THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



183 



and it makes the sons and daughter prick up their ears 

 and "clean their finger nails." It will create a desire for 

 the tooth brush and the garter. It is not the raising of 

 radishes that discourages a human being, either young 

 or old, but it is the fact that other people always raise 

 better radishes than you do and that you always sell 

 your best ones to somebody else, that crushes the heart 

 and makes you want to change to something you think 

 is better, but which is four times as bad. 



I wouldn't marry a girl whose father always kept 

 his barnyard gate off its hinges or who kept his wagon 

 brake tied on with wires. That's in the blood of the 

 family every time. Neither would I marry in a family 

 where the girls always wondered what their mother saw 

 in their father to make her marry him. It isn't good 

 policy, either, to marry in a family where the young 

 women say they will never bear children if it's going to 

 make them look like their mother and have big, red 

 looking hands. The earth is not nearly full of people 

 yet. I can see how we can take care of ten times the 

 present population. The scientists tell us that in ten 

 million years it will be so cold here that we cannot live, 

 biit this is not materially affecting the price of land and 

 things in Idaho at the present. Do right and do the best 

 work and the best thinking you can possibly turn out. 

 Get to thinking about something. Express some opinion 

 about the affairs of the world today and make your 

 opinion stick. 



GREAT STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 



General Sketch of Its Topography, Climate, Productions 

 and Possibilities. 



There is but one California in the Union. It is 

 the largest state except Texas, having nearly four times 

 the area of Ohio and more than twenty times that of 

 New Jersev ! Massachussets has 8,315 square miles, 

 California "l58,360. 



One of the most striking as well as important of 

 California's many features of interest is the San 

 Joaquin valley. This is what the geologists call a 

 "sea trough," and occupies the center of the northern 

 two-thirds of the state. It is an inter-mountain basin, 

 approximately 450 miles long and averages about 60 

 miles wide. Its mountain rim is shaped like a long 

 letter "C," with the opening of 75 miles or more run- 

 ning northwesterly from near the town of Berkeley. 



The Sierra Nevada chain of mountains tower 

 along the eat side, rising to an average altitude of 

 about two miles. This elevation closes around the 

 south end of the valley and connects with the Coast 

 range, which bends eastward to complete the union. 

 The Coast mountains parallel the shores of the Pacific 

 ocean from the lower end of the San Joaquin valley to 

 Oregon, except at the opening of the letter "C" already 

 explained. The lower range is not as lofty as the 

 Sierras, but they and the upper horn of the "C" are, 

 like Jove, "cloud compellers." 



Mount Shasta "butts in" at the north end of the 

 state, and the summit as well as those of the upper 

 Coast range and Sierras are so lofty that the mean an- 

 nual temperature ranges according to various altitudes 

 and circumstances, from 30 to 44 degrees above zero. 

 All around the Sierras, Shasta and the upper Coast 



range is a lower zone on the mountain slopes having 

 a mean range of temperature of 44 to 52 degrees. This 

 belt surrounds the letter "C" except at the opening 

 and caps the lower Coast range. 



Within that second zone is a third still warmer, 

 having a range of 52 to 60 degrees. This belt sur- 

 rounds the "C" and runs along the ocean from Oregon 

 to a point just below the San Joaquin valley, a little 

 north of Santa Barbara, where it bends eastward, in- 

 land, and crosses Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los 

 Angeles counties. A branch runs around northward 

 over Owens lake and into Nevada. The other branch 

 turns south at Mt. San Bernardino and continues, 

 widening, to the Mexican line. 



Then there is the lowest zone of all, the land of 

 the orange, lemon, raisin grape, the fig and the olive. 

 This takes in the southern portions of Santa Barbara, 

 Ventura and Los Angeles counties, all of Orange county 

 and the west end of San Diego and Riverside counties 

 and the southwest corner of San Bernardino county. 



This area ranges from 10 to 80 miles wide and has 

 a mean range of temperature of from 60 to 68 degrees. 

 The floor of the San Joaquin valley is also of this tem- 

 perature. 



SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY PRODUCTS. 



The area of the San Joaquin valley comprises about 

 17,280,000 acres, and it is a very conservative estimate 

 to place the average annual net productive power, under 

 high-class cultivation, at $50 per acre. So that when 

 this valley is fully reclaimed, as it will be in the future, 

 an annual aggregate yield from its soil of $864,000,000 

 will be possible. Allowing $2,000 to a family of six, 

 the valley may be made to support 432,000 families, or 

 a total agricultural population of 2,592,000. As a 

 matter of fact the land will yield a net profit of $100 

 an acre or more under thorough tillage and may sup- 

 port 5,184,000. Allowing fifty per cent more for manu- 

 facturing, mercantile and professional population and 

 the magnificent total of 7,776,000 people may in time 

 live comfortably in this valley. This is" intended 

 merely as a suggestion of its productive greatness. 



It will grow a wide range of products, the soils of 

 different sections favoring a great diversity of crops. 

 Wheat, oats and barley are grown successfully. Corn 

 does well in spots. Alfalfa and dairying are highly 

 profitable. Poultry business prospers. 



There are places where one can see potato fields of 

 20,000 acres, which yield from 300 to 600 bushels per 

 acre, representing in money from $225 to $450 an acre. 

 There are also hundreds of acres of asparagus in places, 

 grown for the canneries. This work is mostly done by 

 Chinamen, but the lands are owned by Americans. The 

 yield increases from the second year, the plants lasting 

 from year to year and will produce good crops for as 

 much as a dozen years. At the best the harvest is 5,000 

 pounds or more per acre each season, for which the 

 packers pay from 2 to 4 cents a pound, depending on 

 the quality, thus showing a selling value of from $100 

 to $200 an acre. 



Irrigation Age 

 Primer of Irrigation 



