San Diego County CA Archives History - Books .....Beginning Of Fruit And Vine Culture 1888
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/cafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 20, 2006, 6:11 pm

Book Title: The City And County Of San Diego

CHAPTER III.
BEGINNING OF FRUIT AND VINE CULTURE.

   FOR a long time it was supposed that fruit and grapes, as well as
garden-stuff, could not be grown in California without irrigation. The
irrigation facilities of this county, being generally expensive, were not
developed to any extent. Even in the few places where water was cheaply obtained
there was no encouragement to raise anything. A wagon load of any kind of fruit
would drug the San Diego market and shipping it farther was out of the question.
Some made a few dollars by selling to their neighbors; but most of the neighbors
preferred to wait until they could get it for nothing. To raise fruit or even
vegetables for one's own use was not only expensive but vexatious, on account of
birds, rabbits, squirrels, etc., which concentrate upon an isolated patch of
anything green in summer; and the farmer soon concluded it was cheaper to buy
from someone else, or go without, than to bother with such things. A few,
however, as far back as ten years ago, had orchards and gardens not excelled
to-day. At Fallbrook, the place of V. C. Reche, was a perfect oasis of the
richest green; apricots, oranges, lemons, peaches, apples, quinces, and what not
of the finest quality, abounded. At Julian, Mr. Madison and others were raising
deciduous fruits and berries of the finest kind. On Mesa Grande, Mr. Gedney was
doing the same; others throughout the county were beginning to follow them.
Around San Diego Bay, especially in and around National City and Chollas Valley,
fine orchards and gardens twelve years ago had answered the sneers of those who
said that the land was fit only for stock. A few vineyards at long intervals
already foretold the coming land of the grape, and at the old missions a few old
trees proved abundantly what the olive could do with half an opportunity.

   Irrigation was confined to a few spots on the river bottoms or lowlands and
was of the old-fashioned kind, a drenching of the ground every few days, with no
cultivation whatever. The greater part of the water was used only by Indians,
and where used by the whites was principally for corn, melons, garden produce,
or grapes, which were then supposed to need plenty of water even on low ground.
Some irrigation with windmills was attempted in a few places, and was as near a
success as windmill irrigation pumping against a long lift can be. But the
quality of the fruit, especially oranges and lemons, was inferior, because water
was used as a substitute for cultivation, and the best varieties were not yet
planted. In the North the plow had for years been creeping from the low-lands,
which for a time were supposed to be the only lands available for culture,
farther up the slopes. It had been discovered that the slopes and uplands were
not only better for vines and many kinds of fruit, but would, with close and
constant cultivation, retain moisture enough during the summer to raise fair
crops of grapes, deciduous fruits, and other produce. This discovery spread
South through the different counties, and about 1880 began to dawn as a new idea
in San Diego. Some people imagined that they were the discoverers, others that
this power of the soil was confined to their special locality. By 1S82 the idea
had become widespread, and from that time truly dates the rise of fruit culture
in San Diego County, although in some favored localities good fruit had been
grown without irrigation many years before.

   In 1882 R. G. Clark produced in El Cajon the first raisins cured in the
county; their quality was so fine that they attracted the immediate attention of
Riverside growers, who at once bought a large tract of land in El Cajon. Geo. A.
Cowles and others in different sections had in the meantime set out vineyards,
and the following year sustained the reputation of the raisins so well that it
has scarce been questioned since. About the same time oranges and lemons from
the National Ranch and Janal began to excite wonder at the fairs of Riverside
and Los Angeles. The lemons were soon conceded to be superior and the oranges
puzzled the best judges. With the exception of specimen fruits raised in this
way by people who could afford to play with them, little has been done until the
past two or three years. The local market was too small and shipping long
distances at a profit in small quantities was out of the question. Now,
thousands of acres are coming into bearing, and thousands more are planting. The
oil-press is at work turning out the finest of olive oil; and hundreds of tons
of raisins are yearly dried. It will be but a short time before the railroad
will run refrigerator cars and then the great market of the world will call
forth a pent-up energy that is now little dreamed of. The capacity of the county
in the way of raising fruit is immense; but until there are transportation
facilities, people will not plant to any extent. This failure to plant, of
course, delays the building of railroads, etc. Each one reacts for a time upon
the other, but the see-saw is finally broken and the outlet is furnished. 


Additional Comments:
From:

THE
CITY AND COUNTY
OF
SAN DIEGO.
ILLUSTRATED,
AND CONTAINING
BI0GRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF
PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS.

SAN DIEGO, CAL.
LEBERTHON & TAYLOR
1888


File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/sandiego/history/1888/cityandc/beginnin292nms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/

File size: 5.9 Kb