Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-08
Railway Track Lies Close to
the Pacific Ocean.
AN INTERESTING TRIP
SPECIAL CLAIMS OF THE TOWNS
ALONG THE WAY.
What Can Be Seen in Going From Los
Angeles to San Francisco-Raising
Seeds, Pigeons and Sugar Beets.
by WILLIAM z. CURTIS.


Special espondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.
SANTA BARBARA, Cal, September 1, 1906.
The coast Hne branch of the Southern
Pacific railroad runs through the most at
tractive part of California, and from Los
Angeles to San Francisco 1t offers a very
Interesting journey. Nearly every town
along the line has some special claim for
attraction and 1t reaches all of the sea-
shore resorts of the Pacific coast. The
track lies on the beach for nearly a hundred
miles. In great breakers the ocean tides
come rolling up side of the train,
while OH the other side the mountains rise
In ranges from four to six thousand feet,
with beautiful valleys of eternal verdure
lying between the peaks and among the
foothills know of no other place except
the south OF France where the sea breezes
and the mountain scenery are SO closely
combined, and with them one has a climate
that has long been the boast OF this state,
Incompatible fruits, berries and flowers,
and ali the essentials required for a para
disc.
The Climate.
A large portion of the population are rest
and health seekers. the climate being par
ticularly favorable to delicate constitu-
tons, and people are infirm with age.
ing the oxygen with which this air is
charged. II Is tonic for all weaknesses.
Perhaps no section of the country Is more
favored by Providence as an all-the-year
residence for mankind. 1t is never too hot
or too cold. The temperature varies only
few degrees from New Year to Christ
mas; 1t stands about the same IN January
as II does in July or August. The trade
winds from the ocean come laden with a
salty GOODNESS. while the mountains fur
nish perfect protection from the eastern
and northern winds and shut off the simoons
from the desert. 1t seldom rains. 1t Is
unusual to a cloud In the sky. Every
thing has to be irrigated. The land. how
ever. is very rich and produces prodigious
crops of every fruit, grain, vegetable and
flower known north of the tropics. Most of
the land in the beautiful valleys is under
cultivation and is worth from $50 to $500
an acre. Irrigated orange land brings the
biggest prices Very little irrigated land
can be bought for less than $3.50 acre,
but five acres will support family under
the intense methods Of cultivation Gus
tomary out here. Sugar beet land is worth
about $500 an acre, and bean ranch will
cost from $3.50 to $500 an acre.
Seed Farms.
There are several seed farms of very
highly cultivated land, which bring even
more than orange orchards. c. c. Morse
& Co. have a seed farm OF $500 acres
from which they shipped $50 tons of sweet
pea seeds alone last year to New York,
ind all kinds of vegetable and flower seeds.
They do not sell any on the coast. Every
thing Is shipped to jobbers In the eastern
markets. The Brasslin Seed Company, up
In the Santa Clara valley. Is raising spe-
cial seeds for the government. as the eli
mate there 10 especially favorable to ma
turing rare varieties.
1t has begun TO raise canary seed also.
Heretofore our supply has come entirely
from Asia Minor but last year more than
a million pounds were shipped out of this
nnI 10 hty,ey hut
bird food. 1t IL the ripened grain of pc
culiar grass found along the Mediterra-
mean.
The seed companies employ Japanese gar
deners almost entirely, although many of
them would prefer Chinese, but the lat
ter cannot be had The Chinese make bet
ter gardeners, are more susceptible to dis
cipline, accept lower wages and can be de-
pended upon more than the japanese. The
latter are apt to be "cocky'' and independ
ent and are inclined to go as you please"
Pigeon Ranch.
The first interesting sight from the car
windows after leaving Los Angeles is the
pigeon ranch OF Mr.. ]. Y. Johnson, which
stands beside the railroad track. 1t can
also be seen from the trolley cars to Santa
Monica Beach. Mr.. Johnson has about
$500 pairs of birds-the pigeons out here
mate early in life and never divorced.
They stick together until death doth them
part and increase at the rate of six birds to
each pair annually. That is, IL all the
young birds lived, 10000 pairs would in
crease to 10000 pairs each year. Mr.. john
son kills his young birds when they are
about six weeks old and ships an average
of forty dozen per day to the Los Angeles
and San Francisco markets, where he
ceives So dozen for them during the win
ter months and 81 and s.. 80 In the summer.
His income from his 5000 birds is about
s1O0 a day, and it is a cash business.
The birds very tame They are not
LAn in, aQQQ hllt in nrif inn 10 ,.ritb
closely woven wire mesh around them-not
so much to keep the birds in as 10 keep
out rats and cats, and other murderous
animals He has half dozen or more we'll
trained dogs 10 protect his immense broods
These dogs seldom leave the place, but
stand guard night and day, keeping off
cats, rats foxes. ferrets, hawks, eagles and
other enemies of the pigeons. In the CEN
ter OF the corral are long rows of boxes
or coops, in which the mother pigeons sit
on their nests. but they have no other
shelter. The birds will not fly away. They
are always circling around in the air In
the neighborhood and sometimes soar of
for miles, but they are home lovers. The
male birds seldom leave their setting mates
for more than few minutes at time
and are models of conjugal devotion, while
every bird that belongs in the place is sure
TO return at mealtime unless It IS forcibly
detained. They are fed grain, mush made
of meal and bread soaked In water. Mr..
johnson and other pigeon raisers buy up
the dry bread from the bakeries In Los
Angeles.
Other Big Ranches.
There are several other big pigeon ranches
in the neighborhood. George Reeves for
merly general manager of the Grand Trunk
railway. has one next adjoining the olive
orchards of the late Andrew McNally near
Riverside. and ships hundreds OF squads
10 market every day. Mr.. Reeves has wal
nut and orange orchards. a dairy, and has
also been quite successful in general farm
ing.
The famous Hotel Potter at Santa Bar
bara raises It's own sQuabs-about 100 600
a year-keeping an average of l2.000 pairs
OF birds. They fed three hundred
pounds of grain a day. The manager tells
me that the male birds often relieve the
females In setting and care for the young
at the same time The squads go to the
table when they are six weeks old
Acres of Beans.
II you will take the trolley line from
Los Angeles to the novel summer resort
they call Venice" you will run through
10000 acres OF beans. which are cultivated