Semi-Tropical California. John Muir Describes the Sun Valley of San Gabriel. Some Facts about Orange Culture-A Fruit Land-A California Colony-Hints to Invalids. (Special Correspondence of the Bulletin.) San Gabriel Valley, September 1, 1877.

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

X0* j U *.. S-; SB3M-EECAL:e4EEP;RKl4- j and TemtcTffere-Iyhave. made my* HS -' \.-r' ~ --*—- x "i:,;'-i?':' IP home.and herjTsBsfcayhfle Ilive.* JoAfoMn Describes : Sttir T&akf j The.geograpositioaw?jjglii, y San Ga&rieL " * a*"?- soil and cJimate land-4 Jne take pleasuserT inj2pre8ent2ig our Jfcaders today freir*aeWtfe&Ji the -foi- | tinned, poinl-jiisfcieyoad his " lowing charming letter from the Httm- boldfofAmeri(-the*giaDlogit; cosmog- onist, botanist and artist—John Muir. ' What a wild, free, grorions life he leads ;. on -the mountain tops, -under the rriur- J rdurihgpines,in the eettfiing "canon, arid' and in the "forests primeval." Each oisfttlieS*esnita;*rja*i-IBtw yet Been attained, '.'*'. I&perimealAjj|l'naaA been tried, and good., begirrnings mad'ei; - si brrt.thermim]3fiftoTenp, 4 established groves are-scarce "'a*' one to-S fifty compared \ with -the - . newly * * planted. Many causes,, howeverxi have combined -of late try give the ; busmess aonderfh}, impetus, and ;net! orchards iaTe'heirrg-rnsdfrevsry dayi thajs;fiirsafe|.ba9Fnd;iif.my" rieagbl-f !► the feold groves, aglow with bor; plant" Ave acres with orange trees, and by the time your; last mountain is climbed their fruit will be your fortune'! He then led me down the valley, through the-few famous old groves in full bearing, andgspn the estate ,of, Mr. Wilson- ~t- QI wj.j. .u i.i, *vvwvo U..UU.W. umu . , - - , - , ksc , ,1 lessneasideseloped tfe'sj" desiiTtcttv ait J; i_ -i -j. -*j?aH*'- ii ., „ A showed me a ten,-acre. grove 18 year* old, W:--"-, ---: ss-v„ --- : . .-,.; ---. ,i . *"-ti || rock,-plant an-6ree-''e calleth them alH'tte last years crop from whichwas, soldi vritiGalifornmj "rt would reassur ' for$20,000.;There" Said,fetfe,ii?TScltfeE.|*SipH umphani enthusiasm, "what doyou think- Urora-buMduig goin o'n.agd the'hles&'ctf of that?-,00C;r acre per annum foj* \4&gg&0$jffi follows:.: hnlwcM, :, :..-lTtwom pioneers, : who have beerl -- *-' " facts aboct kasgbs. ''""?-''V-tossed about lOwboulders in flood timers The numberorafreesplantedto., restrial hJaveriYr&mfed to rest.. They; the acre is usually frara 49-to 69; tKey [.build, and plant, and settle, and bo.' come? \ then atand'from. thirty '"to -twefity-fiv trader natural influenceai Whn' : I iriajt? ] feet-apart :each wav'and, thuaTP1 * ee he plants- himself- E#w.i . -j-5*- "it - - .i* a-.-- -i--. root is an anchor, over which he reag WftFWikl planted,,, thme-fe*; continue-- fruit- j v'0imias!m . _ __,- . 1 ciently calm to feel the. joy-ofUviri'g. He } DeBahShorb,-an'eafcttsiastic-believer ! .... -. -... in IidaiAngelea and ararigesy.-.. 3ays; "We j haw 1yee.*ori. our property that are fully fortyyears oldi'and- .eighteear ih3esin I diameter, that are .still vigorous, ancbj } yieldinsf immense crOpsref fiaft.atthdjigh | they are ojay twenlry. f eetr apart." :*.ed"- ii IS ; lings arajBftidto-begin to bear TenraBera- ' by name." With hijiamaiejj he teste the-frraiitfWrth Ms pencil-hecaptures the others in his artists' portfolio r " -.- San Gabbiei Y.aixey, Sept. 1, 1S7T-. - The aun valley of San Gabriel is on&$f;; .the brightest 3pota toie foar'iH-all.-buiS briglit-huHl, and most of its brightness is J wildness—wild, south sunshine in a basin rimmed about with mountains and hills. \ Cultivation-ia-notwholly waiatirig, -fori here are-Ahe choicest of -jJl the:I(0pAnge- l.-i-. , , - -. .iHfim ;,ii*-- „, t 1(" oranop rrrovps but it' ".-;i -.+ fruit, are the bu*ning?andsbining Iiglits: . that direct andVuezftthes saDfjEeiik, ' -nwrwmiwy- .- ,.._ '' - " - - SSa j, il'ip'-"-'" .- - ?Sg| .-/aKosCBSBciEDiSG —.:- S? —m ""afe t AftemsitiBessmgthe-bad effJEeta}8fne-* | . necessarily makes the acquaintance of the sun ntibw aky. Favorite trees fill hia: mindj arid while tending them; ;Kfee; ej. dren, and acceriHng the benefits they- bring, beeofrres himself a benefectwr. -Be: sees.the brown common graundteemir IP "A 11 bnRmm?Tfe*tr-i'tK'vnl"7~ljj and leanra to-bringitiiiate ta tEfcg! tive crbjat.-in their tenth--year,, FnKby,Jhat he wills he can raSeb'y'"trajt Centered the sunnj sbutShalf. a month superior: cultivation this, long _Knproduc- ago, coming down alrigthioool sea, and rP?1 somewhat lessened Srf?n =, -. BinfcrfwSrtSr* *Si sl'rfaSJ whiletaees-from three to five years,old cT5arrt-Baerii._; With slips.arid';rootletSj-his magic wands/they,. apeaE:'at-hisS-biddmgT These, and the seeds heplarits, fe' hS prayers; and, by them brought into, rigt-|-. relations with God, he" works' "gtitodRi'} , landing ab Santa Moriica-."': Anllour'sride * , . — ,= -!, -., overstretches of bare, brown plain, a i f may becfese-fromthe- nurserymen, through corn-fields and* orange groves I I $g$ toeweomerwho seta out anor j brought me-, totbe handsomecoteeited chard-maybegin to gier; frmt .by-pm j little- town'ofXos Aflgeles, where oneJ *f aaihyear.-. AVheny6nk.set out,.., i finBs Spanish .adobes- and .Yankee shin-1 I .fo 518?' aftetwardi-the; tsteeaJ) . ; , A CAIJF0Ej,-IA colosy. gles: meting and -overlapping very j SSM Theasadena Colony,:located . ! small ditches, through which the--waterisj southi?cei*t corner of.the wttknoia'.'S: 1 disl.buted to-.each tree.-.;Or,, .where, the,.! j Pasqual Eancho, is:searce three" years -and is nearly level,-tne whole " ' craripus-antagomsnr. )I;believ0 there*ai some 15,000 people here, and some of their buildings are rather fine, but the gardens and thersky interested me more, A palm is seen'here arid there poisihg4.ts royal crown in the rich light, and the banana, with its magnificent ribbon leaves, producing a marked, tropical effect; not \ semi-tropical, as they are o fond of say- i ing here while speaking of. their fruits, j Nothing I have yet noticed strikes me as I j semi, save the brusque little bits of civil- J ization with which the wilderness is j ejieckered.. These are semi-barbarous or t lijs'-everything else in the-"region hasduririg;| j their rollmg.-stone.daySjmanagedforgather | *At I sufficient., gold. moss,Axi pnrcliase frem.-| ;' f ten to forty acres of land. , They . i-iiey: l newly;: throughout "th& county?for thetetej;found life, work like ants in. a."-sunny| "m K.,oJlioon oV*r\Ti*T &.C\' rr..rft.93-nfrr-*t rtoondav.and. lookinsr far ii of twelve "yeara~.'The'.~ averagefeTjSice i i are perfectly hilarious in their 'I. have rambledj?--sa*d he,- j we left college, tasting baihi- j years has been .about §20' or-S~per . I thousand; and, inasmuch as the-."area j adapted to-orange-culture: is limitedit-is j I hoped that thi3 price map not greatfefali ! i'forrmany years. . -... - jgge~-\ Sl lemon and lime arealso cultivated ; j'hefi) some=exteht, and corisiderafati- ; i_teirSon is how being given to the J|K)rMa ; banana, and the olive, almond j lish-walnut:SwBE thSorange ; heavily overshadows.-every- otier-; ! vines have of late years been so yj '! erative;t&ey are-seldoHi-;,.meBttcai noonday,and, looking far into the fakrre. j- hopefully count their orange chieka.;ten',{l years or more before thejg are-.'hatched;; m supporting therhselvesin&he meantime?!: on. theroduoL-afevaes-lof"aUalfa.| Itgeth?rwi|h?garden Vegetables and thfe' fquick-growing, frnrts, such-§sgs, grapeaP tapples; .etc., the whole reinforced by the remaining dollars of their 'Wid "purchase money. - There is nothing "wrje, reniark- ablein the'charaeter of th&seoTony than ft-j j.-the literary and scientific taste displayed?! sij The conversation of most I hay*met here s ! is seasoned with'a sma of mental ozonej't 0 itieaalt,..Tflieh. stretenre.as; &eihg- rare § amofig-thtiSerj of Cafiforniasot}.;. J?p-ii 5 "'# n|!l pKLoofcnMJr.rfecnjSfig fciii general, it wiU appeor at oriee that J with.all iek-uiupauttia advantages they j .lie beyond the reach of poor settlers, not? onlyiori Recount' oE-thtgh price of irri- ' -gable" larids—L06"per jcre and upwards -—bilk because of the. scarcity of labor.; A ?settlerrwiili"-eftly three' ir-four thousand 'dpllaraiwould. be penniless after paying TfqcStwentyacreaof orarge land and build- jing'edE-so plain a houaej.:.while many .years wouldgobyere- his trees-yielded .arriricomeadequate to the uiaifitenance "of his.family.** ' S\y'~'-.'jZ' t ' Nbeis there aythixiig' sufiiciently redwing in. the fine, climate, to form. a reli- Ha&Ie inducement for very sick people. 3STost of-this class, fronrall I can learn, cwrjjc here only to die-ii5d surety- ft :s-43irf Abetter to dje.comfortably at home, avoid- jing the thousand discomforts of travel, at a time whete'they-are'so-hard to bear. It / iaindeed.pijjujito see' so many invalids I ialready!bnthe". verge of the grave;making 'a paixiulif?-tO;qM'|sk climates, hoping itij change ~age to youth, and the darken- ang'i-yaiight of their, day to?morning.- No ':-sttctf health fountain has been, found, and this ciimate.line.-AS it is, seems, like most otherSftobedtedfprweU people orilyi i\From~ all X rouldlindV. cut. regarding its Ainnnehtrrrjatiemsering. :from ;:piumbriarySroitiesi'"'it feldotn - bene- ?ficial ;\to'_- atryvgrfeat' extents in- advanced f'caaes. :- Tne-edea; windsxe'less, fatal j |to thisrelaasj;6fe attfferera thanrthe corres pjondmg:wihda;"further north,.but, not-..: Ivwifchstandingtheys'ar.e. tetupered on- their „passage inlanddver warm; dry ground,- ' "yare still rhore-or-lesa.iSiurioua.- . -. fKThestmOTer.cTiinate'of their and pirie Jiwbodsi; of; ttoTiarrA-Nevada- would, I nthink,.-be- found infinitely more.reviying; 'but because, these-woods havei riot' been advertised like patent medicines,few seem to-think of" the spicy; vivifyinginfluencea that.pervade their foTmtain.-beauty. -- *&&&***&& *OHN'.-Mcir, \