320 * TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



YOLO COUNTY. 



THE SOIL. 



What is the character of your soil? is usually the first question a home- 

 seeker asks. To this we respond that California soil is as varied as her 

 climate. Even within the limits of Yolo County, half a dozen qualities of 

 soil may be found, thus adapting this section to almost every industry 

 desirable. The county may be subdivided for descriptive purposes into 

 hill land, valley land, bottom land, and tule land. The valley land com- 

 prises the greater body, and is largely devoted to the culture of wheat and 

 barley. This soil is principally a rich, deep loam, interspersed with adobe, 

 easy of cultivation, and sure to produce an average crop. The hill lands 

 are in the western part of the county. Until late years these broad acres 

 were devoted almost entirely to grazing, but more recently the rich red 

 soil and gravelly loam has been found to be excellent for the production of 

 cereal crops, and to-day the foothills are considered with the best lands of 

 the county for all productive purposes. Even the vine has encroached 

 thereon, until some of our finest vineyards nestle in the little vales and 

 along the hillsides of this region. The garden spot of Yolo is found to be 

 hovering along the banks of Cache Creek and the Sacramento River. Here 

 the rich alluvial soil may be seen in perfection. Anything in the vegetable 

 line, including melons, peanuts, and sweet potatoes, nourish here. Small 

 fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, find an excel- 

 lent home in this soil. Berries and the fruit trees of every variety grow 

 here to such perfection as to challenge the rest of the world. If this land 

 is objectionable at all, it is because it is too productive for the production 

 of cereals, because of the excessive growth of the straw. Lastly, we come 

 to consider the tule lands. These occupy forty thousand acres along the 

 eastern border of the county, between the valley lands and the rich bottom 

 of the Sacramento River, The tule lands, at certain seasons, receive the 

 surplus water from the river and from Cache and Putah Creeks, and pre- 

 sents the appearance of a great lake. The wet season being ended, this 

 water flows off rapidly with the Sacramento River, and the whole surface 

 produces a luxuriant growth of tule, salt, and other grasses, and is used 

 for grazing purposes for herds of sheep, cattle, and swine. These lands 

 are doubly valuable for grazing, inasmuch as they furnish pasturage at a 

 season when the grain fields and other pasturage have been eaten out. 

 This brief resume of Yolo County soil will be sufficient to show that the 

 stranger may be accommodated, if soil alone is to be considered. 



CAPAY VALLEY, YOLO COUNTY. 



This delightful valley is to Woodland and Yolo County, what Pasadena 

 is to Los Angeles. It is destined to become not only a pleasure and health 

 resort for people from all sections, but it promises advantages of soil which 

 few places of resort enjoy. This valley is twenty miles west from Wood- 

 land, on the road direct to Lake County and the timber forests of Mendocino. 

 The valley is about four miles wide, and extends a little north of west, 

 a distance of twenty-five miles. Cache Creek, a beautiful stream supplied 

 with sparkling mountain water from Clear Lake, flows through the whole 

 length of the valley, supplying abundant water with which every foot of 

 land could be irrigated if considered necessary. The scenery along the 

 banks of the stream is wonderful, and never fails to surprise the tourist, 



