News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1922-11-22
LETTER FROM C. F. SMITH

/
/ We take the liberty of printing
extracts from a recent letter by
C. F. Smith, formerly of this town.
now of Lindsay, Calf, to Jesse
Waite, because of it's general interest
and value.-Editor.
81 think it about time l was an
swering your letter of several weeks
ago. | seem to have gotten off the
writing habit. Mark and have been
working this season on the eight
hour plan, as usual, eight hours in
the forenoon and eight hours in the
afternoon. 1t is raining, the first
rain since last spring, so you see
we do not have any excuse for loaf
ing. 1t is really quite nice to be
able to regulate the water for our
crops as we want it by opening the
meters and irrigating. Our trees
have done quite WELL Had about five
tons of apricots on our three-year-
old trees, harvested the first of July.
Will have about 80 tons of pome-
granates, about three tons more to
pick. About one-fourth of these trees
are three years old, the rest two
years. Will have about two tons of
olives, only picked about 700 pounds
yet. Will have few oranges to pick
later. Our three and four-year-old
trees in our family orchards hung
pretty full of fruit this season. Trees
make a very rapid growth in this
climate with the long growing sea-
sons. Nectarines three years old,
five inches in diameter with tops IL
feet high and as far across proped
up to carry their load of fruit.
Peach trees about the same.
1.-TWO years ago last March we set
two black fig trees. They were about
fve-eighths inch in diameter and cut
off 20 inches high. They now have
branches over two inches in diane
ter, that l climbed onto last August
and September and picked several
pail-fulls of figs. My wife put up
nine tumblers of jelly and two quarts
of sauce from plumb tree set out
one year ago last March. Well
enough shop.
"Our conference comes in October.
Our minister we have had for three
years goes to another place and our
new man will be here to preach to-
Our regular church budget |
for expenses is $4,000, and we gave
over $4,000 last year for benevolences, |
the amount paid on centen-
nary. The Methodist ministers claim
that Lindsay is unique and desir-
able place, as it has the least foreign |
element of any place in the San
Joaquin valley. That is saying con-
siderable, when you realize this valley
is $50 miles long, with an average Of
so miles wide, with hundreds of towns
and cities. | do not know the popu-
alton. Fresno is the largest city,
With 10000 to 10000. The population
If this valley is growing very rapidly.
millions are being spent annually
developing new irrigation projects and
thousands of acres of all kinds of
,ruit are being put up. Another in
;eresting thing about this valley, the
upper end is only $40 feet higher
han the lower end, so with cement
highways and no hills, fiivver will
make 35 miles an hour (the law
init. Do not get the idea no one
exceeds the limit on some straight,
smooth roads. Not /, but Frances
vas telling the other day the fastest
he ever rode was about IS miles an
lour.
"Who is Kennedy that is bucking
| do not think he will
ret far on his platform.
Hope to see you some time, both
n Vermont and California"
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