Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-04-12

ssts of the big ranchmen themselves.
who find the mightlcr wheat farms Of
the Canadian and our own Northwest
producing "A finer quality of wheat and
beating them in the race for the worlds
markets. These are beginning to see Il
new use for their vast acreage and are
making colonies by dividing up their
lands into ten and twenty acre plots
and inviting the fruit growers to settle
upon them. They are following the
methods of the men of the little valley
where Los Angeles stands as monitor.
The Sacramento Valley dwellcr has
far greater first cause to believe that
his region is new Eden. Land is
cheap at $50 an acre. A Chinaman can
make $1,000 from an acre of land here
raising and selling vegetables to the
rancEer who hasn't time to bother
with garden truck'-and yet when he
has balanced his yearly accounts there
are many times when he finds his
ranChing has not nettcd him so much
as the patient MongOlian Onions
raised in this section last year sold at
six cents a pound and the size of Cali
fornia onions is such that made the
price about five cents apiece. Such is
the value Of vegetables which the
ranchman has not time to bother with.
Grape growing in the new region is
already an enormous industry. Vines
produce a full crop within a year after
they are set out. The largest wine tank
in the world is at Astil and there are
so, 600 acres in wine grapes producing
$50, 900 tons of grapes or 3O,OO00OO gal
Ions per year Of red and white wines,
al r.
ranch and not reach the starting-point
in your round.
But after all it is the comparatively
new discovery that citrus fruits may be
grown here successfully that is making
the greatest change in the new region.
The fear of frost which has hitherto
prevented the planting of orange and
lemon groves has been proved a need
less fear. Frost does reach the region
indeed, but it comes at such a time as
to do no harm to the trees or fruit.
Frost during the period of bloom Is
what does the harm and it seems to be
a fact that the light winter frosts
which occasionally come arrive at
season after the bloom has matured
Though the valley lies many hundred
miles north of the Los Angeles fruit
and fruit natures and is gathered in
advance of that of the south.
In January. 1902. the thermometer shows
from % to 81 degrees while in July the
highest temperatures recorded are 103 in
the heat of the day falling to 81 to IS at
night The mountains to the westward
spill all the moisture from the air and the
dr!ness makes the heat hardly noticeable
Laborcrs in the field work on in the full
sun of such days and do not notice the
heat in the least. A case of sunstroke is
yet to be recorded in the region.
Portland is the chief market for fruit
shipment to the East and the Northwest
for all California fruit and the growers
of the Sacramento Valley are several hun
drod miles nearer their market than the !
Los Angeles growers. their fruit natures |
a little earlier here. and they avoid tran
shipment at San Francisco which also |
ADDS to the expense of the Southern
growers. Irrigation in most instances is !
not needed. The citrus fruit trees send /
down long tap roots which seem to have
q peculiar faculty of finding moisture at |
lower levels and in many places under
ground streams seem to he prevalent
here. Wells sunk only a moderate dis
lance always find this substratum of wa
ter which is fed by the melting SHOWS of
sparkling. The trees find it too and do
not need to depend on rainfall for water
ing. From April to October there is rare
~ any rain, but during the winter months
showers are frequent.
Many colonies from the East and in |
deed from Europe have found prosperity
in the region. a notable instance being
the Swiss colony of wine growers, known
as the Swiss Agricultural Colony These
people formed on basis of two thousand
shares: each share representing paid in i
It.ll llr A-
ten thousand dollars was raised in this |
way an old sheep camp on Russian River
was purchased, two thousand acres were !.
dug. rooted and ploughcd. and today the
one hundred families have laid a firm
foundation for new city in which they |
have a personal interest in church. |
Schoolhouse. railroad station. post and |
telephone Office, and one of the largest |
wineries in the state.
Another method of providing for new
settlers has been adopted by the wiser of !
the old time ranchmen who fOreSaw the |
new era about to dawn i'm the district. |
Citrona Park is notable example of this. !
Here the ranchmcn carefully laid out 4
town on his miles of ranch land In a |
central square he located the church with |
small alotments all about it for stores |
and business houses. Then he divided up |
the remaining land into ten-acrc plots |
which gives each settler as much fruit |
land and garden space as he can attend to |
personally and get the best results from. |
\ few hundred dollars buys these lots. |
trees himself and for each intended settler |
he sets out the land in many acres of |
oranges. lemons. olives, or other fruit as |
the settler wishes. planting and caring for |
the trees for a year, replacing any which
fail and delivering the land planted de- /
sired and ready for occupancy at the end |
OF the year The cost of the trees, prop |
crly planted and watCred is about hum |
drcd dollars an acre for citrus fruit, little |
more than half that for olives an acre |
taking about a hundred orange or lemon |
trees. These trees come into bearing on |
the third or fourth year after planting |
and the first returns from them, according |
to careful statistics taken i'm the valley. |
are three to five dollars tree in the first
year of bearing. Thecr are many trees
in the region from which carefully com
piled statistics show return of twelve
and fifteen dollars a tree for the years |
crop.
On these same lands. those adapted to
orange growing, alfalfa and vegeta bles
produce three crops a year, hut for these
shallow rooted plants irrigation is neces-
sary. This is provided by the many tribu-
taries of the Sacramento or by pumping
with windmills or otherwise from the I'M
failing wells which tap the substratum of
water which seems to be n feature OF
many parts of the Sacramento Valley.