FRUIT GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



1!) 



Always mild and exceedingly equable, the climate of the 

 Santa Clara County makes it the home of the olive, the orange, 

 the vine, and the fig; the land of sunshine, fruit, and flowers. 



The price of land in the Santa Clara County varies con- 

 siderably, as it is influenced by numerous local conditions 

 Land within a radius of three miles from San Jose suitable for 

 fruit growing commands from £40 to £120 an acre, unimproved. 

 Similar land from three to ten miles from that city may be had 

 for from £30 to £60 an acre. Valley land still further from the 

 city for from £15 to £30 an acre. 



It might here be well to give a few statistics of irrigation. 

 There are in an acre G, 272, 640 square inches. A stream 1 in. 

 wide and 1 in. deep, flowing at the rate of four miles an hour, 

 will give 0,082,560 in. in twenty-four hours. Such a stream will 

 therefore cover an acre of ground w T ith water nearly 1 in. deep in 

 twenty-four hours. This equals about 25,920 gallons. At 

 Eiverside, California, orchardists as a rule use an inch of water 

 to three acres ; some an inch to five acres. The duty of water 

 in Southern California as a whole, may be put at an inch to eight 

 acres, and the cost of water, first charge, £1 to £12 for the right, 

 and a further charge of 6s. to 10s. an acre per annum for general 

 expenses. The duty of water in Santa Clara County is much 

 greater, owing to the character of the soil. There is at present 

 no extensive system of irrigation in operation here. One, how- 

 ever, is now being constructed. In the use of water for irrigation 

 it may be estimated that 1,000 gallons of water a minute will 

 irrigate an acre an hour of row crops, such as potatos, corn, 

 &c, and it generally requires two men to handle this amount 

 of water properly. An inch of water nominally will cover an 

 acre of land. Upon the necessity for irrigation in this county 

 there is a wide difference of opinion. 



In closing the first part of this brief sketch, I might say: 



" 'Tis pleasant through the loopholes of retreat, 

 To peep at such a world as this." 



