Newspaper Page Text
Imperial Valley Press.
VOL. VI
WHAT WE SAW
On a. 1 rip to Mecca and the Coachella
'V alley
How Our Neighbors Are Prospering on Small Ranches With
Limited Water Supply. Special Products and Cultural
Methods of Great Importance to Our Farmers.
Last Sunday morning we boarded
the 4 o'clock train and went to
Thermal, in the Coachella Valley,
eight miles boyond the Saiton Ocean.
We spent Sunday and Monday looking
over that country, visiting Salton Sea.
the Mecca Date farm, Thayer Bros,
asparagus field, Dr. Abbey's grapes.
and numerous cantaloupe ranches.
We believe it will pay any Imperial
Valley man to take this trip, as we
did. for If he does, he will return more
than ever convinced of the splendid
advantages of this Valley. The most
striking difference one notes between
this valley and 'he Coachella valley Is
In the relative amount of land in culti
vation and the size of the ranches.
We don't believe, to take the Coachella
valley over as a whole r that there is to
exceed one- tenth of the land .in culti
vation, yet it has a far more dense
population than we have. Some of
their land is quite salty, perhaps too
much so for their small water supply
but we don't believe there is any of it
that could not be reclaimed if they had
Colorado river water in the quantities
we have in Imperial Valley. The
greatest handicap they have against
farming on such a scale as we do, and
raising the crops we raise, is in their
irrigation supply. All their water
comes from wells, most of it artesian,
though quite a per cent is pumped,
especially in the upper end of the val
ley and on the higher lands back next
the foothills. The smallness of the
water supply and the expense of get
ting it has naturally caused the Coa
chelly valley farmers to turn their at
tention to intensive farming and the
growing of special crops. They are
the pioneers in cantaloupe growing,
having established the reputation and
built up the demand for California
cantaloupes to its present position in
the markets of this country, and as
with cantaloupes, so will it be with
asparagus, onions and malaga grapes.
These products are being grown by the
farmers of the Coachella valley to
great success, and in a short time their
reputation will be just as great as it
now is for California cantaloupes.
In our drive ■ about the Coachella
valley, one of the first ranches we
visited was that of Dr. C. CAbby, of
Redlands, which fs famous for having
the oldest Malaga grape vines In this
part of the state.
There is just one acre of these vines
that have been set out five years. We
gave these vines and their crop a
good iooking x over, and our judgment
is that the same kind of vines in Im
perial Valley will be as large and grow
as heavy a crop at three years old as
those of Dr. Abbey's. Nevertheless
his vines literally cover the ground and
are fairly loaded to the tendrils with
magnificent bunches of perfect
grapes. The crop is variously esti
mated at from six to eight tons on the
acre. As an indication of the value of
such a crop we "will say that Jeffries &
Co., the great Fresno fruit shippers,
have offered Dr. Abbey $600 for the
grapes, just as they hang on the vines,
and that the doctor has refused tbe
offer. And this isn't any case of two
fools met, by a long sight, for both of
them are keen, shrewd business men,
and know exactly what such a crop of
such grapes are worth.
There are about ten acres of
younger Malaga grapes growing on the
Abbey place, and a good many thou
sand cuttings heeled in. ,
But here was a fair illustration of
the one prominent fact that sticks out
all over that country, and that is the
scarcity of water. A great majority of
Dr. Abbey's almost priceless Malaga
cuttings were dead, simply because
there wasn't water enough to keep
them growing. The situation regard
ing water seems to be this: During
the cool months of winter and early
spring, when there is very little evapo
ration and the ground doesn't dry out
rapidly there is apparently a great
plentitude of water. Thus encouraged
the farmers go ahead and put in crops
up to the then apparent limit of the
water supply. Everything goes all
right till hot weather comes. And it
comes in Coachella valley too, just a
little more so than in Imperiral valley.
With the coming of the hot days and
heating of. the ground, the little heads
of water their wells and reservoirs
supply prove in adequate to the largely
increased demand and the result was
to be seen on nearly every ranch,
either in the abandonment of part of
the cantaloupe field or else in the ap
parent want of more water over all of
it. While more water can be de
veloped by boring more wells and put
ting in more pumps, and it can be
stored by building bigger reservoirs
and more of them it is perfectly clear
that so far as natural advantages are
concerned we have far and away the
best of it. While in this valley, with
our abundant irrigation supply we can
wash the salt out of any land that
might contain it, and reclaim it from
almost any condition, and can do it at
very little expense.
The Coachella Valley farmers have
to confine their operations to their
best lands, leaving those anyways salty
in their desert state. But the limit
ations nature has put upon their farm
ing operations has been more than
overcome by their thrift and enterprise.
While our people are raising grain
by the thousands of acres, and maybe
coming out a little to the good these
eople are farming on little five and
ten acres patches out among the mes
quite trees in the desert," and beating
us to death making money. From Dr.
Abbey s place we went to- the ranch of
the Gordon Bros. This ranch is out
of the salty land but it is also out of the
artesian belt. They raise their water
supply with a 15 horse power Otto gas
engine and it is quite an expense.
However, they seem to have' plenty of
It, for their cantaloupes were not suffer
ing nor were any of them, abandoned.
At this ranch they were just •finishing
the onion harvest and the last of the
AND THE IMPERIAL PRESS
EL CENTRO. CALIFORNIA. JUNE 23. 1906
crop was being topped and crated. Up
on inquiry we learned that the onion
business was quite profitable. It costs
about $100 per acre to grow and har-
vest a crop of onions producing ten
tons per acre. They are selling for
two cents a pound and will average
more than that price the year round.
That would make the crop worth at
least $400 per acre at a cost of $100,
leaving $300 per acre. If trie crop
turns out less the cost will be less per
acre but of course the profits would be
less. However, ten tons per acre is
the average crop where it is well cared
for and the grower understands the
business. While that profit is not; as
attractive as malaga grapes yet it is all
right. Gordon Bros, already have 32
acres set out in malaga grapes and are
expecting to drop cantaloupe growing
and turn their attention exclusively to
onions and grapes. Onions grow in
the winter season and then not only is
the water supply abundant but it is far
more comfortable for out door work.
The seeds are planted the last of
August for the onion crop. They are
sown in beds and will be ready to trans
plant in October. The Gordon Bros,
said they had been one month late in
getting their onions in last fall for had
they planted in proper season the on
ions would have all been off a month
or more ago. Of course we saw lots
of cantaloupes and they are still the
leading crop, but nearly everyone we
talked with expressed the belief that
Imperial Valley would go into the busi
ness so heavily after this year and has
such great advantages over them for
the production of this crop that they
expected to abandon the 'field and de
vote their attention to growing onions,
grapes and asparagus.
We went from the Gordon Bros,
ranch back to Thermal and got there
about the time the farmers were com
ing in with their day's pack of canta
loupes. There was enough of them to
load an express car. This car was
hitched on the afternoon passenger
train and these Thermal cantaloupe's
sped on their way to the tables of the
epicures of New York.
Monday we drove down to the Salton
ocean, visiting on the way Thayer
Bros' asparagus fields and the_ govern
ment date farm. At the ranch of
Thayer Bros, we found everybody busy
but still willing to give us any informa
tion we asked. Of course we were
anxious to learn all we could about the
asparagus and was shown the field of
six and one half acres. This is the
first year they have borne any crop, a
small cutting have been made early
last spring. The asparagus was ready
to cut on February 12th and a little
cutting was done along for about three
weeks. Then they stopped as they
preferred to have all the growth of the
plants for this year remain in the
ground so that they will be all the
more prolific hereafter. This is the
second year from the setting out of the
plants and third year from the seed.
The small amount cut last spring, only
about 1500 pounds, sold for $500,
which is about $80 per acre and it can
hardly be said any cutting at ail was
done. Full bearing asparagus which
means this field after this year pro
duces from two to three tons per acre.
It can be seen from this what the out
look is for asparagus. Thayer Bros,
told us the last asparagus they shipped
brought the best prices and that the
prices were still hie her v afterwards.
They did not understand grading the
asparagus at first so lost quite a bit on
that account till they, learned the trick.
After looking over their ranch and
sampling^ their Thompson's^ seedless
grapes and some cantaloupes we drove
on to Mecca and the date farm. At
the date farm we met Mr. Johnson,
the patient enthusiast.who has banished
himself to this place in order, to' help
the government make a difficult test
in date growing and desert farming
generally. We don't pretend to be
much of a judge of date growing but
we don't think they could have picked
out a worse place for the trial in the
whole Colorado desert. There isn't
any soil at all and the water runs
through that sand like it would through
a hog wire fence. Mr. Johnson is
tolling away like the soldier in the
Light Brigade but it is very evident
that "someone has blundered" or that
date farm would be on land where
there is at leait a fighting chance of
making them grow. From the date
farm we drove down to the "ocean/* a
distance of about a mile and a half.
Mr. Johnson accompanied us and as
he had been, to the same place the day
before and had set up a gauge we had
a good opportunity to find out how fast
the water is rising. From Mr. John
son's measurements it had risen eight
inches from Sunday at noon to Mon
day afternoon at two o'clock. We
were there at the water's edge about
one hour and during that time It rose
almost a half inch. The water level
in the "sea" was then just about 218
feet below sea level and as some of the
Southern Pacific track is as much as
206 or 207 feet below it can be seen
that the present rise will soon put that
company's overlancf line -in jeopardy.
There are quite a number of claims
and some improved ranches that are
already covered with water and several
others, that are certain to go under be
fore the present flood subsides. The
general expression of the people of the.
Coachella Valley is" that if the water is
not shut out it will Inundate their en
tire valley. We heard more talk of
appealing to the government and suing
Mexico for damages during the two
i m m \
J \"- \ l
/A -. V~ / -
Buy One of These
5 or 6 Acre Tracts
r Of
Adjoining El Centro
$100 per acre and upwards.
Easy terms.
D; H. CHAPLIN.
El Centro, . California
days we were there than we have
heard in a year here. While they are
very much concerned about the rise in
the water and the damage it may do if
it is not stopped they are not letting
that interfere with their going ahead to
develop their country on the most val
uable lines and to adjust their business
so as to get the most out of their
ranches and in the most comfortable
manner. The way they are farming
and planning to farm It. will take about
three men to care for twenty acres
but they will turn out products that will
net three hundred to five hundred dol
lars per acre. And I must say that I
did not see a single product growing or
being produced there that cannot be
better grown and more advantageously
produced here in the Imperial Valley.
While only a small per cent of their
land can be farmed undeF present con
ditions every acre of ours can be tilled.
We have fully as good soft and. what is
all the game in a desert country and
tha£ Is an abundant water supply. So
great a difference does this make that
the grape vines and asparagus now
growing on the ranch of Mr. W. S.
Corwin, four miles northwest of El
Centro, are as large at two years old
as the same products are )r> Coachella
Valley at three and four years old.
The same is true of all the other grapes
and asparagus Iz this Valley. Our
farmers should see how the people of
Coachella do to make so much money
on so few acres and then they should
do likewise. There Is an unlimited
market for these products at the time
they can be produced in this Valley.
The people are reading the maga
zines and papers, the muckrackers
have killed off meat eating and made
a limitless market for all the early
vegetables, asparagus, grapes, onions
and cantaloupes that can be produced
on the entire Colorado desert.
NO. 11
