Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1904-10-06

ricksen is surely to be congratulated
on his success.
The store here has ordered new 1000
candle power lights of the latest
improved make of gasolene lights.
The frequenters of the store will be
surprised when they go in at night
when they get them installed and
will be able to see each other any
place in the store.
Reedley, California.
Dearest of Friends.
Before l left Hamlin 1 promised
great many to let them know in the
Journal how we got out here and
how every thing was here in Reedley,
California. We lett Iamlin June 2
and arrived here June all in good
humor. l was as you remember
crippled up pretty much with rheu-
matism and after 1 got here 1 took
worse and kept my bed for a month,
change of climate and water is what
did it. At present I am we'll and
strong with the exception of my left
arm which was vaccinated in Den
mark and is little lame but not
very painful. The climate here is
fine, very fine, still q great many
eastern people think it is too hot.
Of course it is hot for good many.
My wife could not stand the hot
weather, there is generally sea
breeze on the hot days very much
like the hot winds of Nebraska, but
here it does not kill crops of any
kind. The thermometer registered
from July Is to September 10 above
80 in the shade, and August IA it was
1O9a. I read in a Frenso paper that
this was the hottest weather Fresno
ever had, but we have had q fin Grain
which lasted two days and for eight
or nine months we will have every
thing green and fine weather, SO am
promised, and my wife is smiling
over the same promise. We have
here pretty fine country, and have
most every kind of insects, and can
raise abous every thing here except
bananas. North and east Of us
small grain is raised without irriga-
ton. The grain land is owned by
captilists from San Francisco and
right after the rains are over they
send teams here to pillow it. A team
means ten mules and six plows and is
managed by one or two men. After
it is all plowed it is for grain, share
rent, and is called a good paying
crop if it yields ten to twelve BUSH
els to the acre. A great deal of this
land does not yield crop only every
other year, the one year they plow it.,
the other year for wheat. One per-
son often rents as high as 5000 acres
in one body of land. My neighbor
rented 1000 acres four years ago, but
he claims he lost money on it. The
grain is put in the ground very poor
ly. The grain here is generally
stored in big warehouses and money
advanced on it for higher market.
Three miles south of here every thing
is cattle ranches and there are cattle
by the thousand and every thing is
in alfalfa and cattle and some poor
hogs. The cattle are all in very
fine condition as they get plenty
of fine grass which grows without ir-
rigstion, they get what is called sub
irrigation, it means twelve or four
teen feet from the surface of the
grain there is water on which the
alfalfa does fine and is green all year.
Reedley grows fruit of all kinds, the
peach trees grow so full of fruit that
many of the branches break down.
A peach farm we'll attended will
give from four to seven hundred
dollars year. There are lots OF ap-
ricots and plums raised here, but
they are not sure crop every year
This is much of a raisea country, W.
can grow from 1000 to over q OOC
pounds to an acre. This year taey
are way down in price, from /! to 2
cents per pound or from $50 to $50
an acre. We are not pleased with the
present price, it is claimed that W,
cannot afford to raise them for les
than24 cents per pound. Water here
is very bad, l have we'll eighty feet
and the water is warm when we ge
it up. To have cold water we have
to let it stand over night in a crocl
made for that purpose. One thing i
sure the people here make living I.
great deal easier THAN they do i,
Iowa and don't W sh my self back
again. The storekeepers charge u
pretty heavy for almost every thing
Wages for a good man per month ar
poor and he has to furnish his owr
bed and at night he has rats for com
pany. Places for young people art
scarce because the farms are small
and on the big ranches are mostly
Russians and Poles and they carry
life of their own. There is in the
city great call for hired girls and
they get from fifteen to thirty dollars