The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 19, 1904, Page 6

~r THE SA FRANCISCO CALL, THURSDAY, MAY 19, 1904. BRIGHT OUTLOOK FOR UARIOUS CROPS IN CALIFORNIA - - | FLOODS RETARD GROWTH OF CROPS. ||| part 1 weather during the past mo seen before reaping 11 not fare and reports hat RECORD-BREAKING OUTPUT FORESTALLED BY OUDERFLOIDS remendous acreage of d to a fair av red somie hat on account of | | the best producing territory | from the adverse conditions has been prompt. Balmy | as given new life to the seed, and 1 something unfore- : { e oulput of grain will be far above the average. Fruit has | ‘ [ of the tmportant centers arc far from encouraging. | | erage. | Lands Recover Froni Unfavorable Conditions and a Yield Above the Average Is Assure —The crop con- nty never looked at present Farm- e outlook, fr ting themselves rditions and the about the The cereal crop wiil rge Grain, and king fine and the present oats Il be doliars delay vs, but the fafmers w n tha kinds frosts Th daid only reported so Arst the grap crop. d all et v do the romise of great i iber and minera of 2 t last season of lumber wil 5,000,000 feet demand for big mines are working he labor troubles are mineral output w t of last year iooks prosperous and LATE RAINS GIVE CROPS A NEW ST ART IN TEHAMA COUNTY RED BLUFF, May 18.—The crop out- ook in Tehama County been greatly improved by the spring rains Late grain looks better than the early sown and summer fallow, but the crop will not be an average. The hay crop is a heavy one and cutting has al- has ready begun. There will be a heavy crop of pears, while peaches are less than the average. Apricots and al- monds will be about one-fourth of an rdinary crop. Stock Is in fine con- dition. There is plenty of feed and driving to the mountains for summer pésture has begun. Showers of rain began this afternoon, but no damage - is dene to the newly cut hay. COLUSA GRAIN WILL BE UP TO AVERAGE BUT FRUIT IS LIGHT COLUSA, May 18.—The season thus far in Colusa County has been a very favorable one for grain crops of all kinds, and from the present indications the yield will be large. The acreage planted to wheat and barley is greater than for several years. From some cause the fruit crop will not be as heavy as was at first expected. Peaches and apricots will not go over half the average yield. The prune crop will be almost up to the average. All kinds of berries are yielding a very heavy crop and of extra quality. CROPS OF ALL KINDS ARE IN A THRIVING CONDITION IN YUBA MARYSVILLE, May 18.—Notwith- standing the long and continuous rain of February and March, with much flood water, Yuba and Sutter counties will record for this season a crop report far in excess of 1903. The warm weath- er of April and May turned the tide in favor of large yields, and at present farmers are preparing for the harvest, «nd are cutting hay. The season was most favorable for summer following, plowing and sowing, and added greatly to the acreage for cereals. The hay crop promises to be unusual- in large and the liberal precipitation guarantees a splendid alfalfa yield. Barley and wheat are coming rapidly forward, and in some fields the heads are forming. The absence of severe north winds of long duration during the present month has been of great bene- fit, the moisture remaining close to the nj season while the growers are confident an excellent quality. Berries and cherries are coming into market read- ily now and larger shipments are made datk A , < laily It canneries are prepar- | The fruit for the most part failed g for a long run, and the dry yards on accoult of the prevalence of wet | will be worked to a full capacity. The | weather during the germinating sea- | almond crop will also be larger. HOPS |gon, Cherries are light and a little | are coming along nicely and in the | jare. . | vicinity of Wheatland the acreage hs R wicn v aies e SHORT FRUIT CROP | CROP IN NEVADA OFFSET BY HIGHER COUNTY WILL BE A PRICES IN PLACER RECORD BREAKER AUBURN, Cal, May 18.—The pros- R L e e pects for an average fruit crop in most i RASS VALLEY. May 18.—Nevada | ¢ ¢pe orchards around Auburn are | ounty will:-have dhe laxgest frult.and iy, ining buf promistigtat it presstit] _':"" ok 308 ‘;““"-‘ It Was| i ine Interviews with prominent or-| sgitic. o sggres = ""”"“‘:“ chardists in this vicinity indicate that T 1 beat e & e s l the heavy spring rains have done but this proved .,;qigerable damage and that for less, and it is estimated that|many fruits half a crop Is the best {the pear crop alone will be one and | that may be expected. Exceptions, |a half times as large as last year. | however, may be made to Bartlett | Outs e showing up well pears and the Knight's Early cherry ADA CITY, May 18—Aside |CToD. Both these crops will be quite irs and peaches the fruit crop County promises to be good | S€/ling at the Newcastle fruit houses unusual cold spell and | fOF ©one dollar ver box. But peach, together with a couple | P/UM. Prune and apricot trees all have played havoc | Suffered heavily from the late rains pear crop in particular. In which »lr“slwy‘ d the rml!vn and kept the sections where the Bartlett pears the frun‘ from maturmg._ In '(hc- asually produce heavily, such as Chi- | MEher altitudes apples bid fair to yield | cago Park, there will be a scarcity gnd | 2t 19ast an average crop. Strawberries, [it is estimated that 1t will be imfln | Of fine quality, are already on the mar- | less than last year. There are in. Ket and a very abundant crop is pfom- | | stanc n some orchards v ised | Lty g podrs il s e . The above conditions would be dis- | Judging from reports of the orchard- | COUraging but for the _{a(-tA that al ists, there will be a falling oft in | ShOrt fruit crop means big prices. This| | peaches also, due to the same cause S invariably the fact. An immense as the pear failure, but the bountifui | erop of prunes, apples and plums will the general crop prospects are bright and the farmers are looking forward llo 4 prosperous season. A few show- ers at this time would greatly improve the even favorable conditions. e | HAY IS HEAVY AND FRUIT CROP FAIR | more than make up for the other | 9um on the shipping receipt—that is, | | Josses. | nothing realized from fruit, and a | ! of; - | In the lower portion of the-county | Teight bill to pay. ‘ IN GLENN COUNTY | d. surface. Green feed is plentiful and|grain was drowned, and on neighboring stock is in first-class condition soils wild oats have all but taken the | In the orchards the prospects are|fields. On the middle-weight and lighter | exceedingly bright, and a heavy yield | soils, away from the river bottom, there & all fruits is ured. The first crop will be much larger than that of last is a good stand of all kinds of grain. Being an unusual year, unasual cof tions prevail in many quarters, instance, it no uncommon sight to a splendid stand of grain on a tract that was volunteered. see as heavy as usual. Cherries are now fruit yield may mean fairly good prices or it may mean a red-ink memoran- | orchardists have discouraged | NEWCASTLE, May 18.—The Call in | its issue of the 7th inst. gave a very | | full report of the conditions then exist- |ing at Newcastle, the great Sierra | Nevada foothill fruit center. Later conditions seem to be even worse than | those first reported. ! The output will not exceed and per- no reason | All in all, Placer's | to leel; | haps not be equal to one-half of last | | year's, which was a light crop, or, in | other words, twenty-five per cent of a WILLOWS, May 18.—Glenn County farmers are now in the thick of the | bay harvest, which will be very large. | Owing to the satisfactory prices of hay last year, there will be at least 5000 tones baled this year. Barley on the gravelly land is ripening fast and ten days more of warm weather will make it fit for the harvester. The acreage to barley in this county is very large this year, some of the ranches being almost wholly given over to this crop. Our farmers have learned that raising brewing barley pays better than wheat. While the acreage to wheat and barley is about the same as last season, the yield will not be as good, the ¢-ntinued wet weather having drowned out and | turned to cheat a great acreage along | the Sacramento River. Foothill lands | | take the lead in crops this year. Fruits of all kinds will be about an average crop. Apricots will be light in localities, having been slightly injured | by frost. Peaches and prunes will | make a heavy crop, and almonds, in ! | which Glenn County excgls, will make an cxceptionally heavy crop on the | plains, the foothill crop being a little inferior. Berries are back: d and in- | ferior in quality. Both cereal and fruit | crops will be about the same as last | year. CONDITIONS NOT SO | GOOD AS LAST YEAR | IN BUTTE COUNTY | Oranges | vear’s crop. jinjured and almost a total loss. | full crop is all that can be expected. | i Cannery men are now in the field | sizing up the situation, and they re-| (port, with but few exceptions, short crops of peaches throughout the State. | Many here say the canning of peaches will be less than ten per cent of a crop. Plums will. turn out upon the whole | dbout one-half of last year’s crop. Apricots are considered practically a total failure. The usual spring dropping has cut the | bulk of the Bartlett Bear yield down | | somewhat, but a good crop, not less | than fifty per cent in excess of last| year's yield, seems to be assured.‘ | | Prunes will be slightly in excess of last | | season. Apples and quinces are up to! last year’s total. and olives are probably twenty-five per cent in excess of last —_— RAISINS A4 LOSS BUT OTHER CROPS ARE FAIR IN KERN BAKERSFIELD, May 18.—The out- look for crops this season is fair. The fruit has been somewhat damaged by frosts, the-raisin crop being especially Phe lack of rain during the early part of the season has partially been atoned for by the later showers and the al- falfa crop is generally good, while the scarcity of other fed for cattle and | CHICO, May 18.—The outlook for the farmer and fruit grower in this section is not generally so good as last year. Fruit is light or scattering and grain is In many places severely injured by the excessive rains. O the adobe lands much early sown sheep has caused the prices to go high. The crops of wheat and cereals is fair in most parts of the county. In the mountains the feed for cattle has been quite fair toward the latter part of the season, on the dry ranges in the foot- hills there has been very little grass and cattle have suffered in conse- Grapes look fine and | | may exceed last year twenty per cent. | Ny — _ quence, «at present Kern River is full from bank to bank and the irrigation canals are running to the limit. The condition of the county is good. In the Tehach- api Mountains the crops have been ex- ceptionally good. The sheep have done very well and the wool crop is in excess of that of last year in spite of the early drought. —f | | | { below what the farmers looked Citrus fruits are in bloom and orange | | made daily from the Florin T counties in the central part of the tate. WEATHER F.)?UORJ‘ FRUIT AND GRAIN. e HERE are few exceptions to the encouraging reports that are sent from the agricultwral Climatic difficulties have beset the coast and in- terior districts, but, as a rule, the soil has responded quickly to favorable changes, and nothing can mow happen that would materially affect conditions. nipped the fruit; at other places the v Frost has, in some sections, eyards have suffered. Peaches seem to have been chiefly damaged. But the injury from cold titis season is hardly above the minimum. Generally speak- ing, the stand of grain is excellent and the yield wwill be great. FROSTS CAUSE BUT LIGHT DAMAGE IN CENTRAL BELT Fair Spring Promotes Growth of Cereals and Pros: pect for Rich Harvest Is Fine. SACRAMENTO, May 18.—The grain crop in this section promised up to the past few days to exceed the great | vield of last year, but the north winds, now prevalent, have damaged the growing grain somewhat and altered the situation. However, it is believed the crops will be very satisfactory. The floods along the river lands have greatly injured the vegetable crop. Shipments from this city have always been very large, but commission mer- chants assert that where last year fif- teen to twenty-five carloads of vege- tables were sent out of Sacramento each day, there will now be only from twelve to thirteen cars. In the vicinity of ~Sacramento in the river section the hop crop will be reduced because of the floods, though in the highlands it will be fully up to the standard of last year. As to deciduous fruits, while at the opening of the year Indications pointed to a decided increase over last year’s unprecedented record, the opposite is now the case, and it is declared by George Katzen- stein, manager of the Earl Fruit Com- pany, that it is doubtful if this year's green fruit shipments do not fall short of last year's shipments by 500 or more carloads. The Sacramento River section, the largest fruit producing region of its area in the State, will show a marked falling off in pitted tree fruits, such as cherries, apricots, peaches, plums and prunes. GALT, May 18.—A comprehensive summary of crop conditions in the Galt district is not as roseate at this date as was promised early in the spring months. Our grain crops, wheat, bar- ley and oats, will be fully up to last season's yield. The poor condition of peaches, apricots and almonds in the | district is very noticeable and the cher- | ry crop is light. | better and are advancing rapidly, with Grapes never looked indications of a large crop. Haying is progressing rapidly, but the yield is far for. trees are unusually heavy laden with healthy blossoms. The early potato crop will be generally light, owing, in a great extent, to the inundation of our river districts during February and March. The strawberry crop is enor- mous and heavy shipments are being district. Other berries look very encouraging and the industry promises to be a pro- fitable one this season. In Sacramento County green feed is abundant and of good quality. e GRAIN AND FRUIT IN FINE CONDITION IN STANISLAUS COUNTY MODESTO, May 18.—As the present crop season advances the prospects for good crops of grains and fruits grows more and more flattering, and this will go on record as one of the greatest crop years in the history of the county. The temperature has been uniformly cool and the air moist. The average crop for this county in the days when Stanislaus was almost entirely deveted to grain raising was placed at 11 tons. This year several thousand acres have been withdrawn from grain cul- ture and placed under irrigation, but the grain yleld will be in the neighbor- hood of 105,000 tons, making a crop, acreage considered, of about 95 per cent or more of an average crop. This ton- nage will be divided as follows: Wheat, 85,000 tons; barley, 15,000 tons; oats, 5000 tons. On the east side of the San Joaquin River the grain crop will be heavier than an average, while on the west side, owing to the difference in precipitation, the crop will be some- thing like 10 per cent short. Prospects for fruit are also good. The grape crop will be 25 per cent more than that of 1903, and a larger acreage will be in bearing. The acreage in vines last year was in the neighbor- hood of 2400 acres, and this has been increased by 500 acres in the last year. Apricots will give a yield of 10 per cent above that of last year, and peaches in the Oakdale district will yield from 10 to 15 per cent insadvance of last year's crop. Almonds will give a good crop this year, despite the fact that there were light frosts. WESTLEY, May 18.—Grain is this vicinity will yield on an average about half a crop. Wheat sowed in Novem- ber sprouted with the rain and died on account of the long dry spell in Decem- ber and January. Grain that was sowed in December will yield a crop of about twelve sacks per acre. Grain sowed late in November will probably make hay. Barley is looking excellent and will yield heavy Some barley is now standing four and a half feet high and heads well filled. Fruit and vegetables are not raised here for mar- ket. Thousands of sheep are feeding on the hill pastures, which supply plenty of feed. SAN JOAQUIN GRAIN SERIOUSLY AFFECTED BY CHILLY WEATHER STOCKTON, Mayv 18.—Major J. D. Peters, one of the best informed grain dealers of this section declares in ref- erence to the grain crop that “We have arrived at that stage of the crop when we must do a- great deal of | guessing and thinking.” The West Side country shows some splendid sum- mer fallow in places and this has been greatly helped by the late rains; but as a general thing the crop pros- | pects on the other side of the San Joaquin River are not as bright as they might be. In San Joaquin County proper the | outlook is hardly as good as it was | thirty days ago, and this is hardly ex- plainable, since there has been abun- dant moisture. It must be a result of the chilling the g'nd got during the owever, the island long cold siege. crops are well forward and if the present growing weather continues the grain prospects for this county may jump from a fair average to a big | old-fashioned yieid. Fruit prospects were never better. | The last thirty days have been singu- | larly free from frosts. The vineyards | 1ook exceedingly well. The vines are very healthy and thus far free from any serious insect pest. Garden truck is plentiful. The onion raisers and big spud farmers are looking forward to a big crop and big prices. The flooding of the islands will diminish the quan- tity, but not to the extent that many anticipated after the flood. The only menace now are the winds. There has been plenty of moisture and all that has held the crops back was the cold spring. Under a week of growing weather a more intelligent prospect might be determined. [ e TULARE WILL HAVE A BOUNTEOUS YIELD OF ALL PRODUCTS VISALIA, May 18.—General crop con- ditions in Tulare County are much bet- ter than last year. The work of thin- ning the fruit will cause a considerable expense. The late rains were worth ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars to ranchers of this reglon. As compared with last year the peach crop will be double. The pear crop is a fallure, but it is never counted on for commercial purposes. There will be a fair crop of apricots. The prune crop will reach the limit of fullness. In the timber belt ttore is a splendid grain crop, averag- ing 90 per cent. On the plains the grain is light. Probably it will be impossible to harvest the crops completely unless a supply of workmen exceeds the avail- able number in previous years. Ranch- jers are in high spirits. — | BERRIES ABUNDANT ! BUT CROP OF FRUIT LOW IN SANTA CRUZ | WATSONVILLE, May 18.—The apri- cot crop will not be as large as last year, but the fruit will be free from the roughness of skin so objectionable at that time. Cherries promised well a few weeks ago, but the rain knocked the pellen from the blooms to such an extent that the crop will be lighter than last year. Strawberries are going out of the val- ley at the rate of 500 to 600 chests a day, with the certainty that this amount will be increased in the next two weeks. The acreage 1s about the same as last year, with yield slightly better. Loganberry and blackberry vines are literally loaded with green fruit, and as a whole the berry crop, including raspberries, promises an improvement over last year. Not more than an average crop of peaches, pears and plums can be ex- pected from present prospects. From present indications the apple crop of the Pajaro Valley this season will be much lighter than that of last year. Practically the Pajara Valley is out of the market on hay and grain. Last year only a few carloads were sent out, and there will be fewer this year. Sugar beets were light last year. This year the acreage will be far mors than doubled, but still will be much below that of former campaigns. | - PROSPERITY SMILES ON THE PEOPLE OF MENDOCINO COUNTY UKIAH, May 18.—Mendocino County has had from fifty to more than one hundred inches of rain the present sea- son, extending through the month of April, with a higher temperature than usual. Planting of annual crops and cultivation of hops and orchards was retarded by rain to a later period than usual, but the delay is amply com- pensated bv thé abundance of molst- ure and the favorable temperature. Grass on the stock ranges Is 100 per cent or more better than last year. Sheep and cattle are in fine candition. Grain and hay crops in the valleys will be much larger than last season. Hops will no doubt yield better than last vear. They are growing very rapidly. Reports from the fruit sections indi- cate at least a full crop. Little Lake Valley, which produces large quantities of potatoes, had over eighty inches of rain and planting was rather later than usual on that account, but the tubers will make a rapid growth from now on. The hay crop, which is an important one in this county, will be twice as large as yielded last year. On the whole, the general outlook for this season’s crops is far better than at this date last year. New people are coming into this county looking for homes, considerable building is going on, everybody is busy and prospects are promising. YOLO COUNTY WILL SUFFER AS RESULT OF UNUSUAL RAIN WOODLAND, May 18.—The wheat and barley crop of Yolo County this season 18 not likely to be more than half of a full crop. This shortage is due to the extraordinary amount of rain that fell during the month of April. The rainfall for the season was above the average, but if it had been well distributed there would have been enormous crops, both of fruits and cereals. A great deal of wheat and barley were drowned out by flood water and the area was greatly re- duced, especially in the districts subject to overflow. There will also be a small- er crop of hay than usual, due solely to a reduced acreage. Many varieties of fruit will be short, because the rainfail was the heaviest just at a time when many of the trees were putting out their bloom. The almond crop will be almost a failure. The apricot crop will be shorter than usual. The peach, pear and prune crop will be fair and the yield of grapes promises to be good. WINTERS, May 18.—Crop conditions here are not up to standard, though the yield will be a fair average. The wheat crop is spotted, some fields showing up unusually well and others being hardly fair. Barley promises better than wheat. The hay harvest is in full sow- ing and the yield will be large, quality good and acreage a full average. Fruit ccnditions are somewhat pecu- liar. Prunes will make an extra large vield; peaches an average; pears small, and apricots about a one-fourth crop. The season is at least two weeks late and no shipping has been dome yet. The almond crop is good and grapes promise well. On the whole, fruit mer will have more than an average crop.