, 1913-01-09
CALIFORNIA LETTER
Oakland, Calf, Jan. /, 1912

AcuItOE QUIZ
1t is very strange to see the peo-
pie of this country at work in the
fields and gardens, preparing them
for crops, and busy with their
lawns, setting out shrubbery and
Towering plants on this the first
day of the New Year, at which
time their spring begins, while
know it is as cold as the dickens
back there in the Saratoga valley
and that the people there will not
begin such work before the first
of April, at the earliest, and per-
haps for not a month later. But
our winter is past here. 1t got
down to as low as 90 above zero in
some parts of the state for a few
hours and they thought that was
a,cfuUy cold. You should have
heard then howl and shrek about
the cold, and go shivering along
the streets in overcoats and furs!
But the cold weather is over and
today the mercury marked "a de-
grees. We may now look for rain,
for rain always follows a 'cold
snap" here. Today everybody was
out and enjoying themselves in
their autos and walking in groups
of from two to half a dozen. The
children practically live out of
doors here except during the rainy
season. Building goes forward
here the year round unless it is
stopped by the rain. Sometime
the rain is incessant for weeks at
a time. I heard one man, a painter,
say that he had been held up by
the rain for forty days one year.
when the rain comes in good, down.
right earnest, it puts an end to
most ak kinds Of outdoor work.
But it is a great country in which
to build. You are never troubled
with having your concrete work
freeze on you, for nearly all the
building that is being done here is
of ooncrete-business houses as
we'll as dwellings being made of
that material.
The man across the street was
very busy today re-setting his rose
bushes and geraniums and he call
I'd my attention to the fact his fig
trees were beginning to bud. 1t
is too late now to reset fig trees,
he informed me, if one expects
anything from them this year.
The zig trees YER about three
feet high, sturdy. thick limbed
fellows, and be said he pulled
a bushel of young figs from them
last year because he did not want
them to begin bearing 80 young.
he offered me all the young shoots
from them that I might want, and
l think I will send some back to
to the ranchmen there in the val
vey to plant. Don't all speak at
once, as I might not have enough
to 60 round, and I would hate to
disappoint anyone.
1 have been impressed with one
thing here, and that is the way
these people pull together. Every
man, in the first place, stands
up for California, and woebetide
the stranger who presumes to criti-
cises their government, their eli
mate or their people. They hang
together, you bet, and pull for
their town or state, which ia most
commendable. You cannot gel
one merchant to say a word against
another merchant or business man,
and the real estate men are stsnch
and loyal in standing by each
other. When l recall what a lot
of knockers we have there in the
Saratoga valley it makes me long
To have them come out here anC
learn a lesson in boosting theil
country. When we get some large
canals built there in the valley
and get settlers on that broad ane
fertile land, we will have a bette