The Newtown bee., 1904-07-08

beauty will not be excelled by any. We speak from observation, for we were taken over the entire drive and many other drives as we'll, by friends who had been persistent that we should visit them in their pleasant | home in Riverside before we left South | ern California. Friends who are much loved by many and highly es- teemed by all who knew them when they lived in Newtown, Conn.,, not many years ago. Mrs Schermerhorn and her daughter, Alice, now the wife of Gurdon Merrill, formerly of Bristol, Conn.,, live in their own most beauti- | full home on Orange street, in the cen tral residential part of the city. We were their guests from Tuesday until Friday, and to them we are indebted for what we saw and learned of their beautiful city. Newtown people pass ing through Riverside will always find their latch string out. We did not forget nor overlook the fact that our old friend, R. Fl. Smith, once Editor of THE BEE, made his home with his family there a few years ago, and our interest led us to look up the place where they lived during their sojourn there. MT Merrill is. con- nected with the largest dry goods house in the city and interested in everything that leads up to better liv- ing, better homes and better citizen ship. Looking at it from selfish standpoint, what a pity, that so many of our best men and women leave Connecticut to help build up this Pa cific Coast. In a large park in the central part of the city, we saw what is claimed to be the largest variety of cactus plants in the United States, if not in the world. As to alfalfa, there
 is more of it grown in Riverside than
 in Redlands. In conversation with
 men on the streets and at the Board of
 Trade some things were learned, after
 night shut down and driving over.
 From one man I learned that he
 bought farm of 20 acres of alfalfa,
 two years ago, two miles from the city,
 paid $20O an acre, took care of it with
 the help of his son, and last year cut
 the alfalfa six times and harvested 196
 tons during the season, which sold for
 s14S5, or ah average of s7.5O ton.
 Another man says he has rented 13
 acres of alfalfa for the last four years, pays S1O per year rent, the water to
 irrigate costs $2O0 year, does his own
 work till harvest time. He has raised
 on an average 130 tons per year, and
 generally sold it on the ground at $7 g
 ton, or sS delivered in town. I am
 not alfalfa crazy but simply deal out g
 few facts as they have come to me
 With irrigation and care, am told al
 falfa will make stand of several years
 and I want you to understand that un tderlying it all is intensive cultivation
 such as, if put in practice in Newtowl
 on small scale, would treble our crops 1 AS A FOOD PRODUCT, ALFALFA IS BET a than the best red clover, and as ther are no rains here in the summer season a the product is always good and may b j. handled at much less expense tha D clover can be handled in Newtowr ,- The sun shines all day, there is n - dampness in the air, no dew fall - through the night, the machine ma X go in in the early morning and be ru O all day. and with no other labor on il r. 1t may be put into cocks the secOn g day and wait the pleasure of the rancl ,- man to be put into the stack; (ther j. are very few barns in which fodder Q stored). The cutting of the crop bega 2 early. It was April 20 when firf > saw a moving machine being run on $ ranch in Timeteo valley, and suppos j.. they will be run over the same piece 5, about once in six weeks until NOven n Der,
 el Riverside is more fortunate tha t some of her sister cities in her Wate f supply. In addition to the Santa An }, river they have over 100 artesian vel l. that pour their waters into the Rive 5, side canals and reservoirs, making
 continuous flow of 90, ,OOO, 900 of gallor
 8 day during the irrigating seasol
 There are vast sources of suppose
 wealth inher mountains. Within
 miles of the city there is solid moul t. tain of marble with an immense be n of cement clay at it's base, and gol l. and silver exists in paying quantitie B. so they claim. According to Bra D. street, Riverside is the richest city p, D. capita in the United States. Dairyir e is an industry of Riverside, made mo- d practical there because of the lar{ 7. amount of alfalfa produced, especial is on valley land outside of the city lin ,e it's. Cows are stall fed the year 'ropn q I was told the cost of feeding a co ia the year round is six tons of alfalfa n ap average price of $7 ton; calc |c lating that the skim milk and fertiliz' will pay for all labor connected wit
 the care Of the stock. One dairyma > who buys milk to put into butter fl S formed ne that be bought, last yea