Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-03-11
LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA.
Mr.. Edito1':


Since writing you last California
has had another three days rain and
while the tourists are saying, "Will it
ever stop?" the old German farmer
smiles and says: 'Too much rain is
shust right" But this is surely a
jubilee year for California breaking
the drouth of the past three years.
There are, however, desert lands that
must be irrigated no matter how
much rain may fall in the winter
months. Ali lands exclusive of tim
Der and mineral lands which will not
produce some agricultural crop with
out artificial irrigation are deemed by
the government "DeSert Lands" and
all such lands are free to any citizen
of the state to make entries upon by
filing proper papers in the county
where such lands are located and
settling thereon. Not more than 800
acres shallbe taken by any one person.
There is a project on foot to make
new county in the southeastern part
of the state of such desert lands, by
taking from the eastern side OF
San Diego, Riverside and San Bernar-
dino counties, a strip up and down
the Colorado river hundred miles
wide and two hundred miles long.
This would makea county larger than
the whole state of Vermont. The land
to- day is worthless but put Yankees
and water on to it and'it would be a
garden of plenty. Some of the
choicest lands in southern California
to-day are tracts of desert land re
claimed by irrigation. Thirty years
ago Pasadena was a desert worth less
than S1.25 per acre; today it is the
Gem City. Some of the wealthiest
people of the United States have
homes here with gardens OF trees and
flowers which grow to perfection: .ir-
rigation has done this. Thirty years
ago Riverside and Redlands were des-
erts and the land was valueless; today
Riverside covers 100000 acres of the
choicest orange land in the world,
producing this year over six thousand
carloads of oranges worth at least
three million dollars. Pomona, Ohula
Vista, Santa Anna, Orange, Rialto,
Ontario and many other towns were
once desert lands, all reclaimed by
irrigation and they are the most
prosperous towns of southern Califor-
MIA and in fact need no sympathy
fre5n any agricultural place on earth;
all this is due to irrigation. Deserts
without water are desolation, with it
gardens and prosperity Nature was
not very generous in her distribution
of water in this part of the country
but lavish in her gifts of soil and eli
mate as nowhere under the sun can |
such q prolific soil be found if with |
plenty of water to irrigate and |
to o-day has been reduced to |
a science so that the fruit grower |
need not watch the skies to know
whether his crop is to be lost or saved.
The greau-reservoirs In the mountains
with their enormous dams and miles
of irrigatipg canals have brought
prosperity and plenty to these desert
tracts OF land in southern California.
Et is self evident to-day that before
many years the markets OF the United
States will receive their supply of
lemons almost wholly from California
as Florida is net likely to again be a
serious factor-for that state will pro-
1uce more oranges and grape frait
as these stand the frosts much better
than the lemon, and as Sicily has
her superiority In the
olS world,so will California in the new.
Good lemons can be grown in any
part of southern California but the
coast counties have the advantage of
4 more uniform climate and less dan
ger offrosts. San Diego County today
s said to produce two fifths of all the
emons raised in the state. Sicily has
In advantage over California on ac-
count of her cheap labor and cheap
reight rates over the water. 1ncred
BILE as it may seem, it costs less to land I
/ box of lemons in New York or Chi I
ago from Sicily than from California. !
When the lemon tree is first planted, I
t requires but little care but as soon