10 May, 1938.] A in ni can Agriculture. 259 



Where the rainfall is siiffieiont, or where irrigation is practised, fruit, 

 alfalfa, and vegetables can be grown to perfection. Remarkable yields 

 of almonds, peaches, apricots, figs, and vines are recorded throughout 

 these two great valleys, while alfalfa commonly yields from 5 to 8 tons 

 per annum. 



The soils are, I should say, much more free working, friable, and 

 deep than the general run of Victorian soils, and in most cases there 

 are no highly-retentive clay subsoils underneath. Deep brown sandy 

 loam seems to be the most common type, and it is on these types that 

 heavy crops are obtained. In the coastal valleys, e.g., Santa Rosa 

 Valley, black adobe soils are met with (soils not unlike those of the 

 Wimmera), but even these appear more friable than their counterparts 

 in Victoria. In the San Joaquin Valley there is a large area of alkali 

 land — sandy soils, where irrigation has raised the soluble salts near the 

 surface. Large areas of such land are found in Kern, Tulare, Kings, 

 and Fresno counties. At present portion of these areas are falling out 

 of cultivation. The remedy is that prescribed for the Cohuna area, in 

 Victoria — provision of drainage channels to take the salts to the rivers 

 draining the area. The eastern portion of San Bernardino, Inyo, and 

 Riverside counties — a large area — is desert country, deep white gravelly 

 soils, with a low rainfall, and covered with desert vegetation. 



4. Economic Conditions. 



There is a good demand for all Calif ornian products, and these pro- 

 ducts meet with a ready sale in the eastern markets. But the price of 

 many of the commodities are not as high as in Australia. For example, 

 take one of the staples — raisins. The usual price received by the grower 

 is 4 cents a lb. ($80 a ton, roughly £16). Last year they received 4| 

 cents per lb. ($90 per ion, equal to £18). The price received by the 

 Mildura grower is probably double that received by the California 

 grower. Then, again, the cost of labour in California has always been 

 higher than in the eastern States. The price of pruning vines at the 

 present time is $3 a day. At Kearney Park (Fresno), a gang of 40 

 men were engaged in pruning a vineyard of 800 acres wheii I visited the 

 county.* Picking is usually done by contract. At Kearney Park 

 last year the average amount earned by 300 pickers was 5.2 dollars a 

 day (23s.). The standard rate is $3 per long ton of fruit (100 trays 

 of 22 lbs.). The manager of Kearney Park produced time and pay 

 sheets to show that the Japanese labourers in his employ earned as much 

 as $12 a day for the picking season (about five Aveeks) last year. The 

 standard price for ordinary farm labour is $2 to $2^ a day, according 

 to the class of work. Most of the fruit industries are organized on a 

 co-operative basis, and practically the whole of the crop is handled and 

 sold on a co-operative basis. Thus the California Fruit Growers Asso- 

 ciation has its head-quarters in Los Angeles. It has in its organization 

 80 per cent, of the growers of the State. The remaining 20 per cent, 

 not under the Citrus Association are mostly scattered over the State, 

 and are small men. 



This organization takes control of the entire crop, and has citrus 

 exchanges established in every city of the United States for selling the 



* At the time of my visit the mijirity of the workmen came to work in motor cars of their own. 

 V Ford car costs S470 and petrol 20 cents per gallon. 



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