The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1912-02-01
Letter from Los Angeles.

| LcltSI HUH LOS Angeles.
Frank w. Gowen Writes Enthusiastically
| of the Climate of Southern California,
the Productiveness Of the Soil, ETC.
| To THE EDITOR OF The JOURNAL: So
busy have been since l arrived in Cali
fornia in getting settled and matters ad-
justed that have neglected my CORE
spondence with eastern friends. Since l
have been here l have meet very many
people from dear old Maine and New
England, and in fact most every one you
meet out here knows all about Maine.
This comes from the fact not only of
Names reputation as great summer
resort, but also as result of our State
| having lived under Prohibition for half a
century, and the people here are deeply
interested in the great fight which Maine
is waging to retain Prohibition in her
constitution. There is more liquor drank
in any two saloons in Los Angeles daily
than in the entire State of Maine, and |
earnestly hope and pray that our grand
old commonwealth will stand firmly by
the great principles that have made the
State so long famous in all parts of the
world as the home Of Prohibition.
AS to the climate here, can say, and
truthfully, too, that Southern California
affords one of the most beautiful eli
mates in the world The days here are
| like our September days in Maine, with
here and there fieecy cloud in the
| sweet blue sky, and warm sunshine flick
ering here ana there between the orange
trees in a flood of crimson and gold. In
I deed, it is like heaven on earth to be liv-
ing in a country like this, where there is
no winter weather, where the air is made
m 4Iodious by the song of the hooking
bird and where flowers never fade.
Yet they claim that it is the coolest
winter in years out here; but while the
temperature in Boston is registered to-
day as high as "a and as low as "a, here in
Los Angeles it is 80 high and 81 low.
This southland has a most delightful
climate and rich soil when under irriga-
ton, and the farms here yield more
abundantly per acre than the farms in
Maine. A rancher in Southern California
works all the year around, while in
Maine farmer has to lie idle during the
long winter months. Right here l will
make a few comparisons of crops raised
in California and in Maine. Take the
hay crop for comparison. In Maine
one crop of hay is raised for the season,
and the highest profit per acre the
eastern farmer can count on is SIT per
ton, or $170 for the crop from ten acres,
while on California ranch ten acres can
be planted to alfalfa and from five to six
crops year taken from the soil and the
profit is about 500 per acre or 81 ZOO for
the ten acres. The potato crop in Maine
will bring about $50 to S75 an acre, or
$500 or $3.50 for ten acres, while in
Southern California the same kind of
soil planted to celery will yield profit
of $3.50 per acre or So, 500 per ten acres.
Ten acres planted to corn in Maine will
return about $40 per acre, or $500 on ten
acres, while in California ten acres of
land can be planted to barley, yielding SIT
per acre, or $40 for ten acres, and this
crop can be followed by crop of pota-
toes that will return an average of Sic
per acre, or 81, 100 for the ten acres. Sc
might go on making comparisons, but
it is unnecessary. l will say, however,
that it would require a regular catalogue
of California products to tell the things
that can be grown with absolute certain
ty and profit under these sunny skies.
The California oranges and lemons are
becoming famous for quality and good
prices and are already being shipped
direct to London and Berlin and other
European markets. In fact, the agricul-
tural products of California for single
year are now worth twice as much as the
yearly product of her gold mines in their
best day or decade.
Alfalfa, wheat, barley, oats, cane,
Kaffir corn, Milo maize, cantaloupes,
casabas, watermelons, oranges, sugar
beets, grapefruit, olives, peaches, pears,
plums, apricots, figs, dates, pomegran-
ates, berries, grapes, asparagus, toma-
toes, potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes,
celery, apples, and lemons are among
the crops that are successfully and profit
ably grown in the Golden State, and then
the farmer or rancher here not only
reaps big profits in raising these crops,
but it is not necessary for him to lay
awake nights fearing that his crops may
fail or that the weather will interfere
with his work. The land here ''is on the
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