USA > California > History of California, Volume V > Part 36
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Because of the diversity of the state's production, the popular ideas regarding the foundations of her wonderful wealth are as many and as varying as the earlier conceptions of her topography and climate. The remarkable record for gold production has given her
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the reputation of being a huge mining camp, than which nothing could be farther than the truth. The fame of her magnificent scenery has created the impression that the state is unbrokenly mountainous, whereas in fact, there are great level valleys. The fame of her fruits and flowers has made for the entire state a repu- tation of fertile acres and abundant harvests, when, if the truth were known, only one-fifth of California is estimated to be arable land suited to agricultural uses. Much exploitation of California climate and the fact that the state is both a winter and a summer resort, has given credibility to the report that here one may find continual summer, whereas, with the exception of certain places directly along the coast, there are decided changes of temperature, though not so extreme as in most parts of the United States.
There are cities and centers of civilization which are not easily explained in the light of physical setting, and seem to be more the result of man's reckoning and clev- erness than of nature's intent. This is not the case with the development that has taken place in California. A master mind, given the foresight to see the changes that science and invention have wrought in methods of travel, manufacture, agriculture, and physical activ- ities generally, and allowed the privilege of flying from end to end of California in the bird's-eye seat of an aeroplane, could have predicted on the day Cabrillo set the first white foot upon her soil, the setting of cities, the lines of travel, and the development of industries and commerce, for the prophesies are written in the world setting, the contours, and the substance of her soil and subsoils.
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Such a survey would have revealed then as today a territory lying along the shore of the Pacific ocean for a distance of eight hundred and fifty miles, between parallels 3212° and 42° north latitude, and extending back from the coast to an average distance of two hun- dred miles. Along the east side rise the Sierra Nevada to heights varying from 8,500 to 14,000 feet above the level of the sea. On their crests the snows are white the year round. On the other side, following the line of the ocean is the Coast range, a broad belt of broken ranges from 3,000 to 6,000 feet high, and interspersed with many pleasant valleys. At a point two-thirds of the way to the southern boundary of the state the Coast range and the Sierra Nevada are joined in the Tehachapi range which cuts across the state. The mountains continue south from there in the Sierra Madre range. All the country east of the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra Madre is semi-arid. North of the Tehachapi range, lying between the Sierra Nevada and Coast range is the great valley of the state. Two rivers, the Sacramento from the north and the San Joaquin from the south, flow towards each other down the center of the great valley, which is usually spoken of as the Sacramento valley and the San Joaquin valley, to the north and south respectively, from the rivers which drain it, although in fact, it is one continuous depression down the center of the state. The two rivers empty their waters into the Bay of San Francisco. The great valley receives rain in varying quantities- the upper end of the San Joaquin receiving the least. The Coast range country receives an ample supply of moisture from the ocean, but its rainfall tends to become
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less toward the south. The year-long snows in the Sierra Nevada insure a continued flow to the rivers in the northern part of the state.
Three land-locked bays indent the coast of California. The Bay of San Francisco, near the center of the coast line, is one of the finest and largest deep-water harbors in the world. It is entered through a narrow opening less than a mile across and covers an area of four hundred and fifty square miles. Into it flow the navi- gable Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Well to the north is Humboldt bay with an area of twenty- eight square miles, also deep water, but hampered by a bar at its entrance which delays shipping in heavy weather. At the extreme south is San Diego bay- twenty-two square miles of water shut away from the ocean by the long peninsula, but with an open channel at all times. Los Angeles has a harbor in San Pedro bay, where the widened mouth of a river and the curve of the sand bar give protection for landing. Besides these there are ports along the coast in use at the pres- ent time, and still others which appear capable of use, at least by the secondary ocean-going vessels.
In general, the wooded areas follow the highlands. Although California redwood may now be seen in almost every country under the sun-for its unusual beauty has been appreciated by all the world-its natural habitat is California. Practically the world's whole supply of redwood timber is found in a tract in the Coast range extending from the northern line of the state for a distance of two hundred and forty miles with a width of ten to twenty miles. In addition to this tract, some particularly fine groves are found to
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the south in the Santa Cruz mountains (a part of the Coast range), where the state of California has created a reserve in Redwood Park. The monarchs of all the timber kind-the famous great trees, are on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada near the center north and south of the state. The western slope of these moun- tains-a territory four hundred miles long with an average width of twenty miles-is covered elsewhere with a mighty forest of white pine, sugar pine, "Bull" pine, and cedar. The best timber is found at elevations between 3,000 and 7,000 feet above sea level.
In the earth of California was stored rich mineral wealth. Of the fifty-eight counties, not one is without commercial quantities of some mineral, and nearly every one has several of the two score minerals found somewhere within the bosom of the state. From the precious gems of San Diego, through the oil district of southern and central California, and the borax mines of the desert, past the salt works of San Francisco bay and the quicksilver of the Coast range, and on into the gold-bearing country to the north and west, a trip throughout California on mineral inspection reveals a continuous series of precious and non-precious treasure troves. The floor of California was "rich inlaid" with mineral wealth. Hidden deeply in places, often remote on the well-nigh inaccessible fastnesses of the rugged mountains, concealed in physical and chemical combina- tions with disguising elements, the riches were imbedded waiting to reward the human skill and knowledge that searched for them with sufficient perseverance.
The soil of California is not homogeneous in character. The surface of the state is a patchwork of many types,
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irregularly intermingled. High in the mountains sur- rounded by barren rocky hillsides are found fertile valleys. Between the rich valley lands and the moun- tains without vegetation, intervenes the hill country with its shrub and thin soils suited only to grazing purposes. Along the rivers the almost bottomless soils invite deep cultivation and promise royal returns in the harvest.
The climate of California consists of a wet and dry season. The wet season corresponds to winter time in the rest of the United States, and the dry season to the summer. The heaviest annual rainfall is in the northern part of the state, and the rivers that rise there and draw upon the melting mountain snows for their supply of water have naturally the greatest and most evenly continued flow. Yet, aside from the northern coast country which feels the effects of the ocean fogs, the whole surface of California unless arti- ficially supplied with water, becomes parched during the summer time. Even the country lying within a short distance of the great rivers which never cease their flow during the year, becomes dry and brown during the rainless period. Less fortunate areas, such as the upper end of the San Joaquin and the country east of the mountains, receive very slight allowance of moisture at any time of the year.
Among the plant life of California is found some variety of practically every product of the temperate zone, and species allied to semi-tropical plant life as well. In the waters of the rivers and along the coast live one hundred and thirty-three varieties of food fish.
Such was, and is, the physique of California.
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The few native inhabitants were Indian tribes of a low type of physical development and civilization, who despite the natural advantages of their situation and the abundance of natural wealth at hand, had never progressed beyond the most primitive of customs and means of livelihood.
This great, diverse, rich, uninhabited country, on the last shore of civilization's westward march, visited by white adventurers some fifty years after the dis- covery of America, first felt the compulsion of white hands in 1769 when the padres established the mission at San Diego. Theirs was the first step in the devel- opment of this remarkable country. The cultivation of fruits, which has held its own in the state's produc- tion with increasing importance ever since, was begun by them. Although incidental to their larger work of Christianizing the natives, they performed a valuable service in the planting of their gardens by which they demonstrated the ability of California climate to grow semi-tropical fruits over a wide latitude. Nor is their agricultural contribution unappreciated today, for the aged trees and vines, survivors of the brown-clad fathers, tell a story of age limit and climatic effect which would, but for their thrift, still require years of of demonstration work upon the part of the orchardists.
By the year 1834 the production of the missions alone included grain, beans, wine, brandy, olive oil, cotton, hemp, tobacco, oranges, figs, and other fruits. The annual output of wheat, maize, and beans was one hundred and twenty thousand bushels. It is estimated that the annual total production of grain, fruit, and
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garden from the missions and rancheros was nearly two million dollars.
However, the raising of live stock was the most extensive and richest of the industries of California for many years. The Spanish people were established upon great grants where they ran their herds, culti- vating relatively small areas. The exports from California in the year 1846 were 80,000 hides, 1,500,000 pounds of tallow, $10,000 worth of soap, $20,000 worth of furs, 1,000 pounds of brandy and wine, and 1,000,000 feet of lumber.
Following the American occupation agriculture was more generally pursued than before, but the land was held in large tracts. Vast grain farms became the rule, and the state's production of wheat rose to near 60,000,000 bushels per year.
The development of California took an abrupt and new turn on the day when gold was discovered on the now famous millrace. No longer Spanish, Russian, and American only, but every nation under the sun found a landing place in California. Corners of the back country which had never known other than Indian feet before, were trod by the eager seekers after gold. No mountain was too steep, no pass too difficult for those who sought the hidden wealth. Men came with ox-team, on foot, by boat-around the "Horn," and across the isthmus. The boats that brought them were discarded by captain and crew as all made a mad dash for the gold fields. It is not strange that the less ven- turesome occupation of farming, and the tempting acres of California, were passed unnoted by these eager men. Later some of them returned from the gold fields
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to the surer, if slower, wealth of the soil, and others who returned rich planted their gold in the soil of Cali- fornia where it has multiplied many times for them and their descendants.
The finding of gold caused new towns to spring up, and old settlements to experience a sudden new growth and energy. Indirectly it hastened the agricultural development of the state for it brought many people to the coast, and the hitherto little known country became a household word throughout the world. In 1868 the first railroad pushed over the tremendous heights that separate California from the rest of the United States, and opened up a new route for the trade of the coast which had hitherto been entirely dependent upon ocean transportation.
Not until the latter part of the Nineteenth century did the farmers of California begin to realize that they were (like farmers throughout our broad land), ill- treating their grain fields by slack, one-crop cultivation, and that their returns per acre were annually becoming less. The result has been the breaking up of many of the great holdings into farms of a size that one man can properly handle, and the introduction of other crops than grain. Today there are still many large holdings in the state lying uncultivated or returning small crops of long-suffering wheat, but the movement toward the smaller farms gains headway yearly, and in most of the valleys of the state the price of land has risen to such an extent that large, idle farms are becoming an extravagance few can afford. In the year 1850 the average size of a California farm was 4,465 acres; in 1860, it was 466 acres and the number of farms had
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increased twenty-three-fold (to 18,700). In 1910 the average farm acreage had decreased to 316, and the number of farms increased to 88,000. Over sixty per cent of the farms were in 1910 less than a hundred acres in size.
The small farm (40 acres or under) is very much in evidence in the fruit and vegetable growing districts, and in some dairying sections. Attempts have been made to prove that a man can support himself on one acre of ground, or that families can live with ease on five to ten acres, but while in a few isolated cases- generally in some unusual and highly specialized industry-it has been proven possible, as a rule disap- pointment and failure have followed such attempts. But the ten-acre farm has proven an economic possi- bility and success, and in many parts of California, and with a variety of crops, small families can live in modest comfort on this acreage, if properly cultivated.
It would be overlooking the most important factor in the development of the small farm, and the increased total area under cultivation in the state, if one failed to take account of the part irrigation has played. Men awoke to the potential worth of the water that was running unused to the ocean, past stretches of thirsty land, and turned it onto their fields with the result that crops were doubled, the chance of crop failure greatly reduced, and vast areas hitherto incap- able of cultivation because of their arid nature were placed under the plow. The snows of the mountains tend to even the flows of the rivers that have their sources there, and the rough country, with its rapid falls and narrow passes lays the rivers liable to maneu-
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vering by human hands for the still further conserva- tion of their flow by storage and the utilization of their energy by power plants. The census of 1910 states that one-fifth of all the irrigated land in the United States is in California. Over three million acres are now irrigated, and the results of the recent official irrigation investigations indicate that fully three times that amount may ultimately be put under water. The flow of the rivers is sufficient to water the whole twenty- two million acres of agricultural land in the state, were it possible to control and distribute it over wide territories. At the present time, the possibility of the water actually reaching all this land, much of which appears wholly inaccessible to the rivers, seems slight.
The crops of the state include every product of the temperate zone as well as many of the semi-tropic. Each year sees new experiments-and usually success- ful ones-in the introduction of new crops. Among the most recent to prove their adaptability and value to the state are rice and cotton. The former is being grown on the rich, level Sacramento valley with its superabundant water supply. Although cotton was among the crops of the missions in 1834, it was not until recently that it became a commercial product of California. In the Imperial valley where the waters of the Colorado have turned the desert into productive farms, a very fine grade of cotton is being raised. Besides the plants brought from other countries, Cali- fornia has increased her list of products through the creation of new varieties by experimentation. Luther Burbank, the wizard of plant creation, has his experi- mental gardens in a valley of the Coast range, fifty
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miles north of San Francisco bay. He has added many new types to the horticulture of the state.
In the grand total of California's production for the year 1912 ($1,097,000,000), over one-third, or $344,445,000 was contributed by agriculture. An enumeration of the crops which helped to make this large total for agriculture would be too long to give here, but some suggestion of their diversity is indicated by the classifications into which they fall-Orchard products, including fresh and dried fruits, nuts and oil; vineyard products, including grapes, raisins and wines; dairy and poultry products; grain and hay; and other field crops such as hops, broom corn, cotton, tobacco, and sugar beets. Another classification which adds value to the amount of $69,000,000 to the state's output and which is indirectly a product of the soil, is farm animals and products. Nursery and florist products also add over $4,000,000.
With the exception of manufacturing, no other source of the state's production can compare with agriculture in importance. Fisheries yield $10,600,000; forest products, $23,305,000; mineral products, $87,425,000 (of which petroleum contributes $41,000,000).
The manufactures of the state were valued at $556,249,000 in 1912. California ranks eleventh in the list of states according to value of manufactured products. During the decade recorded by the 1910 census, however, the value of manufactured products increased by seventy-four per cent. The abundance of fuel oil, and hydro-generated electricity, favor the growth of manufacturing, while the geographic posi- tion with reference to world trade offers opportunities
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for almost unlimited market expansion. Among the cities of the United States San Francisco ranks sixteenth, and Los Angeles thirty-second, in value of manufac- tured products.
The development of California may not intelligently be interpreted in the light of any one of her many natural features or types of enterprise, without a consideration of the others. Her scenery becomes significant to the world in general only because it is accessible through the extension of transportation facilities; her climate, in combination with good soils and water supply, make possible the marvellously diverse crop production; her mountain streams furnish light and power for the growth of cities and the multi- plying of transportation lines; her mines, forests, fisheries, and fields combine to supply the raw materials out of which are built manufacturing industries and trade; the deep-water harbors on the Pacific invite the ships of the world to enter into commerce with her. Her development is many-sided and inter-dependent, and in that lies a great promise for future strength and growth. The remarkable size and diversity of Califor- nia is best appreciated, when, after summing up her present wealth and vast accomplishment, one turns again to the physique with which nature equipped her, and beholds that only a small part of her potential energy has yet been called into action.
Robert Newton Typick
VITICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA
O ALIFORNIA, the home of sunshine, fruit and flowers, was certainly blessed by the Maker of this great universe. No state in the union is better adapted for viticulture than California. In its vast expanse of about seven hundred and fifty miles along the Pacific ocean, with an average width of two hundred miles, with its irregu- lar divisions and innumerable valleys, the geographical and topographical position of California embraces such a diversity of climatic conditions that grape culture may be successfully carried on over a vast area. Nature provides the foundation for magnificent results. Assisted by irrigation in the overheated valley districts and supplemented by judicious fertilizing where the soil has been overtaxed and exhausted, she readily yields to laudable efforts to produce "wine that maketh glad the heart of man," wine that promotes and devel- ops the instinct of true temperance, because wine cul- ture, refinement, sobriety, and good cheer always stand together and are affiliated against alcoholism. Although the industry is young, we have accomplished much and our wines are superior to a great many of the foreign wines which are sold on the open market.
The state is practically divided into two districts. The long stretch of coast counties, including Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz, have shown their special fitness for the production of dry table wines of the most delicious and exquisite types. In these counties, the climatic conditions and soil compare favorably with some of the most renowned vineyard sections of Europe,
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such as Germany, France, and Italy. In fact, some of the red wines grown in these sections today are superior to many wines made in Europe.
The other district comprises the vast and fertile tracts in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, and south of the Tehachapi. Here is the center of the great sweet wine and brandy industry. The soil in most sections is very fertile. The cost of cultivation is less expensive than the northern part of the state, where the dry wines are made.
As to the early history of viticulture in California, records show that the Franciscan fathers, who settled in the southern part of the state near San Diego, first introduced wine making in this state. The variety of grapes grown by them became known as the mission grape. Whether the Franciscan fathers brought cut- tings with them from Spain or whether they propagated the mission wines from seeds, is not known. The real work of California viticulture, however, came later, after the rush for gold-when a great many of the early settlers, disappointed in their quest of gold, engaged in farming and agricultural pursuits. Among those who have helped to establish this great industry and who will always remain a part of California's history, are Colonel Arpad Haraszthy, Charles Kohler, Jacob Gundlach, Charles Dresel, E. H. Sheppard, Professor Husmann, Charles Krug, Captain Gustav Niebaum, Jacob Grim, C. de Franc, Henry M. Neglee, Captain Eisen, G. H. Eggers, and many others who have spent fortunes in their vineyard estates.
The industry, however, has had many setbacks. The most serious of these were the ravages of the
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phylloxera, which appeared in the latter part of the 70's and early 80's. The beautiful vineyards which covered the hillsides in Napa, Sonoma, Alameda, and Santa Clara valleys were attacked by phylloxera, and totally destroyed. Science has never found any- thing that would successfully destroy phylloxera. The French government at one time offered a large amount to anyone who would find a practical remedy to kill this insect, but up to this day no one has ever claimed the prize. It is claimed that the phylloxera is a native of the United States and was carried into Europe through cuttings that were shipped from the United States. The native wild American vine is practically resistant to the attacks of the phylloxera and most of the vineyards today are grafted on this stock.
The leading varieties of grapes cultivated in the dry wine districts have, as the principal foundation, the Zinfandel, which consists of a prolific, full-bearing red wine grape with a fully developed fruity flavor and pronounced acidity. However, all of the progressive vineyards are supplemented by Mataro, Grenach, Carignan, Mondeuse, Malbec, Valdepenas, various specialties of Burgundy and Pineau, Beclan, Cabernet, etc. The leading white wine stock includes the Burger, various kinds of Chasselas, Gutedel, several species of Traminer, Semillon, Sauvignon, Folle Blanche, and many others.
The investments in the state of California in vineyards, cellars, plants, and cooperage today exceed $150,000,000. While statistical reports in the dry wine districts are
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