duced without irrigation. Diversified farming on small tracts is being 

 widely substituted for grain-farming. But the chief factors in the intensi- 

 fication and diversification of agriculture are truck-farming on the heavy 

 lands about Stockton, special vegetable-farming on the reclaimed delta 

 lands along the San Joaquin River, and special fruit-farming on small 

 upland tracts of ten to forty acres in the northern part of the county, about 

 Lodi, and the southern part of the county, around Escalon, Manteca, and 

 other stations. 



In seven years the area about Stockton devoted to truck-gardening, 

 the production of fresh vegetables for the Stockton and San Francisco 

 markets, has increased from 20,000 to 50,000 acres, and these gardens 

 yield in gross returns from $250 to $500 per acre annually. This industry 

 is largely in the hands of Italian gardeners, who not only irrigate by means 

 of windmills and gasoline-power pumps, but persistently fertilize their lands, 

 and intensify to the extent of growing a. su cce&&k) n of crops throughout 

 the year. • penOXXt UbnfX 



The fruit development has been chiefly apparent in the Lodi section* 

 where a large percentage of the newcomers have settled, built homes, and 

 converted a large proportion of the farmed wheat and pasture lands into 

 orchards and vineyards. Table and wine grapes, peaches, apricots, prunes, 

 almonds, and olives have been the favorite specialties in that district. It 

 is perhaps peculiar that in this part of the valley, diversification arises 

 from specialization rather than from rotation or any effort to diversify. An 

 owner of twenty acres will plant his holding entirely to table-grapes (Tokay) 

 another to wine-grapes, another to prunes or olives, almonds or walnuts. 

 This is in consequence of the spirit of the age, — perhaps an age which 

 relies on specialization for the highest culture. 



In 1899 the Federal census-takers found 4,158^ acres of bearing 

 grapes in San Joaquin County, and reported a gross product of 18,000,000 

 pounds. This year the experts of Geo. West & Son, found 18,385 acres 

 of bearing vines, and the output will be over 55,000 tons. The grape 

 industry has yielded such handsome profits during the past three years — 

 from $100 to $400 per acre annually — from well-cared-for and mature 

 vineyards that many have been stimulated to plant grapes. There are now 

 35,400 acres of vines in the county, and doubtless 10,000 acres will be 

 planted the present season. 



The expansion of other fruit-growing has not kept pace with that of 

 grapes, though peach, olive, almond, and prune growers have been very 

 prosperous, and the cherry orchards have paid enormous profits. But many 

 peaches, prunes, and walnuts have been planted in different districts, and 

 400 acres are being planted to olives near Ripon. In that section (South- 

 ern San Joaquin) there has been a marked tendency toward diversification, 

 and now beans, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, kaffir corn, 

 melons, peanuts, and berries are being produced on land that in 1899 was 

 devoted exclusively to rye. 



The most wonderful development in the direction of intensive culture, 

 however, has occurred in the reclaimed delta district, where over 200,000 

 acres of the richest land in the world are made to produce immense crops 

 of potatoes, onions, beans, asparagus, chicory, and other vegetables'. 

 These lands are held in large tracts necessarily to protect the reclamation, 

 but are farmed in smaller tracts by tenants who pay cash rent or return 

 part of the yield. This season as high as twenty and twenty-five dollars 

 cash rental was paid for island land, and yet tenants made very large profits. 

 The profits on onions at 1907 prices run in many instances from $500 

 to $800 an acre, and $1 50 to $300 an acre for the potato output was com- 

 mon. The yield of beans is also above the average, and the prices being 

 good, the encouragement to the industry is marked. 



There are 5,000 acres of asparagus in San Joaquin County which will 

 keep four canneries busy next spring to preserve the product for shipment. 

 And yet the process of intensification has only just begun, for the 871,165 

 acres of agricultural land in San Joaquin County are capable of sustaining 

 In comfort and prosperity fully 87,116 families who will limit themselves 

 to ten acres each. 



