left behind. Thousands of
acres planted since are doing we'll
sw Millions Jof dollars are now being
expended to destroy the four different
kinds. of scale insects that threaten
Y
citrOuS fruit and nearly all Of the
deciduous fruits! In a'country where
there are 40 froStS TO kill the insects
they multiply twelve: months in the
year and every shrub and plant brought
into California should have beenquar-
antined and ~fumigated. or returned
if found affected with any disease or
insect, This is now being done. Every.
orange and lemon raised along the
coast of California is either washed.
and scrubbed with brush to remove
the scales, yet millions of them escape
notice and are being Sown broadcast
all over tie world. The lady bug and
many other kinds Of insects are now
being. introduced to destroy these
to clean out the thousands of acres of
orchards is big task. For the Mex.
lean orange worm there is no known,
remedy and its presence is not
easily detected. 1t enters the rind Of
the. orange leaving no. visible mark
and lives upon the inner tissues of the
looking sound but soon a round or
irregular patchon the side shows the
result of the unseen worm. IaIr
more to contend with, more adverse
circumstances to overcome than any
other people in the United States, IL
not in the world, yet nowhere in
thirty states have / ever seen such
general evidence of prosperity and SO
little appearance Of poverty: but on
inquiry L am told that this immense
wealth was broughthere from the out
c,i1 h,t ms q
here. They point to hundreds Of man
was booming and say the men who
built them are not now living in them,
they are mostly poor, and others have
taken their places. People Of immense
wealth have come here and built for
themselves homes TO spend the last
few years of their life. The CalifOr-
nian calls them tender feet, and soon
their surplus capital is invested in
mining stocks, oil wells, ranches or real
estate ,speculatiOns that fail to pan
out. Earthquakes and sand storms
that come through the mountain
passes from the desert two thousand
feet above US can be endured, even
fifty-eight one hundredthS of an inch
of rainfall all last year,
A thousand. horses were sold here
for 5000 to $400 head and thousands
of cattle were driven north to save
them from starvation. Pastures are
now drying up in the midst of what
should be their rainy season, yetWhere
water can be obtained for irrigation
there is no more delightful place to
live in or a finer class of people. No
amount Of money can produce such a
semitropical climate and it is impOssi-
BILE to imagine the beauties Of a coun-
| try like this of perpetual summer
every day alike nearly all the time.
We shall leave it with mauy regrets.
A little rain has fallen since this was
written, said to be in answer to prayer
-" 81 -. A. c. BENNETT.