9. Merced is only 14 days from London. · Part 2

A few minutes' walk from my hotel is the Henry Clay monument, where the mob was addressed last month by Mr. Parkerson, who incited them to proceed to the prison and force an entrance, and then to take the lives of a number of Italian murderers by lynch law. On this monument some memorable words are inscribed which Mr. Clay uttered, and which T copied. They are as follows:--"If I could be instrumental in eradicating this deep stain, slavery, from the character of our country, I would not exchange the proud satisfaction which I should enjoy for the honour of all the triumphs ever decreed to the most successful conqueror." That deep stain was removed in 1862, and slaves were raised from the condition of cattle to that of men, who could thenceforward rejoice in the freedom of being masters of their own bodies.

NEW ORLEANS TO LONDON.

On leaving New Orleans we run through swamps, and presently skirt the Gulf of Mexico and travel on. The next day (December 23rd), we feel it perceptibly colder, for we are going north. The country is cultivated in sugar, cotton, rice, grass, etc. We breakfast at Atlanta, and after leaving that place, the scenery puts me more in mind of England. In going through Georgia, I was told that the same black families which now occupy many of the small wooden houses, or "cabins," which I see, are the same families who occupied them before the abolition of slavery. Although many slaves suffered cruelties through enforced separations and hard treatment, yet very many had most comfortable homes, considerate masters, and light work. I sat much during this day on the platform at the end of the end car, observing the country. At one station some little black urchins came to gaze, and I said to one boy, apparently seven years old, "What is your name?" He said, "Willie Matthews." I said, "How old are you? " He said, "I ain't old enough to know how old I are." And his genuine simplicity delighted me.

We are now passing through cultivated lands, farms, and estates, and these continue right on to New York. At Greers was a very large collection of cotton. At Spartanville are large cotton mills, such as one sees in Lancashire. The next day (December 24th), we notice ice on the ponds. We cross the Potomac River, and near Washington, sight the Capitol--or, as we should say in England, the Houses of Parliament. Washington City is the political capital of the United States. Its size is about 4-1/2 miles by 2-1/2 miles. The Capitol is described by the Americans as the most magnificent public edifice in the world. It is 352 feet long and 121 feet deep, with two wings each 238 by 140 feet. Its entire length is 751 feet 4 inches, and it covers an area of more than 3-1/2 acres. It is of costly construction, and stands in grounds of about 50 acres.

We proceed, and stop at Baltimore, cross the Bush and Gunpowder Rivers, again come near the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers, various smaller rivers, and run on until we reach New York. On arrival, I immediately went to the Cunard office and secured my berth in the "Servia." The next morning (Christmas Day), it was very cold, and snowing. I had a fire lit in my bed-room, and there wrote the article which appeared in the January _Land Roll_. In the afternoon I walked in the Central Park, but it was so bitterly cold, I was satisfied with less than two hours of exercise, and returned to the hotel to dinner, and finished up the day writing in my bed-room till midnight. The Central Park, in genial weather, would be an attractive resort. I observed large natural rocks, lawns, wide promenades, seats, lakes, menageries, swings, and various such like attractions for juveniles, overground and underground roads--a kind of "Rotten Row," &c., but being so cold scarcely a person was to be seen.

On December 26th, New York was deep in snow. I visited a few shops for some necessaries, and went on board the "Servia" during the afternoon, thinking that I might have difficulty in getting a cabman to drive to the docks after dark if the snow drifted deeply. New York City is the metropolis of the United States. In 1880 its population was 1,206,590. Its site was discovered in 1524. It was in 1609 that Hudson, an Englishman, ascended the river which was named after him. In 1614 some Dutchmen settled there. In 1648 its population was 1,000, and in 1700 it had increased to 6,000. In 1684 it was captured by the Duke of York, and was henceforth called "New York." In 1711 a slave market was established in Wall Street.

On December 27th, about 5 o'clock in the morning, we began to clear out of the dock, and in a few hours were again on the broad Atlantic. The next day (Sunday, December 28th), we had service on board, conducted by the doctor in the saloon: all on board not actually on duty may attend. We left New York in a blizzard, and our decks were coated with frost and snow, but after two days this was all cleared away, and we had a splendid run in genial weather, so that one day I could comfortably walk on deck without a greatcoat.

Our run was--from Sandy Hook Lighthouse (45 miles) to noon of December 28th, 373 miles; noon of December 29th, 379 miles; December 30th, 375 miles; December 31st, 878 miles; January 1st, 1891, 372 miles; January 2nd, 362 miles; January 3rd, 371 miles; thence, to Queenstown, 169 miles; and from Queenstown to Liverpool, 240 miles; making a total of 3,064 miles. The passage in the "Etruria," going out, was 3,062 miles. The "Servia" is a fine ship, but much older than the "Etruria," and her engines, consequently, are not capable of the speed of a newer vessel. Her cargo capacity is 6,500 tons, with 1,800 tons of coal and 1,000 tons of water ballast. Her horse-power is equal to 10,500. The saloon is 74 by 49 feet, and is capable of seating 350 persons. The "Servia" has cabin accommodation for 500 saloon and 600 steerage passengers, besides a crew of 200 officers and men. When there are more than 350 saloon passengers, each meal has to be served in two relays.

An interesting incident occurred during the passage: I discovered that our captain (now commanding the "Aurania") was a shipmate of mine in 1855, when I was a midshipman. I reached my office in Lincoln's Inn Fields at 8 o'clock on the morning of January 5th, having been absent just about six weeks. The distances were as follows:--

Liverpool to New York 3,062 miles. New York to Chicago 913 " Chicago to Council Bluffs 488 " Council Bluffs to San Francisco 1,867 " San Francisco to Merced 152 " Merced to New Orleans 2,344 " New Orleans to Washington 1,144 " Washington to New York 228 " New York to Liverpool 3,064 " London to Liverpool 201 " Liverpool to London 201 " Journeys in buggies, tram-cars, &c. 110 " -------- 13,774 "

I must conclude with some general remarks:--

The _Times_ recently published a series of ten articles on the "Negro Question in the United States," and from them it appears that the position of that country is very serious in this relation. These articles commenced after I had started on my journey, so that I only saw one or two of the concluding ones and the _Times_ leader upon the whole, but I was not surprised to see them, because in passing through the States which are principally peopled by negroes, I heard something about the matter from a thoughtful man, who regarded the subject with great gravity. The _Times_ has shown that the attitude of one race to the other is that of "antagonism, discontent, and perpetual danger."

The negroes have the same constitutional privileges as the whites, and their overpowering numbers in certain places give the power into their hands, which, regarded in relation to racial hatred, renders them to be an object of danger to the country. It is proposed to emigrate the negroes to some part of Africa. It would be more consistent for certain Americans to interest themselves in solving this problem of their own rather than encouraging Irish agitators, and so assisting to prevent England solving her dark problem across St. George's Channel.

The proportion of coloured people to white in the three states of Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama, is about equal, that is, there are as many coloured people as white. The population of coloured people throughout the whole of the United States is about 7,000,000 of coloured people to 59,000,000 of white people, but it is a sad fact, as stated in the _Times_ of March 7th last, that a Government return, dated June 1st, 1890, showed that there were 45,233 convicts in the prisons of the United States, and that of this number no less than 14,687, or one-third were coloured people, and that out of these coloured people only 237 were Chinese, 3 Japanese, and 180 Indians, so that 14,267 were negroes. As the whites, counting all the States, are eight times as numerous as the coloured people, and yet the coloured convicts are one-third of the whole, it speaks badly for the morals of the negro race in America.

I was much struck with the immense development of electricity. Steamers, railway carriages, tramcars, hotels, shops, towns, villages, and railway stations, even those in remote places, with scarcely a building near to them, were all well lighted by electricity.

Railways run on scaffoldings down the centre of the streets, and horses with their vehicles run underneath them. The railway trains are well heated throughout by hot water pipes (every class), and reflect a grave reproach on our country, where, in the severest weather, it is difficult to get a foot warmer, except by certain main line trains, and, even then, one is expected to "tip" the attendant. Poor persons travelling in thin garments and poorly fed, in severe weather, scarcely ever dare to ask for a foot warmer unless they are prepared to fee someone, and, whether rich or poor, no one can get a foot warmer at any of our country stations. When we consider that railways originated in this country, and that some of the parts of America I passed through were, some 50, some 40, and some even 30 years ago, only known to the trapper and the Indian, it shows the increase of enterprise exhibited by our cousins over the Atlantic.

Tramcars are worked by electricity, by steam, by horses and mules, and by revolving endless cables. Telephones are everywhere. The railway journeys in America often occupying several days, the tickets are a kind of succession of coupons, parts of which have to be given up at various stages. Caution is exercised in selling railway tickets for long journeys--thus, you are required to sign the ticket, and observations are made of you, such as your height, probable age, colour of your eyes, hair, etc. Some of the lines of railway are not fenced in, not even in towns, so that the train runs through a town as openly as does an omnibus. I may convey some idea of some of the large American systems of agriculture, by referring to the estate of one of my clients, Mr. C. H. Huffman, of Merced, California. This gentleman has fields ranging from 1,000 to 15,000 acres each. He can plough 400 to 500 acres a day. By his traction engine he can strike 12 furrows at a time. He can put 70 teams (of eight mules or horses each) to work at one time. Each harvester will cut, thrash, and sack an average of 50 acres a day. The front part of the machine faces the standing wheat in the field, in the centre of the machine it is thrashed and winnowed, and at the rear it is thrown out in sacks ready for market. Mr. Huffman can sit in his study at home, and by his telephone talk to his clerks at Merced (he is the banker there), as well as to the foremen at his various ranches for 25 miles round the country. I particularly noticed one of his fields of wheat, comprising 2,000 acres, as level and clean as a well-kept lady's flower garden in England.

The Americans have a greater variety of foods served at their meals than we do, but I never got the flavour of meat cut from a joint to equal that which, when really well roasted and served, we get in England. As to bread, I never tasted bread worth the name, from the time I left London to the time I returned to it. Alike on the Cunard steamers, cars, hotels, etc., you can get no wholemeal bread. French and Vienna breads, and other very white abortions of that kind are obtainable in abundance, and even a kind of brown bread, and "Graham's" bread, but good honest wholemeal bread, containing all the properties of the full kernel of the wheat, it is impossible to get, and this to me was a very great deprivation, as my _principal_ article of food is _real_ wholemeal bread.

The system of the custody of letters at the large American hotels appeared to me rather unsafe. A visitor asks for letters, whereupon there are handed to him all the letters in the pigeon-hole marked with the initial of which the visitor's name commences. The visitor then proceeds to look through them, and takes what he chooses, and hands the rest back. The official is too busy, or it is not customary for him, to look through them for the visitor, or even to watch the visitor in his process of selection. I noticed one gentleman with a packet of letters, I should think considerably over a hundred, every now and then slip one into his breast pocket and give a furtive glance, which did not inspire confidence, but probably this is a well accustomed habit of the people, and the letters, perhaps, are as safe as the newspapers I frequently saw deposited on the tops of the street letter boxes (outside the boxes), because they were too large to be put inside; of course anyone could have taken them, but the custom not to touch them is probably honourably recognized. The street letter boxes are quite small square boxes, not large pillar boxes as are ours in this country.

I should like to have remarked more generally on America, but both time and space fail me. Of course, as most people know, the (to us) disgusting practice of spitting is common in America; spittoons are universally provided in public and private places. At Merced Court House is this notice: "Gentlemen will not, and others should not spit upon the floors." Huge spittoons are provided there.

The awful guttural which precedes the constant expectoration of Americans is most trying. It excites in persons near them and who are unaccustomed to it, a sensation of necessity to vomit, as it conveys a fear that your neighbour is about to vomit over you. It is not the excusable expectoration arising from an accumalation in the air passages, but a continuous fusilade of saliva. It is a disgusting practice, and I believe will die out in America as its citizens travel more in the old countries and become used to manners more refined than such a one as this. I observed that my clients in California, who have travelled in Europe, and other travelled Americans, are not guilty of this odious practice.

I would say to Englishmen travelling in America, don't condescend to the "guessing" and other loose styles of expression, and don't affect the nasal twang. Americans, with all their boast of one man being as good as another, are greatly pleased to entertain or travel with Englishmen having a title, and they pay a marked respect to Britishers who speak in a classical style, and who, while being devoid of foppishness, bounce, or vulgarity, conduct themselves with a genial dignity.

=California.=

I will now say something about California, and then proceed to describe the lands for sale, and the prospects of those who will settle upon them.

California lies on the genial coast of the Pacific Ocean, midway between the too cold regions of the North and the too hot regions of the South. To be exact, the mean temperature in San Francisco in the month of January, averages about 49°. It has varied from 53° to 39°. The record of 32 years shows that between sunrise and sunset it has not been so low as 32° on more than 10 days. Snow is sometimes seen to fall, but it melts immediately.

California has a bright, genial climate, and is described as "pre-eminently a sunny land." The early spring, commencing about the middle of February and lasting about six weeks, is a very pleasant part of the year, but April is described as the "cheeriest." December and January are the least pleasant, because it is the rainy and winter season.

Thunderstorms are rare, and no hurricane has ever been known there. The rainfall of California is about twenty inches, and the rainy days number about sixty in the year, or about half the number of rainy days experienced in the Atlantic States or Central Europe.

Amongst the fruits grown in abundance are the orange, grape, peach, apricot, plum, cherry, apple, nectarine, fig, lemon, lime, olive, date, and all the berries of value.

Besides the immense growth of choice and luscious Fruits, for which California is famous all over the globe, it claims to have the largest milk, butter, and cheese dairies in the world. It is also renowned for its mineral riches, its immense mercantile business, its manufacturing industries, its production of wool, its gigantic timber, its wealth of beauty in flowers, its fast horses, its grand scenery, embracing lofty mountains, deep valleys, expansive fertile plains, and all the variations of a beautiful country, with many rivers, and a magnificent sea coast, whilst the "coast range" and the slopes of the "Sierra" offer to the sportsman such game in abundance as grizzly and cinnamon bears and Californian lions. There are also deer, hare, rabbit, quail, large flocks of wild ducks and geese, and the rivers afford such fish as salmon and trout, and the deep sea splendid fishing.

San Francisco has been called "a city of 100 hills." It has a population of nearly 300,000 inhabitants, amongst whom are no less than 50 _millionaires_. Its harbour is known all over the globe as the "Golden Gate," and it has answered well to its name, for an entrance to its vast resources has made the fortune of multitudes of people, and many going there now are laying the foundations for future wealth.

The lands of California have the two essentials for successful culture--a rich soil and genial climate, with plenty of sun, yet never too hot and never too cold for out-door work, and most of its domestic animals are never housed, and require no food but wild herbage.

FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA.

Our lands at Merced, in California, offer to gentlemen wishing to make a first or a fresh start in life a really good opportunity. It is difficult to conceive how men with energy, enterprise, and a little capital, can be content to sit in an office in foggy, blocked-up London, "quill driving" from year's end to year's end, when a prospect is afforded them, such as we now offer, of establishing a pleasant home in a luxurious land, with a sunny, genial climate, and within about a fortnight's travel of England, and where they would have the liberty of being their own masters, and lay the foundation of a future competency.

CURRENCY.

As the currency in California is dollars, not pounds, we must ask our readers to accustom themselves to dollars. A dollar is 100 cents, and, roughly speaking, a cent is equivalent to a halfpenny, so that a dollar would be worth, of our money, four shillings and twopence. Its value, however, varies a few cents according to the place where it is exchanged. Bank of England notes or pounds are never worth less than four shillings and twopence, _i.e.,_ 480 cents or halfpennies, which, of course, is four dollars and 80 cents, there being 100 cents in a dollar. The decimal currency is extremely simple when once understood. Never less than 4.80 is given for an English pound, but sometimes 4.82 and 4.85 is obtained.

MERCED.

The lands I have for sale are situate in the County of Merced, in California, about 150 miles by rail from the City of San Francisco, They are designated "British Colony," and at the nearest point are just one mile from the boundary of the town of Merced, and two miles from the railway station, hotel, shops, etc. Merced town is lighted by gas and electricity, has water laid on, telephones, telegraphs, Court House, Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Methodist Church, South Methodist Church, Baptist Church, and Catholic Church, two schools, shops of various kinds; two railroads, the main one running up to San Francisco, and down to Los Angeles and on to New Orleans, etc., and the other, a branch line to Stockton, Sacramento, etc. Merced is 175 feet above the level of the sea; it is a pleasant little town, affords some congenial society, and I firmly believe will, before many years have passed, become an important centre, because my clients have brought water from the Merced River more than twenty miles off, by a system of canals, and have formed a reservoir of 640 acres in extent, with an average depth of 30 feet, and thus have given facilities for irrigating the country round the town. It is certain to become a great Fruit-growing district, as its soil is so fully adapted for the purpose. It is much nearer to San Francisco than Los Angeles, and is nearer also than Fresno and other districts which have already made themselves a name for Fruit culture.

The country around Merced has a natural fall, and is drained by many creeks, which are dry in summer, but contain more or less water in winter.

THE LANDS FOR SALE.

Merced is situated in the celebrated San Joaquin Valley (pronounced San Wharkeen), which is an immense level of fertile land, the soil generally being of a rich sandy loam, but in some districts, such as that I am now offering for sale, of a deep rich black loam of a highly productive nature, in fact, it is the decomposed vegetation and alluvial deposits of past ages, than which nothing could be more fertile. We have good evidence that the land is especially suited for the production of prunes, apricots, pears, peaches, olives, plums, small Fruit, such as strawberries, blackberries, sweet and common potatoes, garden stuff, and alfalfa. Alfalfa (or lucerne) is a great crop in America in places where there are no old meadow lands for the cows. The land is, of course, suited for all cereal crops, too. All the Fruits named can be dried in the sun without artificial heat.

The lands are about 160 to 165 feet above the level of the sea, and, in common with all the country round, they command a view on the one side of the grand snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains, and on the other of the mountains known as the Coast Range. Immense flocks of wild geese and ducks (principally geese), are often on the land. There are also "rabbits" on the land (so called), but they more resemble hares in their size and habits and run.

There are some excellent Fruit orchards and gardens at Merced. In the grounds around the Court House are some very fine orange trees, full of fruit, and also in the gardens of private residents. One gentleman kindly sent a bough of oranges, and other gentlemen sent other Fruits, which may be seen at our offices. At the Buhach Colony, near the town of Merced, are extensive orchards of Californian Fruits. Mr. Atwater's gardens and orchard, a few miles from the town, are worth inspection. He has two magnificent olive trees, nine or ten years' old, which bear heavy crops, and which are used for the production of olive oil; his vineyard and orange orchard, his lemon and persimmon trees, all look very prosperous. He would gladly show any settler how he has cultivated them. He has a corn and stock farm, and has only gradually cultivated these Fruits, which occupy some eleven acres.

PRICE OF THE LAND.

The prices of the land for sale are 75, and 100, and 150 dollars per acre, according to position. Two-thirds of the purchase-money may remain on mortgage as long as the interest is paid at 8 per cent, per annum, which is the lowest interest payable in California. The mortgagor is liable to the Government for the taxes, which amount to 1-1/2 to 2 per cent, per annum, so that he would really only receive 6 to 6-1/2 per cent, interest. All mortgages are publicly recorded, and so the property is vested in the mortgagor till he is paid off, and when that is done it also is publicly recorded. These taxes embrace all known to us in England as rates and taxes, except a road tax of 2 dollars a head per annum, chargeable to every male over twenty-one years of age. This tax may be paid for in labour on the road if desired. A free conveyance will be given, but the cost of recording the transaction in the county office (there is no stamp duty), about 1-1/2 dollars, must be paid by the purchaser. The recording of a mortgage would probably be 3-1/4 dollars because it is longer. The record is a public acknowledgment of the title of the owner to the land made in the county books.

Foreigners can hold freehold property in California, but they have no right to vote--indeed, they would have no right to vote until they had resided five years in the country, and had become naturalized; then a resident has before him the possibility of becoming Governor of the State to which he belongs, or, indeed, Secretary of the Interior, which corresponds with the position of the Premier in England.

AMERICAN SURVEYS.

According to the American surveys the country is arranged in squares, as shown on all the maps. A "section" is a square mile, or 640 acres. A "township" is 36 sections, _i.e.,_ six miles on each of its four sides.

A quarter section is 160 acres, and the lands are so arranged that a roadway is reserved around each quarter section 60 feet wide, and the land for such roadway is taken from each side, so that each owner has to contribute 30 feet to such road, and, of course, he has the benefit of the frontage to it. A 20 acre lot would be an eighth of a quarter section. On some of the lots for sale at "British Colony," are one or two houses and some buildings. These may be purchased thus: One house and buildings, 1,000 dollars; another house and buildings, 1,000 dollars; another house and buildings (N. E.), 600 dollars; but if one purchaser bought four lots of 20 acres, each adjoining so that one house and buildings should come near the centre, then such house and buildings would be given in.

SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE OF FRUIT CULTURE.

Few settlers would have the requisite special knowledge of Fruit culture without some instruction, and, therefore, the owners of the land have engaged the services of Professor Eisen, at a fixed salary, so that all settlers on their lands may have the benefit of the Professor's instruction, _free of charge_. Professor Eisen is well known as a specialist in horticulture in California. He has just published a book on the raisin industry in California, which may be seen at our offices. The culture of grapes for raisins, and plums for prunes, would be remarkably successful on the lands for sale.

CANNED FRUITS.

Wholesale buyers come round the country to buy the Fruit crops while on the trees. An enormous trade is done in America in canned Fruits; the hotels, steamers, railway cars, and private families use them largely at all meals, and America itself seems to be a sufficient market for ages to come for all the Fruit and vegetables its State of California can produce.

ESTIMATES.

How to start with a capital of 20,000 dols.

dols. 80 acres of land, 12,000 dols., half cost 6,000 Trees, such as orange, olive, fruit, etc. 2,000 House and barn 2,500 Horses 400 Cow 50 Poultry 25 Furniture, etc. 600 Waggon, tools, etc. 400 Labour, per year, 3 men, etc., for, 3 years, including living 4,000 Interest on 6,000 dols. at 8%--480 dols. per year, 3 years 1,440 ------ dols. 17,415

Leaving a balance of 2,585 dols. for first payment of land, or for other improvements and unforeseen expenses.

Profit the fourth year should be about 4,000 to 5000 dols. at the lowest.

How to start with a capital of 10,000 dols., i.e., say £2,000.

dols. dols.

40 acres of land .. .. .. .. 6,000 House and barn .. .. .. .. 1,200 Well and pump .. .. .. .. 100 Horses .. .. .. .. 200 Waggon and tools .. .. .. .. 350 Furniture, etc .. .. .. .. 500 Cow .. .. .. .. 50 Trees, etc. .. .. .. .. 1,200 Seed, etc. .. .. .. .. 100 .. .. .. .. ---- 9,700 Living one year, etc.; incidentals .. 300 .. .. .. .. ----- dols. 10,000

PROFITS.

dols. dols. _First year_.--Land between the trees, cultivated in potatoes, vegetables, etc. .. .. .. .. 500 Poultry, eggs, etc. .. .. .. .. 150 --- 650

(Eggs and poultry pay for groceries. Many families are doing this now.)

dols. dols.

_Second year_.--The same as above .. 650

_Third year_.--The same as above .. 650 Yield from Fruit, 10 dols. per acre .. 400 ---- 1,050

_Fourth year_.--The same from poultry, etc. 650 From Fruit trees, 50 dols. per acre .. 2,000 ---- 2,650

_Fifth year_.--The orchard is now in good bearing, and should pay from 100 to 250 dols. per acre; say the lowest .. 4,000

(No time to attend to any but Fruit trees unless a man is employed, so only the return of Fruit trees is given).

_Sixth year_.--The orchard now pays, if properly attended to, from 150 to 350 dols. per acre; say the lowest .. 6,000

_Seventh year_.--The orchard pays, if properly cared for, from 200 to 450 dols. per acre; say the lowest .. 8,000

This clear after expenses have been deducted. The farmer can take care of 20 acres himself, with occasional help. With 40 acres he requires one man more, his son or hired help.

The first three years he will only make his living ordinarily so; after that time he will make money. Poultry, and vegetables should, during the first year pay for all expenses at least, and in many instances leave a large surplus. All this depends upon the capacity of the settler. With good land such as this 100 dollars or more could be made from vegetables the first season by a capable and experienced man. At least it has been done repeatedly.

If poultry is properly cared for, a family will make its living by selling eggs and chickens until the trees come in bearing.

=How to start with a capital of 8,000 dols., i.e., say £1,600.=

dols.

Land, 40 acres, 6,000 dols., half cost.. .. 3,000 House and barn .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,500 Horses .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 200 Cows and chickens .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 75 Waggon and tools .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 200 Sundries, tools, etc. .. .. .. .. .. .. 400 Trees, etc. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,200 Well and pump .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 100 Or windmill and tank .. .. .. .. .. .. 250 Interest on 3,000 dols. at 8 % for three years .. 780 Sundries for living, etc. .. .. .. .. .. 295 ----- dols. 8,000

The fourth and fifth years there should be a gross profit of at least 2,650 dols. a year, enough to pay for the balance due on land.

How to start with, a capital of 5,000 dols., i.e., say £1,000.

dols. Land, 20 acres, 3,000 dols., half cost .. .. 1,500 House and barn, etc. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,000 Trees .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 600 Horses .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 200 Cow .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 Household furniture .. .. .. .. .. .. 100 Waggon and tools .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 200 Well and pump .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 100

(If tank and windmill required, from 250 dols. upwards extra).

Seed, etc. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 Sundry expenses and chickens .. .. .. .. 300 Interest for three years on balance of land at 8% .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 360 Capital on hand to pay for part of the land.. 840 ----- dols. 5,300

What some people have started with, and come out all right.

dols. dols. Land, 3,000 dols., cash, balance credit 1000 House and barn 500 Horses 150 Cow 50 Poultry 25 ___ 225

Provisions, sundries, etc 100 Furniture and tools 150 Sundry expenses 100 Waggon and horses 150 _____ dols. 2,225

But ordinarily, this is too little, as the planting of the land cannot be proceeded with at once, and work must be procured among the neighbours, etc.

The estimates, were furnished us by Professor Eisen, who remarked that, probably, in giving estimates all persons would vary somewhat, but these, and other estimates which he gave, are really more than estimates, because they are the actual results of past experiences.

PROFESSOR EISEN'S OPINION.

Received January 20th, 1891.

Professor Eisen writes:--"I am of opinion that these lands (British Colony, Merced) are amongst the very best in the State for raisins; still, as I explained to you, I do not advise any one to put his whole interest in the raisin industry, as the market for this Fruit is limited. For other dried fruit, especially for prunes (French plums), apricots, peaches, and nectarines, the market is practically unlimited, and as our population increases yearly 1,500,000 people, it will be seen that our markets must extend as well, even after we have driven all foreign Fruits out of our home markets. As regards the adaptability of the land of British Colony for various Fruits, I can say that they are especially adapted to the prune (French plums) and peaches for drying and canning, olives for olive oil and pickling; also for oranges. You can see how the orange thrives in the city of Merced and surroundings, or in localities exactly like those of British Colony lands, and there can be no doubt that oranges and lemons will prove very profitable in British Colony. Olives will especially do well there. The British Colony lands I consider as exceptionally rich and fertile, and there are few, if any, equal to them in this State or anywhere else."

PRICE OF FRUIT TREES.

The prices in California of young Fruit trees for planting, for the season 1890-91, are given as follows:--

dols.

Prunes (like French plums) 25 to 30 per 100

Plums and other prunes 15 "

Apricots 20 "

Peaches, from 15 to 17.50 "

Olives (layers) 20 "

Olives, grafted 40 to 60 "

Pears 18 "

Oranges, best kinds 70 to 100 "

Shade trees 50 "

Grape-vines (raisins) 12 "

Persimmons 15 "

Walnuts, from 15 to 35 "

WHEN FRUIT TREES PAY.

The Fruit trees enumerated above would begin to bear the second year, but only the fourth year would they bear any considerable amount; the fifth and sixth years they would come into good bearing, and should then yield a profit of, say, from 100 to 350 dollars per acre. At seven years the orchard should be in full bearing, and never yield less than 150, and, possibly, 450 dollars per acre. Instances have been known when prunes, peaches, and pears have produced from 750 to 1,500 dollars per acre clear profit.

POSITION OF A SETTLER.

The position of a settler, then, is that for the first three years he cannot depend upon his crop of Fruit to maintain him, but must either have sufficient capital to support him during that time, or else earn his living in some other way. To be idle, and live on capital, would not, of course, suit any man who meant to succeed, and therefore he would fill up his time in cultivating garden and poultry produce, for which there is always a demand, or in getting some occasional employment.

COST OF BOARD AND LODGING.

At Merced railway station is a very large hotel, and the cost of board and lodging for emigrants is only 25 dollars, _i.e.,_ say, £5 per month; to usual visitors it is 60 dollars a month.

RAISIN CULTURE.

The _Pacific Rural Press_, referring to the raisin vineyards in the San Joaquin Valley, California, states:--

"What is especially interesting to the home-seeker in connection with this information, is the fact that everyone of these vineyardists is prosperous. No other horticultural industry is so profitable as the culture of the raisin grape, in no other is the work so pleasant, and no other yields a return so quickly."

An acre of Muscat vines in full bearing will yield from two to three tons of grapes on good heavy soil. At 5-1/2 cents a pound in the sweat-box, this means from 225 to 325 dollars per acre, gross. Numerous instances are known, however, where the yield of an acre of Muscats amounted to as much as 450 dollars, this being the result of careful cultivation and favourable circumstances. Some grapes are borne on the vines when they are one-year old, while two-year old's have been known to bear a crop. At three years the vines pay the expenses and interest on the money invested, and at four years from planting they bring the first large paying crop.

The _Merced Argus_ says of raisin culture:--

"One of the great charms of raisin culture is the extreme simplicity of its operations. WHAT CAN BE MORE SIMPLE than to pick a bunch of Muscat grapes from the vine, and lay it on the ground. In six days the bunch of grapes, without being meanwhile touched, has assumed the appearance of a bunch of raisins, and has flattened out as if it had been pressed. It is then carefully turned over, so as to expose the underside to the direct action of the sun. In eight days more it is a perfect bunch of raisins, and no act of man can improve it even in appearance. All the operations of fancy packing are so simple, that a child may learn them in a day. A single acre of raisin vines in a Merced Colony lot means handfuls of bright, golden double eagles to the bright-eyed children of the Merced farmer in the near future.

_Harper's Magazine_ for January, 1891, contains an article on California, which all persons interested in that State would do well to read. I extract a few statements:--

IRRIGATION.

"A piece of land at Riverside, below the flow of water, was worth 300 dollars an acre. Contiguous to it was another piece not irrigated, which would not sell for 50 dollars an acre. By bringing water to it, it would quickly sell for 300 dollars, thus adding 250 dollars to its value. As the estimate at River side is that one inch of water will irrigate five acres of Fruit land, five times 250 dollars would be 1,250 dollars per inch, at which price water for irrigation has actually been sold at Riverside.

"The standard of measurement of water in Southern California is the miner's inch under four inches pressure, or the amount that will flow through an inch-square opening under a pressure of four inches measured from the surface of the water in the conduit to the centre of the opening through which it flows. This is nine gallons a minute, or, as it is figured, 1,728 cubic feet or 12,960 gallons in 24 hours, and 1/50 of a cubic foot a second. This flow would cover 10 acres about 18 inches deep in a year; that is, it would give the land the equivalent of 18 inches of rain, distributed exactly when and where it was needed, none being wasted, and more serviceable than 50 inches of rainfall as it generally comes. This, with the natural rainfall, is sufficient for citrous Fruits and for corn and alfalfa, in soil not too sandy, and it is too much for grapes and all deciduous fruits.

"But irrigation, in order to be successful, must be intelligently applied. In unskilful hands it may work more damage than benefit. Mr. Theodore S. Van Dyke, who may always be quoted with confidence, says that the ground should never he flooded; that water must not touch the plant or tree, or come near enough to make the soil bake around it; and that it should be let in in small streams for two or three days, and not in large streams for a few hours.

OLIVE CULTURE.

"The growth of the olive is to be, it seems to me, one of the leading and most permanent industries of Southern California. It will give us, what it is nearly impossible to buy now, pure olive oil, in place of the cotton seed and lard mixture in general use. It is a most wholesome and palatable article of food. Those whose chief experience of the olive is the large, coarse, and not agreeable Spanish variety, used only as an appetizer, know little of the value of the best varieties as food, nutritious as meat, and always delicious. Good bread and a dish of pickled olives make an excellent meal. A mature olive grove in good bearing is a fortune. I feel sure that within 25 years this will be one of the most profitable industries of California, and that the demand for pure oil and edible fruit in the United States will drive out the adulterated and inferior present commercial products."

SPECIAL OPENINGS.

There are now at Merced special openings for a nurseryman and a dairyman; the latter would be by growing alfalfa (lucerne) and raising poultry for at present the Merced people often have to get poultry and eggs from San Francisco, 150 miles off.

POTATO GROWING.

A settler might make a really good return out of potatoes while his Fruit trees are maturing, which is a food more in use in America than in England. Potatoes are not only served at luncheon and dinner, but also at breakfast everywhere, and, if every settler planted his land with potatoes, there would be no fear of overstocking the market.

Mr. Eisen states that potatoes yield from 50 to 400 sacks to the acre, and sell at prices varying from 90 cents to 2 dollars per sack. If only 50 sacks were grown to the acre, it would show a scarce year, when prices would range higher, but the crop is never a failure in California. Two crops can be grown in a year; the first crop is planted at the end of February, if warm, or else in March, or indeed any time till the middle of May, and dug three months after; the second crop is planted in August or September, and dug three months after.

To put in the potatoes a settler would need the help of a labourer, to whom he would have to give one dollar per day and his board, or, if the labourer be a Chinaman, one dollar and a quarter per day without his board. If the potatoes occupied ten acres, and they produced say 200 sacks to the acre, and fetched 1 dollar per sack, that would yield 2,000 dollars, or for the two crops 4,000 dollars, or, say, £800. This sounds a large sum, but the land is exceedingly rich, as may be seen from the samples I have brought back, and large results may be expected from it if properly worked, for, of course, in any undertaking the result depends upon the way it is worked.

The following paragraph is from an important paper or periodical of 20 pages, known as the _Pacific Rural Press_, of December 13th, 1890, and although the crop it mentions was not grown in California, it shows at least what can be done on good ground:--

"Nearly 1,000 bushels of potatoes, or, to be exact, 974 bushels and 48 pounds, have been grown on one acre of land in Johnson County, Wyoming, the past season. This crop wins the first prize of several hundred dollars offered by the _American Agriculturist_ for the largest yield of potatoes on one exact acre. It was grown on virgin soil without manure or fertilizer, but the land was rich in potash, and the copious irrigation was of water also rich in saline material. There were 22,800 hills on one acre, and 1,560 pounds of sets, containing one, two, and three eyes, were planted of the early Vermont and Manhattan varieties. The profit on the crop on this first prize acre was 714 dollars, exclusive of 500 dollars in prizes."

Thus, this one acre would have produced £142 worth of potatoes. I do not mention it as an example of what a settler may or may not do at Merced, but as the land at Merced which I am offering for sale is of the richest quality, rich results may certainly be expected.

COST OF GOODS, &c., AT MERCED.

per lb.

Beef (to boil), 8 to 10 cents Beef (steak), 10 cents Beef (shoulder), 10 cents Beef (choice), 12-1/2 cents Beef (porterhouse and tenderloin), 15 cents Veal, 10 to 15 cents Mutton, 10 to 12-1/2 cents Pork, 10 to 12-1/2 cents Sausages, 12-1/ to 15 cents Corned beef, 8 to 10 cents Bacon, 12-1/2 cents Hams, 15 cents Tongues, 10 cents Flour, 4-1/2 to 5 dollars for a barrel weighing 200 lbs. Tea, 25 cents to 1 dollar Coffee, 24 to 45 cents Candles, 15 to 20 cents Chocolate, 25 cents Cod fish, 10 cents Corn meal, 3 to 4 cents Cocoa, 50 to 60 cents Cracker biscuits, 8 to 10 cents Graham flour, 3 to 5 cents Macaroni, 15 cents Oatmeal, 5 cents Rolled oats, 6 cents Rice, 5-1/2 to 8 cents Salt, 1 to 2 cents Soda, 4 cents Starch, 10 cents Sugar, 7 to 8 cents Sugar (house), 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 cents Butter, 25 to 40 cents Eggs, 15 to 40 cents per dozen, according to season Coal oil, 1.40 per 5-gallon can.

One of my clients recently visited England with his family, and says that one can live cheaper at Merced than in England.

The cost of a twelve-roomed house is 3,000 to 4,000 dollars, according to finish, _i.e.,_ from £600 to £800. Most of the houses are built of wood, and such a house could be built in twenty to thirty days, if necessary.

Stabling for two horses, with room for buggy, wagon, harness, and hay, would cost 250 dollars or £50.

A ten-roomed house would cost from 2,500 to 3,500 dollars, according to finish.

An eight-roomed house would cost from 2,000 to 2,500 dollars.

A six roomed house would cost about 2,000 dollars.

A four-roomed house would cost about 1,200 dollars.

Live poultry cost about 6 dollars per dozen.

Cows, 25 to 50 dollars each. Horses, 75 to 150 dollars each. Sheep, 3 to 4 dollars each.

Cultivators cost from 7 to 15 dollars each. Ploughs and harrows about the same price. A riding cultivator, 45 to 50 dollars. Pruning shears, 3 dollars.

Day labour costs 1 dollar per day and board; but, in harvest time, 1-1/2 dollar per day and board.

Carpenters, 2-1/2 dollars per day, sometimes with and sometimes without board.

Fencing costs 500 dollars (_i.e_., £100) a mile. To fence a 20-acre lot would cost 350 dollars (_i.e_., £70); but if the eight forming the quarter section joined together, it would cost each about 130 dollars (_i.e_., £26). The fence would be a 6-inch board at bottom, then 30 inches of wire netting to keep out rabbits, then another 6-inch board and a barbed wire at top.

Firewood costs 6 to 7 dollars a cord of hard wood, or 5 to 6 dollars of willow wood; a cord of wood is 4-ft. by 4-ft. by 8-ft.

TAKE CLOTHING AND BRIC-A-BRAC.

All kinds of clothing are dear. A good suit would cost £7 to £8, or, if ready made, £5. Settlers should therefore take with them plenty of clothes, sufficient, say, to last for five years, including boots, blankets, linen, etc.; also _bric-a-brac,_ and anything to add cheerfulness and refinement to the home, but they should not take furniture nor animals. Guns they might take, but not tools nor implements.

SEA PASSAGE FROM ENGLAND.

Steamships run from Liverpool and Southampton at the following rates:--

1.--Cunard Company's Line. Liverpool to New York. During the summer months--

1st class. 2nd class. 3rd class.

From £12 12s. to £26 5s. £7 £4.

During the winter months--

1st class. 2nd class. 3rd class.

£10 10s. to £25 £7 £4.

The third-class passengers are provided with a free ticket from London to Liverpool.

2.--Inman Line. Liverpool to New York--

First class fares from £10 10s. to £25. Second class fares from £6 10s. to £7 7s. Third class fares £4.

The third class includes a free ticket from London to Liverpool.

3.--The "White Star" Line. Liverpool to New York

1st class. 2nd class. 3rd class. Summer season--£15 to £28 £7 to £9 £4.

Winter season--£10 10s. to £18 £6 10s. to £8 £4.

The third class passengers are provided with a free ticket from London to Liverpool, and free tickets, if required, from New York to Boston or Philadelphia.

4.--North German Lloyd Company. Southampton to New York-- First class, £14 to £23. Second class, £10.

5.--The American Line. Liverpool to New York-- Second class, £6. Third class, £3 16s.

Steamers leave Southampton, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Queenstown, thus being convenient respectively for passengers from the north or south of England, from Scotland, or from Ireland.

Steamers run from this country to New York, Philadelphia, Boston, or Baltimore, but New York is the best port for Merced.

THE LAND JOURNEY FROM NEW YORK TO MERCED, CALIFORNIA.

_Copy of Letter from the Southern Pacific Railroad Company._

"Our fares from New York to Merced, _viâ_ New Orleans, are:--1st class, unlimited, £19 19s. 0d.; limited, £18 4s. 7d.; 2nd class, £12 8s. 4d.; 3rd class, £12 2s. 9d., all rail; £11 1s. 11d. by steamer to New Orleans, and thence rail, food, and sleeping berth on steamer included. The charges for sleeping car berths are:--1st class, 22 dollars; 2nd class from New Orleans, 3 dollars. There are no 2nd class sleepers to New Orleans, except on the fortnightly excursion trains from Cincinnati, leaving that city January 7th and 21st, February 4th and 18th; March 4th and 18th; April 8th and 22nd, etc. The charge from Cincinnati is 4 dollars 50 cents. Third class passengers can travel in 2nd class sleepers upon payment of the usual charge. The fares from New Orleans to principal Californian points, including Merced, are:--1st class, unlimited, £14. 1s. 3d.; 2nd class, £8. 17s. 1d.; 3rd class, none. Sleeping cars--1st class, 13 dollars; 2nd class, 3 dollars.

Tickets may be obtained through Messrs, DOWSETT and Co., 3, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, direct from Liverpool to California, or any other State _en route_.

ANALYSIS OF MERCED SOILS.

Having fitted up a portion of one of my offices with all the requisites for carrying out quantitative analyses of surface soils, I requested Professor Lobley, F. G. S., etc., to analyse the four samples of soils which I brought with me from Merced.

A general analysis of four samples of soil from Merced, California, has given the following results:--

SAMPLE A.

Organic matter (Humus) 5.5 Soluble inorganic matter 11.75 Insoluble silica and silicates 82.75 -------- 100.00

SAMPLE B.

Organic matter (Humus) 4.25 Soluble inorganic matter 14.45 Insoluble silica and silicates 81.30 -------- 100.00

SAMPLE C.

Organic matter (Humus) 5.25 Soluble inorganic matter 16.75 Insoluble silica and silicates 78.00 -------- 100.00

SAMPLE D.

Organic matter (Humus) 3.5 Soluble inorganic matter 12.0 Insoluble silica and silicates 84.5 -------- 100.00

The organic matter is available for plant growth.

The inorganic matter, soluble in dilute hydrochloric acid, is (with the exception of the alumina it may contain) composed of fertilising material. The substances found in the soluble inorganic matter of soils are lime, magnesia, alumina, silica, phosphoric acid, oxide of iron, oxide of manganese, potash and soda. The insoluble mineral matter is nearly all silica. There is very little clayey matter in any of the soils--not more than about five per cent. All the soils are remarkably free from stones or pebbles, or even coarse sand.

From the above it will be seen that these soils, while possessing a large amount of matter available for plant growth, are exceedingly friable, and would be very easily worked. They would absorb heat quickly, and from their porosity would require little drainage, and so would be both warm and dry soils, and form fertile land suitable for almost all kinds of agricultural and horticultural produce.

THE POSITION OF MY CLIENTS, THE VENDORS.

My clients, the owners of the land called "British Colony," at Merced, are well-known persons--well-known as men of great wealth, and as gentlemen of undoubted integrity, the Hon. Charles Crocker and Mr. C. H. Huffman, whose enterprises in railway, canal, and other public works, have been of gigantic proportions.

I have every confidence myself in dealing with these gentlemen, and I submit that my friends, clients, and the general public, who may be willing to take up any of this "British Colony" land at Merced, may have full confidence, too, that they will at least be treated justly, and more than that is not expected from strangers in business; but I believe that I might add they would be treated liberally if necessity arose, and I have ground for this statement from what I have heard of their treatment of other persons who have settled in one of their other "Colonies."

CALIFORNIA, MERCED.

I have for sale besides the estate designated "British Colony," a tract of land belonging to a well-known merchant in the City of London, who has owned it for 13 years. It comprises 5,084 acres, and has a registered Government title. Price 30 dollars per acre, and 7 years' credit would be given if 20 per cent. is paid down. Part of it is well suited for Fruit growing, but as yet the water from the canals belonging to my other clients has not been taken to it. It has, however, some creeks upon it, but they are frequently dry. The land is of a rolling prairie character, and is now let at a nominal rent of 25 cents per acre for sheep farming. The soil is varied; some of it is a good loam, some of a clayey nature, and some stony; there is a shepherd's house, with barn and yard. The taxes upon it are about 15 to 20 cents per acre. One half of the land would be sold separately, but it must be the half farthest from the side where the canals are. The situation is an attractive one as the undulations really form the first foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, of which there is a grand view. This land is well worth buying, as when water is obtained, the price will then be increased to that asked for other irrigated Fruit lands.

A plan may be seen at my offices, 3, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London.

FINIS.