Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-25
DELANO IS THE CENTER
OF FRUITFUL EMPIRE
Soil and Climate Unsurpassed
for Greats Production.
Il Points of Live Interest
BY EDWIN ANDERSON

BY EDWIN ANDERSON
A few years ago, when the great San
JOAQUIN valley was commencing to
open its arms to the incoming settlers
as something other than cattle and
sheep country, Delano commenced 10
raise her first wheat, the first of Whlch
was planted by an old-time resident
(who is still on deck at Delano) by the
name of John J. Schlitz That was
about twenty-five years ago, and the
homesteaders were croWding IN Wleh 1t
was worth life and limb to MAINTAIN
a residence against the Vaqueros "n"
cow-punchers and Sheepmen.
Before the homesteading period OF
which l speak and before the building
of the railroad few years prior there
TO the through wagon road from Los
Angeles to San Francisco passeu
through the very spot where the Town
of Delano stands today. IraNeleIs
passing through the valley on the
great mule team wagon train before
the railroad was built can remember
the great herds of wild horses running
over the free domain with only
brand for ownership. Many ana nerce
were the battles between the cattle>
raisers and homesto7ders, but c1Vlllza-
ton must win, and neVermore VIII tile
time be, if you are absent oVerHlSht |
from your cabin, that you vii! almost
certainly get back to find it lying IN
ashes. .,.,
With the building of the railroad
came progress, wheat farming ana
sheepmen and the individualizlng OF
the different districts to their own
spheres in point of advantages III a
natural way. For instance FRESNO
became the greatest raisin district III
the world: Visalia became general
mixed fruit district; Bakersfield has
become the greatest oil district OF can
fornia. and perhaps of the United
States and in the recent developments
Corcoran comes into the arena WIN
the unique advantage of having thelr
gas to light their homes coming out Oh
the ground gratis from the same Wen
which furnishes the artesian water Tor
the growing of the great alfalfa crops
now going in. Porterville assumes her
stand as one of the ranking orange
districts of the state, and only 1eW
wears ago everyone who was asked TO
mass 11pon whether they could raise
oranges or not would invariably an
swer in the negative, declaring that II
was too cold in the San Joaquin val
ley to raise oranges.
And now comes pelano, situated on
the main line of tie Southern Pacihc
railroad, midway between Bakersfield
and Tulare, being the hub of greSs
district comprising perhaps the largest
holding of all good land in one body
in the state of California; at least such
is the claim, being the center or hup
of this great belt of soil where oranges
and alfalfa are grown side by side,
and water from 9rtesian wells, five
miles to the west of DelanO, to from
fifteeH to twenty feet from the surface,
nearer Delano on the west, all of which
belt comprises the coming alfalfa re-
gion to deeper wells TO the east, the
difference in point of depth being the
difference in the rise Of the land to-
ward the mountains, which is from ten
to fourteen feet to the mile.
Everyone who knows anything about
the opening of a new country at most
casual glance could not help but see
that with the commingling of inter
ests the diversity of crops to be raised,
where one, the orange grower will pa
tronize the other the alfalfa grower,
where the soil is rich and deep and in
a district essentially it's own, that De
lano has in store wonderful future.
1t might suffice to say that Delano
is the. land of earliest products and
leave the proof of this assertion to
those who care to investigate, for as
the old adage says, THE proof of the
pudding is in the eating" which sim
ply means that no amount of eXplana-
tion as to why the pudding should be
good would make it so, the eating
being the only PROOF; so with this land
of earliest products, no explanation as
to why it is the earliest will change it
IN the least: it either is early ar it is
not and the answer to the questlEn lies
in thorough investigation, and this is
just what we court.
There has been little attention paid
TO the orange industry at Delano until
the last year when some of the most
experienced orange growers of South
ern California began to invade our sec
ton they have the practical expert
ence and knowledge of the orange and
lemon industry.
Oranges ripen early in November
and are practically all shipped before
December Is.
Some varieties Of grapes can be
shipped in first week of July.
Raisin grapes can be gathered by
July 20.
Watermelons ripen in June.
Pumpkins ripen by June Is.
Sweet potatoes are dug in first week
of August.
Alfalfa is cut six and seven times
each season.
Wild grasses are earliest and buyers
get first fat stock here.
Wild flowers blossom here weeks be
fore elsewhere.
Grain harvest i'm the San Joaquin
valley begins at Delano.
All of these important features have
been looked into very carefully by the
Southern California growers from a
commercial standpoint. after a most
careful investigation they have found
that Delano has every advantage that
could be expected, for the soil is what
they wanted, being loose and easily
irrigated and cultivated, the slope of
the land being most perfect for irriga-
tion, as it is very gentle, only enough
for water to run freely and not enough
10 cause it to WASH. DelanO being on
The main line of the Southern Pacific
railroad about half way between the
two great cities, Los Angeles and San
francisco. gives it every advantage Of
local markets as wei as eastern ship
mCntS.
ass3 sa