Railroad, and the works of the Pacific Coast Oil Company, both of which 

 give employment to over a thousand men. 



Marin County, known for its picturesque country homes and dairying 

 industry, is also attractively set forth. This county has been the seat of 

 much railroad-building during the past year, and the writer shows how 

 this is going to help in the development of its resources. 



Altogether, the February number of FOR CALIFORNIA will be found 

 exceedingly interesting, and will answer admirably the many questions 

 which are constantly coming from Eastern and foreign friends who are 

 anxious to learn the truth about our topography, our resources, and our 

 climate. With the next number (March) of FOR CALIFORNIA, this series 

 of Counties Numbers will be concluded. If there are any back numbers 

 which you have failed to secure, it might be well to get them at once 

 before they are entirely exhausted, so that the six numbers may be bound 

 together, or kept on file for reference in your office or home. 



Kern County 



A. W. MACRAE 

 Secretary Bakersfield Board ot Trade 



KERN COUNTY is known throughout California as the "Crown of 

 the San Joaquin Valley," on account of the thousands of acres of 

 magnificent delta land in the Kern River section which are noted 

 for their excellent productive qualities. The county contains 8,159 

 square miles, or 5,221,765 acres, of which 2,793,605 acres have 

 an assessed valuation of almost $30,000,000. 



As an agricultural district, Kern County is unsurpassed. Alfalfa, barley, 

 oats, wheat, corn, and such products grow luxuriantly. The fruit industry 

 of this county is of great importance, and all kinds of deciduous and citrus 

 fruits are grown here profitably. The advantages of this county's products 

 are many, the principal one being the early maturity of fruits and other 

 commodities grown here, which are some six weeks ahead of most other 

 sections of the State, and command, for this reason, fancy prices, — which 

 means an annual revenue to the farmers, ranchers, and fruit-growers of 

 the county of many thousands of dollars. 



The county of Kern, with its vast area of tillable soil, a mere fraction 

 of which is as yet under cultivation, lies in the most desirable section of 

 the great San Joaquin Valley. It is bordered on three sides by heavily 

 timbered mountains, which add to the temper of the climate both winter 

 and summer, and from these lofty peaks comes the water which furnishes 

 the necessary supply for irrigation of the fertile valley lands. The county 

 is crossed by two transcontinental railroads, the Santa Fe and Southern 

 Pacific, and affords advantages for home-seekers and colonists unexcelled 

 in California. It has the largest and perhaps most complete irrigation sys- 

 tem in the country; one of the richest gold mines in California, and is the 

 center of three of the greatest oil fields in the world. 



The thermal belt of Kern County is one of great future importance, 

 being many miles in length, and there are thousands of acres suitable 

 for the production of citrus fruits which are still uncultivated and which can 

 be purchased at very low figures. Water can be had here In abundance 

 from streams and springs for the irrigation of these orange lands through 

 pumping, and the use of crude oil for fuel makes the cost of operating a 

 pumping-plant very reasonable. Already a number of prolific citrus-fruit 

 orchards are producing abundant crops in this county, and negotiations are 

 now under way with several large syndicates to establish citrus groves here. 

 This means increased revenues for the industrious people of Kern County. 

 As a Mecca for home-seekers, colonists, and investors, this county 



