244 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



except that part actually needed for driveways, 

 which will be bordered with suitable shade trees. 



WATER IN THE SECOND STORY OF HOUSES. 



The company will supply water in the central res- 

 ervation or park, of sufficient depth and dimension 

 to furnish water for live stock and household use of 

 all the families, and will erect at a height sufficient 

 to force the water to the second story of a house 

 upon any part of the section, a tank of sufficient ca- 

 pacity equal to a twenty-four hour supply, and from 

 it, by means of mains laid through the avenues, con- 

 duct the water to the front center of every twenty - 

 acre lot upon the section. It will also put in the 

 pumps necessary to force the water from the well to 

 the tank and a steam engine for operating it. It will 

 also construct the ditches required to conduct the 

 water for irrigating purposes to a distributive point 

 upon each twenty-acre lot. 



ADVANTAGES TO COLONISTS. 



The colonists of Greeley, Riverside and Utah 

 started with no such advantages as this. There is 

 no other company in the world that attempts to do so 

 much for its settlers. There is none, certainly, that 

 would attempt to do so much for so small a group as 

 thirty two families. But the Kern County Land 

 Company makes no pretense of superior virtue or 

 generosity in formulating these plans. It proposes 

 that the settlers shall themselves pay for these im- 

 provements, the cost being added to the price of the 

 land. Nevertheless, the plan is a distinct advantage 

 to colonists. In the first place, it secures a uniform- 

 ity of high class improvements, which obviously en- 

 hances the value of all the property. In the second 

 place, it secures these improvements much more 

 economically than it could be done by individuals. 

 The company can do these things in a wholesale way 

 at least 25 per cent, less than the thirty-two families 

 could do acting separately and by themselves. In 

 view of the large expenditure involved, the company 

 requires 40 per cent, of the purchase price to be paid 

 in cash, the balance remaining as a lien upon the 

 land, drawing 7 per cent, interest. Lands will be 

 sold, when improved as indicated, for $95 per acre. 

 Of course, it is necessary to organize a colony of 

 thirty-two families in order to take advantage of 

 these plans. 



HUNDREDS OF SUCH COLONIES. 



A large number of colonies of this sort ought to be 

 formed during the coming winter. In hundreds of 

 American towns and villages there are families of 

 moderate means who ought to take their money out 

 of the savings banks and invest it in such an under- 

 taking. The bread-winning members of these fami- 

 lies work for wages in various mercantile and manu- 

 facturing industries. The experience of the past 

 eighteen months has taught them how easy it is for 

 matters entirely beyond their own control to dimin- 

 ish their income, or stop it altogether. Then they 

 draw upon the bank account. This resource cannot 

 sustain them long in entire or partial idleness, but it 



is a capital sufficient to make them a home in Kern 

 Delta. No man is free except the man who lives 

 under his own roof, and produces from his own acres 

 the things his family consumes. It ought to be easily 

 possible to organize a colony in almost any one of 

 the thrifty towns and villages of the East or Middle 

 West to take advantage of this remarkable opportu- 

 nity for the making of a group of homes. People who 

 desire to be associated with such a colony, or to under- 

 take the organization of one, should correspond with 

 the Kern County Land Company. 



THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. 



The phenomenal growth of the irrigation industry 

 in California during the past few years has been 

 chiefly due to the prosperity of the fruit industry. 

 Kern Delta is famous for its peaches and apricots, 

 its pears, prunes and olives, but just at this time di- 

 versified farming is attracting the most attention. 

 This is due to the fact that since the panic set in peo- 

 ple have begun to realize that it is really more im- 

 portant to make a living than to make a fortune. 

 One of the most promising outgrowths of the study 

 of diversified farming in Kern Delta is the dairy 

 business. 



This branch of industry is just now receiving a 

 good deal of attention in the famous dairy district of 

 Elgin, Illinois. In comparing the conditions of Illi- 

 nois with those in Kern Delta, it has been discovered 

 that in the former three acres of tame hay are re- 

 quired to support a single cow, while in Kern Delta 

 one acre of alfalfa, or Spanish clover, will support 

 two cows. In other words, assuming that land in both 

 places is worth $75 an acre, it requires $225 worth of 

 land to support a good milch cow in Illinois, and 837.0 

 worth of land to support the same cow in California. 

 California has the advantage of the long seasons, 

 where there is practically no winter, so that it costs 

 much less to house cows than in Illinois. The mar- 

 ket is good and the advantages are quite in favor of 

 the Kern Delta as a field for the dairy industry. 

 This is a very attractive branch of farming and one 

 that settlers in these new colonies may very profit- 

 ably engage in. 



AN ALL-ROUND COUNTRY. 



But the Kern Delta is a good all-round country. It 

 is famous as an alfalfa producer and feeding ground 

 for sheep, cattle and horses. It has made an envi- 

 able record in recent years in the production of all 

 the fruits peaches, apricots, prunes, figs, olives, 

 pears, etc. Its vegetables and small fruits, cereals 

 and grasses are unsurpassed. Its rich soil, abundant 

 water supply and winterless climate furnish all de- 

 sirable natural conditions for every branch of diver- 

 sified farming. Tl e company's beautiful literature 

 describes and illustrates the advantages of the coun- 

 try, and answers all questions that arise in the mind 

 of the home-seeker. Address: S. W. FERGUSSON, 

 Manager, Bakersfield, Cal. 



NEW YORK: 812 Bennett Bldg., Fulton St. 



CHICAGO: 918 Chamber of Commerce Bldg., Cor. 

 Washington and La Salle Sts. 



LONDON: Africa House, 44-46 Leadenhall St. 



