Mexico Missouri message., 1903-10-22
FROM CALIFORNIA.
j. N. Ball Writes of Crops and
Former Audraln
People.

1
tain something of interest, even if
not interestingly written.
/ left Mexico on the 21st of Sep
tember for my third trip to Cali
fornia, which now seems much
like my home. Nothing of unusu-
al interest transpired on the road,
except that 1 found that my third
trip over the same road revealed
many new features of the country
thru which / had passed. Thru
the agricultural portions crops
were being harvested with the
general appearance of IL good
yield Portions of country which
looked barren and totally worth
less on my winter trip now
''loomed up" as the result Of irri-
CATION, like old Missouri land
About all this vast acreage of bar
rem land (thru the desert portions
of the countr: J needs is plenty of
water, and every year great bodies
OF it are producing wealth which
only the year previous was abso-
lutely worthless for any purpose.
Under irrigation alfalfa proves to
be a great yielder aud fine weight
producer; the western steer taken
from the alfalfa fields tops the
market in both weight and price.
Especially is the San Joaquin Val
ley (the largest fertile valley in
the State), of which Bakersfield is
: the metropolis, under the influence
of the improved irrigation systems,
fast becoming the best place to
raise everything" in the whole
State. The large bodies of land,
$ composed of many sections, which
: have been formerly owned and con-
T trolled by single individuals and
s corporations for pasture lands, are
n being divided and subdivided into
s small farms or ranches and sold to
the Eastern home seeker. This re-
moves the greatest drawback the
valley has to contend with. Ba-
> kersfeld is no longer known as the
"city surrounded by oiP' but is
also fast becoming an agricultural
center. Kern county, Bakersfield
the county seat, has long since
passed the experimental stage i'll
J fruit growing. and during the year
It 1902 she produced far more than
E her share of !, ,138, 800, 900 pounds
: output for the State. This won.
n derful advance in agricultural and
l. fruit Development, of course, is
Ie having its effect in the substantial
growth Of Bakersfield.
&c BY the way, Bakersfield is {
J. thriving little city of about 12,00C
:. inhabitants, situate almost equally
% distant between San Francisco an(
$ Los Angeles. 1t is bound t.
4, double in size in a cOmparativel!
1e short time. The vast developed
oil fields approach to within thre
miles of the place, and the man!
seemingly fabulous stories sent on
70 about the large quantities of OF
" have not been exaggerated. Th
T" two big car shops Of the Santa F
us and Southern Pacific railroads, to
sy gether with its street railroads an
y big department stores, give EN-
= ployment to very large numbe
Oy of men, women and children. Nel
~ institutions are keeping pace wit
the rapid growth of the city.
"a route is now being surveyed for a
". electric railroad from Los Angelo
o: TO San Francisco, running thr
l.. Bakersfield. This will enable il
n people to visit either end of th
en- State within few hours time.
N, My son Frank is still with th
on Santa Fe, and both he and Et
ge ward Shook, who is in the emplo
IN Of the Union Lumber Co., are d.
r., ing we'll. Myson Schelley, wh
Il, recently came out here from Fol
Or, Scott, Kansas, has good positio
lex and thinks this great eountT
M Ernest Coil, who for a year or f: