The climate is very agreeable; frosts are few and rarely damaging, even 

 to tender plants; snow is unknown, and the mean temperature is delight- 

 ful. There are occasional hot spells in summer, of brief duration; the 

 heat is dry and so bearable that harvest teams and crews work without 

 shelter right along, experiencing no ill effects. The nights are cool, due 

 to a breeze from the ocean, sixty miles from the nearest point. 



Land in the Modesto-Turlock irrigation district is valued at from $40 

 to $100 per acre, according to its character and distance from town. Land 

 well set in alfalfa, and without other improvement to speak of, is worth 

 $120 per acre. The cost of preparing land for alfalfa ranges from $10 to 

 $20 per acre. 



Merced County 



F. W. YOKVIII 

 Secretary Merced County Chamber ot Coinnierce. 



ANY article treating on California must naturally be interesting read- 

 ing to the man who is anxious to provide a home for those who are 

 near and dear to him. 

 The subject of my sketch is Merced County, named after the 

 River of Mercy, which, heading in the snow-capped Sierras, flows 

 toward the setting sun over the cliffs of beautiful Yosemite, forming the 

 falls in that great wonderland, then resting for a few moments on the lap 

 of the enchanted valley, it again takes up its journey towards the Pacific 

 Ocean, and on its way thither furnishes the life-giving fluid that makes 

 the fertile soil of Merced County give forth bountiful crops, to the pleasure 

 and delight of the husbandman. 



Merced County is situated in the exact center of California; the gentle 

 breezes of the Pacific Ocean from the west here mingle with those that 

 journey down from the perpetual snow of the Sierra on the east; the life- 

 giving warmth of the sunny southern part of California is here met with 

 the temperate condition that gives the northern part an ideal climate. 



This combination of elements gives Merced a climate which needs only 

 to be sampled to be appreciated, and which makes it possible to grow any 

 and all kinds of fruit, vegetables, and cereals to perfection. Here can be 

 grown with profit every crop that is grown in California, which includes 

 everything that grows in the world. Our lands are surpassed by none, and 

 can be had for twenty-five to seventy dollars per acre; alfalfa grows 

 here to perfection, and as a result creameries have sprung up on every hand; 

 the earliest tomatoes are grown here and shipped all over the Coast, pay- 

 ing a handsome profit. The world-famous Merced sweet potatoes are 

 grown, and have repeatedly paid the purchase price of the land in one crop. 



A country blessed with such natural advantages necessarily invites 

 capital, and as a result Merced County boasts of five lines of railroad, 

 which gives It unusual transportation facilities. The principal town is 

 Merced City, which is the county seat, and which has a population of some 

 thirty-five hundred. The Southern Pacific and Santa Fe main lines pass 

 through the city, while the Sierra and Yosemite Valley railroads have this 

 as their starting-points. Other towns in the county are Los Bancs, Le 

 Grand, Snelling, and Atwater; and as the county is traversed by several 

 irrigation systems, the country is fast taking on the appearance of one 

 continuous village. 



The educational facilities are of the best and go toward making that 

 great system by which California is famous, and which is conceded to be 

 the best in the world. 



The Merced County Chamber of Commerce is an incorporated body, 

 composed of business men interested in the advancement of the county, 

 and by whose order this article is given to the world. If I have interested 

 you to the extent that vou would know more of us, write them, and they 

 will furnish you the information you desire; if I have not interested, and 

 only amused you, then as a favor to me hand this to your neighbor. 



