San Benito County 



E. W. TIPPANY 

 Secretary San Benito County Improvement Club 



SITUATED eighty-six miles south of San Francisco, San Benito County 

 is just closing a year of unequaled prosperity. Its fields have fur- 

 nished vast quantities of hay and grain to the horses and mules that 

 are aiding in the restoration of San Francisco. Its dried fruit is 

 leaving daily in carload lots for Hamburg, Bremen, Liverpool, and 

 Antwerp. 



Its fat cattle and sheep are feeding the multitude that is thronging the 

 State, and its poultry farms and dairies are furnishing eggs, cheese, and 

 butter to a market that is never satisfied In its demand. 



Farmers, stock-raisers, dairymen, and poultrymen, all are prosperous, 

 and still the county, with an area of over half a million acres, has a popu- 

 lation of less than 7,000. Its broad holdings could well and comfortably 

 support a population of 20,000. 



The climatic conditions of San Benito County cannot be excelled in 

 the whole State of California. It is situated between the two extremes of 

 heat and cold, near enough to the great Pacific Ocean to enjoy its temper- 

 ing breezes, and not so distant from the Sierras but that perpetual snow 

 exerts an influence on the fierce heat of summer. 



The development of the county is practically in the first stages. Its 

 vast cement-beds and limestone deposits are now being explored for the 

 first time, and its wonderful possibilities in this line will soon astonish 

 the world. 



The seed-growing industry has seized upon land that has been available 

 for years. Eastern capital will plant twelve hundred acres of the San Juan 

 Valley to seeds this season. Ground is now being broken for that purpose. 



In the matter of stock-raising the county offers the best facilities in 

 the world for the raising of fine horseflesh. The natural grasses are sweet 

 and luxuriant. Percheron, Clyde, and Belgian perpetuate stock that equals 

 the proud studs of the old continent. The famous Crogan ranch of 9,000 

 acres, lying twelve miles south of the county seat, has been purchased by 

 Eastern men, who will embark largely in the business of horse-raising. 

 Fruits of every variety grow with marked success; especially Is this the 

 home of the apricot and almond. The land is fertile and inexhaustible; 

 the annual rains furnish all the fertilizer necessary to grow anything that 

 will grow outdoors. 



Dairying is a profitable and pleasant business. With the extension of 

 the system of the Hollister Irrigation Company, taking water from the San 

 Benito River, the dairy business can be increased a hundredfold. The 

 possibilities of irrigation extension have been demonstrated by competent 

 engineers. The water is here, the material is close at hand; all that is 

 needed is capital that can recognize opportunity. With 30,000 acres of 

 land under irrigation, instead of 2,000, the two great valleys of the county 

 will be the garden spots of the great State of California. 



In the matter of poultry-raising, San Benito County now leads the 

 State, and it is increasing by leaps and bounds to enormous proportions. 

 It is a light, pleasant, and profitable occupation, and can be engaged in 

 with the minimum of capital and experience. 



Railroad facilities of the county are excellent. Four trains run in and 

 out of the county seat daily, making close connections with lines for all 

 parts of California. 



Educational facilities are of the highest standard. Every district has 

 its graded school, while the county maintains a high school at the county 

 seat which is accredited to both of the great universities of the State. 



The glowing opportunity of the day, however, in San Benito County, 



