San Joaquin County 



COL.VIN B. BROWN 



SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY is the most northerly of the eight counties 

 of the San Joaquin Valley, and is at the head of all-year-around navi- 

 gation on the San Joaquin River. It contains 873,000 acres, all 

 of which is arable. Sandy sediment loam is the predominating soil, 

 although nearly one third the area of the county is reclaimed delta 

 land, the soil of which is pure vegetable mold mixed with a little sediment. 

 Grain is still the predominating crop, about one fourth the cultivated area 

 of the county being devoted to its culture; but during the past five years 

 there has been a rapid cutting up of grain farms and the planting of 

 orchards and vineyards. The rapidity with which the large holdings are 

 being cut up is indicated in a comparison of the size of the average farm 

 holding of 1900 with the holdin<ys of 1905. In 1900 there were 1966 farms 

 in the county, of an average size of 382 acres. In 1905 there were 3,100 

 farms, of an average size of 242 acres. 



Next to grain the chief crop in San Joaquin County are vegetables, 

 potatoes leading with 18,000 acres. Beans come next, with 13,000, and 

 the largest asparagus farms in the world are found here. Onions are a 

 leading crop. 



In 1905 there were 21,309 acres of vineyard in the county, and during 

 the first few months of the present year about 8,000 acres were planted 

 to new vineyard. This makes about 30,000 acres of bearing and non- 

 bearing vines within the county, and places it among the three or four 

 leading vineyard counties of the State. 



Dairying and poultry-raising are carried on generally throughout the 

 county, a recent census showing there are 200,000 chickens and 15,000 

 dairy animals, divided among the 3,100 farms. Alfalfa is considerably 

 grown in connection with the dairies, and the acreage planted to alfalfa 

 this year is estimated at 12,000. 



Within the county are two irrigation systems,— one in the northern 

 and one in the southern part, — and about 50,000 acres can be watered 

 from the two systems. Irrigation, however, is not generally practiced, 

 except in the culture of alfalfa, as the rainfall is found to be sufficient to 

 mature other crops. 



The mean maximum temperature ranges from 52 dfegrees in January 

 to 89 degrees In August, and the mean minimum from 39 degrees in Jan- 

 uary to 57 degrees in August. The average annual rainfall is a fraction 

 under sixteen inches. 



Land values throughout the county vary considerably in accordance 

 with the location. In the northern part of the county, which is the most 

 thickly settled and highly improved, and where lies the principal orchard 

 and vineyard district, land sells for from $100 to as high as $200 an acre, 

 and even more. 



Stockton, the seat of government of San Joaquin County, is a pro- 

 gressive city of about 30,000 population, with many manufacturing indus- 

 tries. It is on the main line of the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe railways, 

 and the Western Pacific is now building through it. Other railroads reach 

 from Stockton to the principal gold-mining district of the State. It has 

 many handsome public buildings, its streets are well paved, its homes 

 attractive, and many highly improved public parks adorn it. Two most 

 modern electric railways serve its people. The extension of trolley lines 

 into the surrounding country has already commenced, and by the first 

 of 1907 it is probable that about one hundred miles of suburban electric 

 line will be in operation, bringing Stockton into close connection with the 

 orchards, vineyards, and dairies which cover the county. 



