Democratic Sentinel, Volume 13, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 March 1889 — LETTER FROM CALIF ORNIA. [ARTICLE]

LETTER FROM CALIF ORNIA.

D*ar Mac.: As time speeds onward I feel more compunction for not writing to you berore th : s, as agreed on leaving the old Hoosier State. — But here in tills suu-kissed land, where azure skies and sunshine are always in vogue, seeks and even months flit by unnotieed, and when one stops to reckon the time he tan hardiy realize that so many days have passed. It is now nearly two years since I to the Golden State, uid it behooves me that it the agreement is not fulfilled soon it will be outlawed. Southern California, as generally spoken f, implies the southern half of the State, but if leference is had to the Citrus belt, there will not be near so much territory included. The orange and lemon may be grown north cf Tulare Lake, but not with the success that attends their culture in the region south of it. The principal counties in the southern portion of the statu are San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. San Bernardino county is t‘. k e largest _n the state, and is two-thirds the size of Indiana. The surface of the country is greatly diversified by several parallel mountain ranges which cross the country from northwest to southeast. The highest range is the San Bernardino mou tains, which lie nearest the Colorado river. The San Jacinto mountains lie southwest of the San Bernardino, and from here to the coast a number of lower ranges traverse the country. To .the north and east of the San Bernardino mountains lie the Mojave (Moha’va) and Colorado deserts. These wastes are probably the most barren and desolate regional in the United States. The annual rainfall there do is not exceed three inches. Because of the lack of moisture) and vegetation the heat in tre summer is almost unbearable. The|thermometer usually registers 115 and 120 in the day time, and has been known to rise to 130. These vast areas of desert land have a vast influence on the climate and winds of thejsurrounding couu ry. In summer, when they are heated like a furnace, the winds blow from the ocean toward the desert. In winter the dir ction of the wind is reversed, and is known as tne “Norther.” These winds are not as coistant as the ocean breeze, but blow only at intervals of three or four weeks, lasting two or three days. When a Norther blows the air is verv rare and highly charged with electricity. A cat’s fur will craekle and emit sparks when stroked, and a person’s hair will stand on end. The ‘Northers’ are very’disagreeable to persons of a nervous temperament, which is due to the electricity contained m them. They produ e headache-, a general languor, and anirritabi# feeling hard to describe. The soil of th valleys is wonderfull / productive. OrAnges, lem - ons, grapes, apricots, peaches and nectarines are the stale products. T l e olive is grown quite extensively in Santa Barbara county, but in the other southern counties it is not. No doubt there will be more of them planted as they require less water than oranges and pay nearly as well. Barley and alfalfa are grown as. hay. The barley season is from December to May. Alfalfa is the most prolific of the grssses in California, yielding from five to eight erops in one year. The water supply is derived from a few small rivers, hardly worthy the name, which have their rise in the snow-clad mountains, and also from artesian wells. In many of the low ranges o* mountains or foot-hills, springs are found which furnish a suffiiciency of watir for small tr cts of land. It is a common saying here, that “We will give you the land, but must have pay for the water j right,” which illustrates the value of the little streams.

During the dry season not a Irop is allowed to waste. The water is taken ou 1 of the natural channels by flumes and ditches, or canals, and is carried to the locality which is to be irrigated. Here, by means of flood-gates an t numerous lateral ditches, the water is spread out over the land. But for the water of the Santa Ana and arm Creek the far-famed orange groves of Riverside, with its beautiful Mag olia Avenue seven miles loni% would be a barren and desolate plain. At some future time I shall nuke another attempt at describing some of the many intsrestixg surroundings of this variegated country. Hoping that your readers may glean i few ideas from these scattering remarks, I remain

Yours, Truly,

JESSE E. ROBERTS.

Banning, Cal., Teb. 16, ’B9.