The San Francisco call. [volume], April 02, 1910, Page 21, Image 20

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF COUNTY REFLECT
THE PROGRESSIVE SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE
Courses in Manual Training and Advanced Agriculture Made Part
of the Curriculum at Public Schools V
Kresno is happy in the efficiency of
ts public institutions. As the county
;<?at of Fresno county, the city has all
ounty institutions within its borders
n addition to the numerous city in
titutions.
In the Fresno high school a new
ourse has been introduced which will
indoubtodly prove of great value in the
uturc. This is an agricultural course.
t has been established only a few
:io:ith£, but it will be enlarged as the
Ime jroes on.
At the present time the study con
ists mainly of soils and practical work
a fertilizing. When the course is
umplete those in the senior year will
>c taught the management of well
emulated farms and the principles of
jrricultural work. ..-; '[ . '/\u25a0
The study of agriculture in the high
chool. however, will not be all along
heoretlcal lines. Arrangements have
iCfn made with the trustees of the
Cearney estate whereby a portion of
he estate will be transformed into an
xperimental farm for the benefit «f
tudents of agriculture in the high
£hool, and here they may work out
he theories gained in the classroom.
t is expected that the experimental
arm will be ready for the students by
he beginning of the 1910-1911 term.
This branch of high school work has
ong been desired, but until now the
ioard of education has been unable to
ulfill this desire.
The Fresno high school is in reality
. small university, for in addition'"to
he professional courses which are
aught, it has a course in agriculture
nd & business course. So great has
he work become that an annex is to
><? built at a cost of about $80,000.
'he contract for the construction of the
nnex has already been let. The orig
nal building cost $80,000.
Not only has the city established some
istinctlve features in the high -school
>ut distinctive features have / been
FRESNO TAKES HIGH RANK AMONG CITIES
Continued From face 19
ders. there being more than 60 lodges
in the city.
A conservative average of the freight
tonnage shipped from Fresno yearly
would be 120,000 tons.
V The assessed property valuation of
Fresno city exceeds 114.000,000.
COUNTY'S DIVEnSITY
'Fresno county is an inland empire
5,606 miles in extent and is situated
in the exact center of the state of
California. It was formerly one of
the most arid districts in the state, but,
being fortunately situated in such a
way as to make irrigation practicable,
and that having been successfully ac
complished. It is now. the richest, most
highly developed and most prosperous
of all the agricultural counties of Cali
fornia. There are 400,000 acres. of rich
land at present under irrigation, and
from these broad acres are yearly
shipped products valued at .130,000,000,
a per capita, of , 5500 for every, man,
woman and child in the county.
The diversity of products of the
county is enormous, and confined only
between climatic limitations.. Scarcely*
a year passes that some new product is
not added to the list of Fresno's com
mercial crop possibilities. One can
easily understand this condition when
considering that the raisin is quoted as
Fresno county's leading, product, yet
the raisin output-forms a value of less
than one-tenth of the entire value of
its gross agricultural exports.- The de
mand for farm products of: every, de
scription is so great and is. yearly so
extending in its variety as ,to compel
the farmer to respond to the call of the
cities, especially as prices realized are
fo profitable. Not only has the demand
for fruits been maintained, but the call
Tor forage has been most difficult. to
\u2666. meet, and. planting; alfalfa has recently
been one of the farmer's most impor
tant pursuits.? .'. - . 'Z ?"•\u25a0-.-'\u25a0• i~si~
The value of Fresno's. dairy products
has also increased by leaps and bounds,
the butter output advancing fr0m.219;
00Q pounds in IS9B "to 3,315,000 .pounds
tt 1308. The high prices of meat. have
added to the grade schools. In the
grammar schools, in addition *to the
regular curriculum, there have been es
tablished cooking courses, sewing
courses and manual training courses,
and all of these departments are well
equipped.
Through the efforts of various, mem
bers of the board of education and oth
er businessmen, the city recently voted
a bond issue of $60,000 to be used to es
tablish playgrounds for the children
throughout the city. These playgrounds
will be under the supervision of the
city administration.
The schools of the city have not been
the only places where innovations have
been introduced, for through the li
brary trustees a project has been car
ried out whereby the residents of Fres
no county will be able to enjoy the
privileges of the Carnegie library with
out paying extra fees. The board of
supervisors recently granted an appro
priation of $4,000 annually for the es
tablishment of 11 library stations
throughout the county. Each one of
these stations will be provided with
books sent out from the main library
in Fresno. This Fresno library will
be doubled to meet the demands of the
country readers. This movement has
been under way for about a year, but
it was only a few weeks ago that it
was completed. The stations are now
being established.
Standing in the very heart of the city,
surrounded by a beautiful little park,
is the Fresno county courthouse. This
building is three stories in height, of
classic architecture and looms up above
other buildings in the city. The stories
are exceedingly high, giving the build
ing the appearance of a six story struc
ture rather than a three story one.
Like the famous state house dome
in Boston, the gilded dome of the
Fresno courthouse stands out visible
to the naked eye for several miles
from the center of the city. At night
the dome can be located by a number
of large arc lights which surround
given a singular impetus to the raising,
of cattle, sheep and hogs. Indeed, it is
questionable if at any previous period
the farmer has had in a general way
the entire range of his^prQducts bring
ing in such satsifactory returns.
CITRUS FRUITS FLOURISH
Raising of oranges, lemons and other
citrus fruits has been very extensively
engaged in during the- last few years.
The culture of citrus fruits is an ideal
occupation and the monetary results
are of the handsomest kind. ?he
orange tree is long lived, reaching *100
years of age, and unlike many i other,
fruit trees bears most heavily when,
old. The rich "red bog" soil of the foot- :
hill district eAst of Fresno, especially
in what is known as the Mount Camp-,
bell district, is splendid for orange cul
ture. The fruit ripens from four to six
weeks earlier than in southern Califor
nia, so Fresno oranges get the firstipf
the market and naturally -the- best
prices.- The fruit is of fine quality.and
not subject to the "smut" of. the south
ern California, orange, • . ,
Fig culture is one of the important
growing industries of Fresno county,
especially since 'George C. Roeding
accomplished the cllmatization' of .the
Blastophaga ; grossorum, a small wasp
necessary to the pollination •of • the
Smyrna fig.. The Smyrna 7 fig is the
best of all the fig family, realizing
better-prices" consequently the demand
is, yearly growing greater. _ The; dry,
warm'climate of 'Fresno county is most
congenial to - the • fig. „ . : : '
Turkish, tobacco, the very finest qual
ity for cigarette making,**as been suc
cessfully raised in t Fresno county, and
bids: fair. to be a profitable Industry.
Lumbering is an Important ' branch,
of Fresno county industries, represent
ing a" yeailly output of 100,000,000 board
feet.''. V" V- ' .. \u25a0 . ' .'.' i .-\ V.v v \
The oil industry, of- Fresno county is
one 'of =its; most remarkable , develop
ments.* In 1900 the output) was 500,000'
barrels; in 1909 it was over 15,000,000
barrels.-: The y field Is: ; gradually.; §x-]
tending .and many new! wells . are , con-,
tlnually coming; in.- It: IsT producing
at> tho present time one-thlrtieth*;'of
THE i'sM> FRANGISGQ CALL, mTORDAY;3APRIIy:2, 1910;
Types of structures that line Fresno's streets, showing .the metropolitan fea tures of the city.
\u25a0 " \u25a0 • \u25a0 \u25a0- : \u25a0- \u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0 \u25a0 .'\u25a0;»\u25a0.
it, guiding the. night driver who is
heading for Fresno. '/ -
Within the courthouse are situated
all the county offices, with the excep
tion of the sheriff's office. The sheriff's
office and the county jail adjoin the.
courthouse on the same property. The
county jail is one of the best con
structed buildings of its type in the
state and' has been inspected by many
county officials in other parts of . the
state who have been planning to build
such institutions. .-
In the parental school, the^city has
a concrete institution which has
proved far more efficient for -wayward
children than any state reform school.
Within this "school are sent children
who cannot be controlled and yet who
are not of such a nature that they
should be sent to a reform institution.
The 'children sent to the parental
school are not locked in like criminals,
but are cared for by a probation of
ficer.
Just outside the city limits, on the
southeast, are located the county hos
pital and the poor farm. Two of the
city's best physicians and surgeons are
employed' at the county hospital and
patients there are treated as well as
in any private sanatorium in the city.
The board of supervisors has spared
no expense to make these places rank
among the best of their class in the
state. The buildings are of brick and
concrete,, built In mission -Style, and
are well equipped.
- In close proximity to the county hos
pital is situated the county orphan
age. Here* are sent 'orphans who are
without other homes, arid, these chil
dren are kept in this institution, edu
cated equally as well as in the public
schools, and are cared ; for as though
In homes of their own until homes can
be secured for them. .
It has always been the desire of the
taxpayers of Fresno' county to make
their public institutions a credit to
this, county and this desire has been
accomplished.
the world's supply, and bids fair very
shortly to be the. world's biggest pro
ducer. ; '
, The city of .Coalinga is in the heart
of the field and is the second city- in
importance' ln the San Joaquin valley.
Other prosperous . towns . in the county
are s Clovls, Kingsburg, Kerman, Fow-'
ler, Laton, Reedley, Selma and Sanger.
It is little .; v/onder then that the
cry of back to, the land. should be so
universally heard.; To; the man who- is
answering the call; or: the farmer; who
is desirous of changing * his location,
Fresno county offers a condition . sec
ond |to] none. either In the. supply of
water for irrigation/ richness . of soil,
productivity, :marketing conditions, or
transportation > facilities. , Eyerytning
points to conditions for* success,.*and
all that is necessary Is the man who
does things.- W - \u25a0
GREAT WEALTH FROM '
FRESNO OIL FIELDS
One-thirtieth of World's Supply
: Pumped/ From Cbaliiiga
Development* of the oii district T In
Coalinga has meant much to Fresno.
The oil territory covers 35 square miles
and the productive capacity of the wells
has been estimated- at -30,000 barfeis
'of/ petroleum '- to / the acre. _ The "Z price
of, oil -at the present /time : is .63 cents
per /barrel, , and the -total * product is
valued at .$423,360,000. ..\u25a0-•'• . : ; ... '' ::
The developments of /the fields <has
been rapid, increasing ; from . 500,000
barrels in 1900 to 10,996,081 barrels -at
present :The great increase-: hassled
to the bullding^ofrefineries and perma
nent pipe, lines.as, well as; the; adoption^
of crude petroleumas a cheap and good :
fuel forilocomotives.' ; " .
aretmore" than 100 byproducts
made ? from . the i oil >; of -i the % Coalinga
fields. \u25a0\u25a0•'.; Itiwas ; estimated' recently Uhat:
one-thirtieth ; of ; the '.; world's * supplyj'of
oil was pumped; from" the Coalinga
fields;-- v\ -;':::-" ' y --"'- : :' - : -. :..< j
KEARNEY ESTATE
NOTED FOR BEAUTY
Famous Farm Used for Experi*
mental Purposes by the
State University
Although" California is noted for its
many estates, there is probably none
within its borders surrounded by such
peculiar conditions and circumstances
as the Kearney estate, lying about 10
miles west of Fresno, in the very heart
of the San Joaquin. -The estate is one
of Fresno's landmarks. The history of
It is j known' to* the: whole countryside
and the Kearney drive Is famous the
valley over. -
Theodore Kearney, taciturn, eccen
tric, mysterious,' bought the first bit of
Fresno property in 1870. . It consisted
of a tract of 7,500: acres, which was
subdivided and sold 'in small, sections.
He made- other purchases and began
the improvements In his property
which mark the place as beautiful to
day, t The great Kearney drive more
than 12 miles -in length and lined on
both sides for the entire distancelwith
palms and luxuriant foliage was a later
development. V ,
One Mjf the features of the estate,
which consists of 5,400 acres, is a por
tion of land' planted with a splendid
aggregation of trees from" practically
every country in the world. There are
sections planted with alfalfa, and one
strip of 880 acres Isy laid out in an ex
cellent vineyard. /
The property now belongs to the Uni
versity' of California, to' whom it was
left by Kearney at: his death. Dennis
Kearney, alleging kinship to the eccen
tric millionaire, pressed his claim In
court, but only - last Tuesday Justice
Cooper sustained the state university
in its possession. \ \u25a0'."-.-
Offering every -advantage ' for' the
study, of horticulture; and agriculture
the estate has been made . a depart
ment of the university.; The' fertility
of the soil, facilities of irrigation and
remarkable collections of ; various trees, ;
shrubbery and -growths that liave been
carefully/fostered' through I the! years
are of great : value to science. ' Certain
foaturesH>f ; study are ; to be pursued
in th«i : Kearney estate alone , in -experi
mental work, and iit^ls ;the intention
of thef.university, to" establish' a com
plete : experimental i plant there", where
special courses in, agriculture and hor-:
ticu ltureVcari; best ; be - given. " v ' " ' ;
\u25a0 v% The : estate is - valued .at : $2,0.00,000
and : glve9 an-annual income of $00,000.
Duringiall of 'his life Kearney turned
every ? dollar, of profit ; back "into , the
estate)., V He built ii 111 1 up gradual ly funtil
It paid for itself and >then" he, kept
compounding; the value." ' He^made", im
provements? in ,eyery,' nook and ; corner
and 3 slayed^.with Cthe , .estate^ until."h o
worked '% It V into ; fame. . Every ; flower
that Is worth while blooms "in its gar
dens, '.\u25a0 -\ \u25a0•:•\u25a0\u25a0... '\u25a0'\u25a0:-V : My&*/'y .~V'.< '_"\u25a0-:-"\u25a0
\u25a0'.There ..is a picturesque chateau on
the grounds 1? known"!, as the Kearney
lodge. : ~;It : ~ Is" covered with clinging
vines -and ; surrounded uwith^ well; kept
flower beds. ;It >as Uhefirsb Kearney,
home :and'- conveys ;llttla ; to the • casual
observer^ oft the Fdreams of the; original
owner, v ;.who -; planned v'a "palatial rt resi
dence .to -crown 'his 'lands. iKearney ' in-"
.tended-to*^build : a huge chateau; on -the
lines'-fof! theycastlest of ".the 'feudal > bar- 1
ons, but Vhe 4: died"> ; before.; the, project
*couldi,bercarried out.? \
, Ornnk* lMd^Lcmon\Growlnjß."--lCitrus
fruits ccan.vbe;- grown in. any ;, part Vo'f \u25a0
Fresno \u25a0; county.": Many \ot : the/- Fresno'
orange' orchards are;:;bringing*insliqoo'
an « acre ;' from * that are? 10 j years'
old.^Unimproved^ orange:^ land >can?be'
bought ; 'in;the"county iatUlGO ;an acre, ;
while' land "of isimilar^qualityHnV souths
ernCalifornia is sold' for/SSOO-per acre;
ACRES OF SAND CONVERTED
INTO BEAUTIFUL CITY PARK
Gift of Frederick Roeding Becomes One of
Fresno's Show Places
CHARLES C. CHAMBERS
Secretary of Frenno I'ark . Commission
p About seven-years ago F. Roeding do
nated to the_city. of Fresno 70 acres of
land for. park -purposes. This land ap
peared to be, mere sand. Today this
sand heap has been transformed Into an
.up -to date park and Is a veritable Gar-,,
den of Eden. The. park commissioners
of Fresno are willing to. match this 70
acre park against any other, park in the
state." Last year Mr. Roeding gave the
city an additional 50 acres adjoining
the present improved portion of Roed
ing park, all or most » of which, has
been planted _and in a short time will
attain. the beauty of the original 70
acres. \u25a0 \u25a0 *"'\u25a0.
In Roeding' park many- of • the trees
when planted were not more than two
feet high; today many ol these\trees
are' 40 feet; high. This, g"oes to show
what good care and water willdo. The
park hasa 'splendid water system, ;the
trees-have \u25a0 been \u25a0, irrigated from open
ditches and the water' has been donated
by the'Fresnocanal and irrigation com
pany; \u25a0•'• In' addition,' the commissioners
have \u25a0 Installed' a gas ; engine pumping
plant ;for -an < emergency and- this has
been- the /secret" of success in making
this park-a beauty: spot; <v - : ; -;.
- "The^park-is situated alongside of the
Southern Paciflcrailroad and all incom
ing' passengers ,* from bb£h north \u25a0': and
south [comments onj.its beauty' and ex-^
press surprise and ; admiration.' \u25a0""-. \u25a0
• In>; addition ' ; to'- the}"good attention
given' this . park Iby.' the . superintendent
in charge. \u25a0W*./M. t Harfah,- thej great im
provementV and :i: i wonderful ; growth at
tained are'duevto/ constant fertilizing.
\u25a0"^ In . the .park . is * a .chain ;- of lakes, . five
In' number, j dotted -with islands. '\u25a0\u25a0•• Later
W/ the" park^ commissioners Intend :to
make-bridges inrusticform to connect
Ihe inlands'; with Hhe^mainland.V- Later
oiiboat features , will be. installed."VAl-'
rwady, the" lakes have' been . stocked with
black bass arid other, valuable fish' The
park has" become."; a r horne r for.! all J wild
birds"!? and- they consider ..it "a - natural
hbme\where they- are, not molested.'-- The
Ukes : contain a' number • of i varieties \u25a0 of
water" lilies donated. by, \u25a0W.;S.,Tevis,;the
'capitalist' of ' Bakers field *and : San (Fran-"
ciscoV't'Many'oddf varieties {outfoti his
wonderful* collection fobtained \u25a0. from • all
parts "of ; the iworldjare: growing >ahd
thriving. xMr/jTevis spent at least $10.-"
000 v in {getting ; together.' 1 an \ assortment/
of >water.i growing,; flora" and : in";Roeding
p^rkithereare several; specimens of his
l»rge collection. . - ; ; ~
IRoeding;; park ; was ' laid, out - and
piarinedilbyr Johannes' Reimers, a bot
anist of. world wide reputation. Reim
ers is in the employ of the Santa Fe
railway system and was the originator
of the plan of embellishing all railroad
depots of this vast system with small
parks. The Santa Fe has parks around
each depot from Ashcrof t, Ariz., to
Point Richmond, Cal., ; and it was due
to the persistency of Reimers that these
beauty spots were installed. A
Fresno engaged Reimers to plan and
plant Its -park for the reason that he
was so well informed as to just what
would do . well in the hot and dry
climate, and also for his artistic ability
in the way of arranging and grouping.
He has planned the 70 acres in such a
manner ; that it gives the impression
of a 200 acre tract. ...
x ; Reimers is a firm believer in nature.
All -of; his plantings are done in a nat
ural-way.. He does not believe in prun
ing ornamental-. trees' but leaves them
to grow in the natural state. All of
his plantings .' and plans give one the
idea that :the. park which, he has in
stalled. just ' grew spontaneously. "
• Every' year, the park commissioners
of /Fresno " take phonographs of the
park, . to ' show the growth during the
preceding .12. months, and one would
hardly believe after examining the pho
tographs that; they were looking at the
same , plot of, ground, 12 months after
ward. \u0084 Roeding. park 'must be seen to
be appreciated. It has picnic groves,
open air.sectlons which can be utilized
for 1 band-s tands, open air theater and
other, amusement features." One .por
tion of ' the park has : a natural bed of
clay.' This is being used "to embellish
all-*roadways p and make them firm and
suitable for - both foot and '\ vehicle
travel. ; " . :
i; This summer it is the intention of the
board, of park commissioners to label
all trees and plants, to enable all vis- '
itors .to distinguish. the" varieties. T
/•The United States department of ag
riculture '.has made : arrangements /with
the secretary oflthe-board:of park cora
missieners to use Roeding park as an
experiment, station. .A*ll of their im
portations >; gathered —by A agricultural
explorers-"- visiting y foreign \u25a0- countries,
rare ftrees fatid Ishrubs,, have been sent
for.:* trial. * and v :- as - a - consequence r "", the
Fresno "park > has valuable - trees V from
Africa, .Asia* and the* Pacific islands, all
thriyingand;doing.well. • . .
- },Ff«sn»;-'. has> in .Chester >Rowoll - a
mayor/who;! takes ; an. active part-in
park' work. He has been a leading spirit
in every^movement-r; looking^ to - the
adornment of the city. * .
REALTY PROVES
GOOD INVESTMENT
Purchases Possible at Prices
That Promise Rich Profits
in the Future
S.B. LEAS
Secretary Fresno Real Estate Board
When I take a casual glimpse at the
early history of California, I can not
but picture the conditions in this great
valley of the San Joaquin. particular
ly in the country where Fresno has
sprung into . existence, when the first
rugged pioneer gazed on the valley
from the Sierra years ago. Then the
land was but a dreary barrier to the
pioneer, who strove to reach the
coast.
The history of the development of
this portion of the San Joaquin valley
is much the same as that of other sec
tions of the plains. Having first at
tracted the attention of the gold seek
ers, it later became the home ot the
grain farmer and the stock rancher and
still later the home of the fruit grow
er and vlneyardist. Today we have a
county well rounded out with all of
the agricultural' pursuits as welt* as
lumbering and oil activity. *
The irrigation system is an Important
factor in the country's success. \u25a0'• A
splendid syatem of canals has been ex
tended over the valley from time to
time, raising the value of outside prop
erty, with every, addition. A new coun
try has been developed and new home
seekers have come among us. The
demands of the city have increased
and the values of our inside, or city
property, have been doubled.
It would be difficult to go Into de
tails necessary to give a fnil Insight
into all of the increased property val
uations during the life of Fresno as
an incorporated town, a period, of a
little more than 25 years. The increase
has not been due to any sudden boom,
but is the result of constant. and steady
growth. Consequently we feel that our
valuations are a3 they should be to
day. We know by ; comparison witn
the values ot similar lands in other
parts of the valley that while we have
the best irrigation system, advantage,
of climate and location, our values are
lower, or. I should, say. our prices are
lower. This is a matter of great'sat
isfaction to us, however, for we know
th~at the settler of today can Invest his
money, adding profit thereon to sell to
others. " ,
A few years as?o one could have
bought alfalfa land at $25 to $20 "per
acre instead of $50 to $100 per acre as
now. . Town property could have been
bought at $25 to $250 per lot instead
of the much higher * figures prevailing
today." And preseyt prices are to those
of the past as the prices of the future
will be to those'of today.
. There Is no better proof of progress
than the. fact that our townspeople are
"constantly their profit 3to
the .aid vof local industry. One -need
only glance at the daily record- of
transfers .of property to be satisfied
that , Fresno valuations . are equitable. .
When ..we see property purchased at
$60 per acre, improved by the expendi
ture of $80 more and sold for $250 lr it
any.wonder.that w» take another grip
and hang on? Is it any wonder that
we want: others to see the opportun!-;
ties" here as we see them?
: .Our,motto is that new lands with
hewsic^eas make a bigger, and better
community. ; \u0084 . . r
»' *-*' \u25a0. \u25a0 . * '
.: \u25a0 Dried \u25a0 Frnltji" From Fresno.-— Besides .
raisin*, the product of dried fruit from
, Fresno county amounts to 40.000 tons a
year. -. -.The dried fruits are principally
peaches, prunes, apricots, 833 anil n«c
, tarines. ;
21