Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1901-03-01
FROM TIE GOLDEN STATE.
c. D. Boom Writes Of the Sacra-
mento Valley.

USOUSV v0ouOys
ORANGEvALE, CAL, Feb. IA, 1901.
EDITOR HERALD: I have delayed
my promised letter until / could
form more correct estimate Of the
and it's desirabiliry as a
home, than I could have done at
first. The change in four days, from
zero weather to a country filled with
orange trees loaded with ripen-
ing fruit. birds singing in the trees,
and everything green and as Miane-
sofa is in Nav, would naturally i'm
press one in favor OF the country, in
a way which a longer residence
might change.
We are located IN the American
river, ia miles from Sacra Aento,
where it joins the Sacramento river.
The Sacramento valley is about 50
wide and 400 miles long, lying be-
tween the Sierras and the Coast
range, and in wheat production is to
the Pacific what the Red River val
ley is to the Northwest. The valley
outside OF the irrigated sections,
which are devoted entirely to fruit,
is one vast wheat field. Between
Orangevale Ksad Sacramento are
thousands OF acres of wheat, stand
ing at present about eight inches
high, with promise of a bountiful
crop. $4,000 acres, or about 68
square miles of this land, are known
as the Haggin ranch, an old Span
ish grant all owned by one man.
He will not sell any OF it, but leases
to anyone who wants land at one
fourth the crop. Harvesting and
threshing are done quite different
here from Minnesota. The harvest
season is dry (practically no rain
falling from June to October), the
grain never lodges nor crinkles down
and is left standing until dead ripe,
when a huge machine drawn by 80
horses is put ipto the field. This
machine cut, threshes and stacks the
grain as it goes along. AS fast as a
stack is filled it is thrown on the
ground, where it lies until the farm
er,, or rancher, as they are
called here; is ready to haul to mar
ket. ! inquired at the mills if this cos
tune did not result in damaged
grain; but was told that sprouted or
mouldy grain was practically 'un-
known. The wheat grown is the
white winter, soft berry, making
clear white -four. but lacking the
gluten contained in Minnesota No.
l Hard The bushel is unknown
here: everything is sold by the 100
pounds or ton. Good ranch land
in the valley can be bought for from
$15 to $40 per acre. Orapgevale
contains 5000 acres. Fair Oaks
lies directly south OF it, taking in
1000 acres more, all supplied with
water from the north fork OF the
American river. The water is car
ried from ditch in 22-inch main and
distributed by smaller pipes to each
1O-acre tract in both colonies. The
pressure is about 40 pounds to the
inch, so each resident has as good
water privileges as one has in the
city, and can have electric lights too
if desired, as Folsom, three and q
half miles from US, has the largest
electric light plant in the state. The
water fall is about Is it. and furn-
ishes power to an immense stone
crusher at the penitentiary located
at Folsom, ,and to a large dredeer on
the river bottoms digging gold. BY
the way. Suffers mill, where gold
was first discovered, is only about
40 miles from here. Power is. fur
nished to Sacramento, % miles Away
to light the city, run street cars, run
car shops employing 5000 men, two
-four mills, 700 and 800 barrel ca
pacity. and a large number OF other
plants. It is, wonderful how aszfew
small wires, hardly larger than a
pencil, can transmit such an i'm
lnense power. III ~
We also have rural free delivery so
in that respect we are ahead OF the
Falls. Our house is in a grove of al
mond trees. just sast of Us are
several orange groves. Here and
there are peach, plnm, cherry, pear
apricot and prune orchards and
grape orchards ia every direction,
while the streets are lined with palm
trees and evergreen hedges. Just
oorooc tho r;uor 10 +ho = r. u -