Norwich bulletin., 1914-11-14
LIFE INTHE coxsHELLA DESERT,
 CALIFORNIA

Editor of the Social Corner: Ex- changing a modern home in the beau tiful city of Los Angeles for 320 acres of desert land, 135 miles away, where the town consisted of a post office in the store, a church and schoolhouse and three or four small cottages, was hazardous experiment undertaken by New England couple about eight years ago, with only so acres of land cleared of the sage brush, and a well 45o feet deep for improvements on the ranch.
 A two-room California house was secured five miles from the railroad and center of the town; household goods, tools, etc, having arrived, a stout pony was purchased and a cabin erected with large arrow-weed shed attached for cool, shady resort when Old Sol sent his fiery rays down upon them. The pony, too, had his arrow weed barn.
 ing, with a limited knowledge of the best crops to raise for future profit. the would-be ranchers and pony made several visits to the farms scattered through the valley.
 Asparagus, one of the easiest crops to raise, was shipped in great quanti- ties and brought fabulous prices. Garden vegetables grew so rapidly they were a delight to the eye, as we'll as the palate, their mammoth proportions caKStng much competition in the Los Angeles markets. the numerous huek- sters singing and shouting their vir- tues to the housewives even to the city limits. That healthfuI vegetable the onion was a favorite crop on many ranches and riding along one day they saw what looked like. a huge snow bank, so white and high and long it was, they could not estimate tn num- Der of bushels of that most useful aro- natic vegetable lying there. The far mer standing by his bountiful crop waiting. for teams to take them to the station was highly delighted with his success in onion growing.
 Melons, cantaEoupes, planted in Feb- ruary and March were harvested in June and July. The Indians from the reservation in the valley hard at work gathering and carting them to the arrow-weed sheds, where packers were sorting them according to size and deftly wrapping them in soft tissue pa- per. then carefully depositing them In their respective boxes, and taking them to the preceded cars and shipping north and east, where they brought $500 to $1,000 or more, according to the crop received
 crop on some ranches, harvesting be- ing done nearly every month in the year.
 Malaga grapes, an early fruit for eastern markets, was in its infancy.
 For the past three or four years. cotton has been raised on many of the farms, of fine quality and bringing good prices.
 Orange orchards are being set out and the fruit ripened earlier and is sweeter than from towns outside the desert.
 The Government Palm Gardens pro- duce large, juicy dates which bring fabulous prices, and the date palms are being set out in great numbers throughout the valley. Some ranches are wholly devoted to their cultivation.
 Irrigating by means of flowing wells some two and three hundred feet deep in the lower portions of the desert, for the more elevated wells are often 1000 feet or more in depth, thus afrording an abundant supply of pure soft wa ter for man and beast, retaining the desert and making it like a Garden of Eden.
 @ DAN