STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 147 



streams, and the whole region is situated just below the vast forest belts of 

 the Sierras, where the lumber supply of the coast is found. 



The soils of Placer County, and of the whole foothill area, are red and 

 brown loams on the slopes, and dark alluviums in the valleys. The area 

 of arable land in these foothills is very large. The sloping uplands, which 

 are a prelude to the mountains, the gentle acclivities of the hillsides and 

 the valleys that intervene everywhere, form a large proportion of the foot- 

 hill area. Placer County has five hundred and twenty thousand acres, 

 and at least three hundred thousand acres are adapted to cultivation. At 

 the commencement of the American occupation fruit trees, vines, vegeta- 

 bles, and cereals, were grown near each mining camp in this tierra tern- 

 plada, or temperate region. ' These experiments demonstrated that all the 

 products of the temperate and semi-tropic zones would mature perfectly 

 there. It was not till within the last ten years that any agricultural indus- 

 try, other than grain growing and grazing, made much headway in this 

 county. Within the past ten years many small orchards and vineyards 

 have been planted, and they have proved the fitness of the soil and cli- 

 mate for all their products. 



Since the building of the Central Pacific Railroad and the opening of 

 the markets of the country east, tree and vine planting has been stimu- 

 lated. In 1886 the county had three hundred and sixty thousand fruit 

 trees, as returned by the Assessor, and that means, in 1887, five hundred 

 thousand. The assured success of fruit and grape growing, the nearness 

 of the intra-montane markets, the low prices of lands, the salubrious and 

 equable climate, and the picturesque beauty of the foothills, have induced 

 rapid settlement and development. 



The extent of the fruit growing in that county can be judged by the 

 shipments from Newcastle, which is only one of the shipping points of a 

 long line of railway. There are four large fruit packing and shipping firms 

 at that place. Each one occupies extensive premises and employs a num- 

 ber of helpers. In 1885 the shipments from this point were more than 

 four and one half million pounds. This season the total of the shipments 

 by express and freight cars, will reach nearly four hundred and fifty car- 

 loads, or nine million pounds, and the shipments from the county are 

 estimated to reach seven hundred carloads, or fourteen million pounds. 



The fruits grown in the foothills, on the brown or red soils, and in that 

 climate, are remarkable for flavor, and for keeping qualities. This fruit 

 bears transportation to the Atlantic seaboard. It is wonderful the trans- 

 formation which is taking place on these mountain sides. It is being 

 dotted with picturesque homes, which are surrounded by orchards and 

 vineyards. 



The scenery is beautiful. There are winding valleys, beneath overhang- 

 ing mountains and long sunny slopes, which overlook the broad valley of 

 the Sacramento, with its wide stretches of parked plains. The exhibit 

 from this county was large and varied. It embraced all the tree fruits 

 grown in the colder north, and all those from near the tropics; all the 

 deciduous fruits, and all kinds of grapes, including those delicate varieties 

 which can be grown only in a warm, wooing climate. The exhibit from 

 one small farm included twenty-six varieties of grapes. The exhibits of 

 apples grown at an altitude of three thousand feet attracted attention. The 

 temperature of that altitude gives the fruit a fine, spicy flavor, and a high 

 market value. 



The exhibits of dried, evaporated, and preserved fruits were particularly 

 noticeable. There were several exhibits of oranges of this year's growth, on 

 the branches. This county is one of the favored localities for citrus fruit. 



