The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-07-28
OUR CALIFORNIA LETTER.
Ice Making, Fruit Growing, Police Court
in Stockton Described.
Stockton, Cal, July 20, 1915.

j. an ice plant. Here in California, whel
q they have no freezing temperature, the
! need and use more ice than they do
the East. Now where do they get it
i. They make it. While the temperatur
z in the street is ITO to 100 degrees, the
: are making ice here at the rate of 10
tons day, and that amount on the aver
age is used daily here in Stockton, an
it is a much purer ice than is found /
the eastern cities, which is taken fror
ponds and rivers.
At the ice plant visited to-day, the,
are making % tons day. The plan
runs "a hours every day, three shifts 0
) eight hours each. In the first place, t
get pure water, they bored well ls
feet, directly beneath their plant. Ii
any part of Stockton water can be founc
at depth of from 10 to 20 feet, bu
the water is purer at lower strata
Ammonia and chloride OF calcium do tn,
freezing, but are not mixed together, but
are used separate. Ammonia is PLACED
in boiler under compression and II
pumped continuously in pipes placed in
the solution of chloride of calcium. The
continuous pumping OF the ammonia
through this solution reduces it to near.
ly zero temperature. Tanks Of water
about three feet by Is inches by one foot
are immersed in this cold solution aud
are frozen solid in a. few hours. Then
they are removed by machinery and
placed in a cold storage room, then sold
70 dealers, who retail il at residences all
lfl4s h. .nas =.
monia or chloride OF calcium, as it is
used over and over, day after day, and
year after year. so tnat the cost after
the plant is fully equipped Is actually
less than the cost of cutting and storing
ice in the East, where nature does the
freezing and the ice is much poorer. Ice
retails here at one-half cent pound,
delivered daily. How does that compare
with eastern priees'
Yesterday afternoon eight of us in
two autos took tap to an orange and
lemon grove about 30 miles northeast of
here. We first went north 20 Lodi, a
beautiful city OF about ] 400 inhabitants.
then east and north as many miles fur
Their, through a continuous section of ir.
rigated lands, planted with fruit trees of
all kinds and thousands and thousands OF
acres Of wine and table grapes. Then
we came TO an orange and lemon grove.
Is years old, with the trees mostly heav.
lily loaded with fruit.
hunted up the owner and he showed
us and took us over the whole pIanta-
ton, irrigation plant and ALL ] was a
good deal interested in his method of ir. |
rigation. He sank a well about 20 feet |
deep az about the middle OF his ll-acre /
tract and pumps water at the rate Of 800 |
gallons a minute in movable pipes 10 |
any part Of his orchard. He had us /
climb trees and pick oranges as big as
small Vermont pumpkins. eat and carry /
away what we wanted We only took a
few, as we did not want TO be hogs.
The main crop OF oranges and lemons
will not be ripe until November.
Electricity, conveyed from the big pow.
sr plants east Of acre in the mountains
Is the power used here to run their
pumps for irrigation. asked the man
what be considered his orange grove
worth. He said, "sl 600 per acre" lie
.laims that oranges are just a. success
lilly grown here a. In southern Califor-
lia
They claim that this valley l. the bed
4 an ancient lake COO miles long and
rom IS TO $50 miles wide. The land l.
Iot rolling, like the western prairie. but
about 1900 square miles Of
lmost level land Such Il the largest
alley in California, which comprises
9th the Sacramento and San Joaquin
alleys.
This afternoon I visited the Stockton
olice court. When fret entered. there r
as nothing doing ] engaged in CONVEX
alton with the clerk n The court and j
be hailif. They said Il WAS q dun day
" stockton police court. asked them
hat vas the average number Of s-rim-
iai oases entered on the docket in a
ay They said shout ~. o. 1000 in 4
ear. ] asked the principal cause and
hey sid "drtnkeuness ard qnarreilinr
said I had been here nearly 3 uerk 4 II
M had been arouna IN the city q good
aal both day ard night. ana had seen Il
p sigu Of fighting or drunkenness 9TH
"a. Where d. vou get thsmf- They II
ID The facts were. that uusf ~ them II
ere MsHicsn sheep heriers from oui
a. the ritz. uha come iuta thr ETY. g.
end their money and have = good time
" that they alwRvs I'D that nt asf-
IN Ice salsuns and aare rrrttr
4 b stay in The saloons urtn they ga
-htin1 drunk and flien were gafherad 81
I tie police hefufs thrv rads nrv a.
.r1mnes En- ti,s street HskaH tlsm 81
any ef their esiirf fof q furf trisl
HrF ssid rsreir ever. urirss thrr ueFH
IItr Hna fhHtf H1ursfl tlaurit there
ss q ekEnrr a. go thnsu fFra hi ftnt
W. a trial ~ furr d e. ureertain 4
- ns 81 Nermunt a fuFFmar RI =
.ii1f rrnsi auuft Erts 80 rzr hers.
4 Faersur n ettHufsuss FL eunft
ow whsr eHs p ufief aarnet D.
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