804 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



from four to five pounds each; stalks of Indian corn, fourteen feet in height; 

 sunflowers, that have grown to the heigth of sixteen feet; a stalk of hemp, 

 eighteen feet long, and hop vines fifty feet in length. There is yet another 

 feature of this exhibition which is even more significant than these enor- 

 mous growths of vegetables. I refer to the great variety and uniform 

 excellence of the potatoes, all of which are large and smooth, free from 

 blemishes, prolific, and when cooked, mealy and of unsurpassed flavor. 

 Mountain grown potatoes are universally acknowleged to be of better qual- 

 ity than like varieties grown in the valleys. As an evidence of this fact I 

 have but to remind you that mountain potatoes always find a ready mar- 

 ket at an advance of from one quarter to one half cent per pound higher 

 price than other potatoes in the market. Mountain grown potatoes, like the 

 foothill fruits, are always in demand, and there is no danger of overstock- 

 ing the market. 



IRRIGATION. 



While it is an undeniable fact that many if not all of these vegetable 

 products thrive better and produce more abundantly under a careful sys- 

 tem of artificial irrigation, yet it is, nevertheless, equally true, that a large 

 majority of our farm and orchard products can be profitably and success- 

 fully grown without irrigation, providing, of course, that the ground has 

 been properly prepared, and is thoroughly cultivated at the proper season. 

 As an example of what has been accomplished without irrigation, we have 

 but to examine the beets, ruta bagas, carrots, parsnips, corn, cabbage, 

 potatoes, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, and citron, on the section of the 

 table near the window at my left, all of which samples, I am assured, were 

 grown on the red sidehill lands without a single drop of irrigation except 

 that which fell from the clouds. Further along are specimens of rye, oats, 

 wheat, Russian oats, and sweet corn, all of which were gathered from fields 

 which had not been irrigated from the time the grain was planted until 

 the crop was harvested. In many places throughout this district, are 

 orchards and vineyards in profitable bearing, which are situated entirely 

 above the water supply and, of necessity, without irrigation. From the 

 evidence before us in this pavilion, we are warranted in branding as false 

 the often repeated assertion, that the foothill lands are useless for horti- 

 cultural purposes unless supplied with irrigation. 



OTHER EXHIBITS. 



The limited time at my command will not permit me to indulge in an 

 extended notice of the many other meritorious articles on exhibition. Of 

 the needlework, paintings, etchings, photographs, and other works of art 

 and ornament; nor even to review the merits of the fine horses, thorough- 

 bred cattle, and other stock at the fair grounds; and yet I crave your atten- 

 tion long enough to consider some of the practical lessons which we are to 

 learn from this successful display of the resources and products of the 

 Seventeenth District Agricultural Association. 



Seventeen years ago the ride on the cars from Roseville Junction to Col- 

 fax carried the observer over a series of wild, unimproved hills, scantily 

 clothed with forest, abounding in chaparral and other undesirable quali- 

 ties that rendered the land, in the opinion of the average traveler, dear at the 

 government price of $2 50 per acre. The few inhabitants scattered along 

 the line of the road, cultivated their gardens and a few fruit trees for family 

 supplies, and by practical experiment learned that they could even grow 

 vegetables on the rough hillsides and in the intervening valley. Some 



