N. W. Ayer & Son's American Newspaper Annual and Directory: A Catalogue of American Newspapers, 1922, Volume 1 Page: 71
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71
CALIFORNIA
Population 3,426,861
(U. S. Census Bureau, 1920)
STATE CAPITAL, SACRAMENTO
CALIFORNIA is bounded north by Oregon, east by Nevada and Arizona, south by Lower
California, and west by the Pacific Ocean. A line drawn through its centre, following the
curves of the eastern and western borders, would measure about 770 miles. Its average breadth
is about 230 miles; land area, 155,980 square miles. California is the second largest state in the
Union, Texas being the largest. The state is traversed by two great ranges, the Sierra Nevada
in the east and the Coast Range in the west, and between them are the beautiful and fertile
valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, forming practically one immense basin, over 400
miles long. The Yosemite and other valleys are on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada,
and the entire range teems with minerals, as does the Coast Range to a lesser degree. The
surface presents every variety of soil and scenery. The highest peak in the country, excluding
Alaska, is Mount Whitney (14,898 feet), and the lowest depression is in Death Valley (276 feet
below sea-level). Both are in Inyo county, only 75 miles apart. The extreme north of the
state is an elevated mountain region and is celebrated for timber, minerals and fresh fruits,
such as apples, etc. The central and southern portions, except in the more mountainous
districts, have soil unexcelled in fertility. The southwestern portion, although containing
some fertile valleys, is chiefly a regionof arid and barren deserts. Its mineral wealth, however
is great.
AGRICULTURE. Irrigation, necessary in much of the state's area, was originally introduced
by the mission fathers and has been largely increased since the American occupation. The
Mormons established a very elaborate system in San Bernardino county in 1853, and the Riverside
Canal was built in 1869. Other large public and private enterprises are in operation. There
are 360,000 irrigated farms, about a quarter of the whole number of such farms in the United
States. The class of crops grown on these lands is shown by two record potato crops in 1916.
One acre in Nevada county produced 692 bushels, one in Lassen county 678 bushels. The coun
try's average in that year was 80] bushels per acre. California occupies a high position in
agriculture. The state had 117,69J farms in 1920. Every kind of fruit that grows in semi-tropical
and temperate climates finds a favorable soil and climate here. About two-thirds of the country's
oranges are grown here. The 1920 crop was 18,700,000 boxes, and exceeded in value all the
gold produced in the state in that year. Florida produced the remainder, 8,500,0(0 boxes.
California leads all the states in honey production, producing about fifteen per cent. of the
country's total. She also leads in onions, also in peaches, the 1920 crop of which was 13,800,000
bushels, nearly a third of the country's total, and in peas. Dairy cows numbered, in 1921, 577,000,
other cattle and calves, 1,683,000; sheep, 2,950,000. The 1919 wool clip was 13,298,000 pounds. California
ranked fifth in the amount of butter fat sent to tho creameries, the 1920 production was
37,618,426 pounds, equal to 43,000,000 of butter. There are several " ostrich farms " and the feathers
produced are fully equal to those imported from Africa. The. largest farms are at South
Pasadena, where there are about 1,000 birds. Several others in the state have each 100 birds or
more. It is estimated that the feathers of each male bird have an annual value ofabout$30 raw,
and $100 after the various treatments necessary to prepare them for use. The yield of raisins in
1920 was about 360,000,000 pounds, about sixty per cent. of the crop coming from'Fresno County
Dried and canned fruits are extensively produced, prunes alone averaging over 90,000 tons each
year; the 1912 output of dried fruits was 239,000 tons and the shipments of canned fruits to Great
Britain alone over 1,000,000 cases. Canned tomatoes average around 3,000,000 cases yearly, only
one state, Maryland, exceeding this. The 1918 tomato crop was 202,533 tons. The 1910 output of
canned fruits was 3,200,000 cases. Deciduous fruits are a valuable portion of the states crops
almonds and walnuts average over $10,000,000, berries $7,000,000, cantaloupes, about half the country's
crop. The 1910 census says.California's crop of olives was 16,132,412 pounds, 98 per cent.
of the country's total. The quality is unexcelled. The crop of figs was 22,990,353 pounds, the
country's total being 35,060,395 pounds. Peaches run from nine to ten million bushels. In be
sugar, the state in 1920 was third in rank. The factories produced 167,997, tons of sugar. There
were produced in 1910 45,819,471 pounds of butter and 4,648,348 pounds of cheese. Cotton is grown
on irrigated lands in the Imperial Valley. The lumber cut in 1916, over half being California
redwood, the rest pine, spruce and cedar, was 1,420,000,000 feet.
State's Percent. Average RankChief
Crops-1920 Amount Rankt of U.S. Value Acreage Acre {Yield
a Total Yield Per Acre
Barley .................... 28,750,000 bu. 1 14.2 $28,750,000 1,250,000 23.0 bu. 32
Beans....................... 2,850,000 bu. 2 31.4 9,405,000 285,000 10.0 bu. 3
Corn ....................... 3,150,000 bu. 35' 0.01 3,780,000 90,000 35.0 bu. 20
Cotto ................. 75,000bales 13 0.6 22,500,000 149,000 240.0 Ibs. 4
Hay (Tame) ......... 5,002,000 tons 2 5.5 100,040,000 2,175,000 2.3 tons 11
Hops ....................... 21,000,000 lbs. 1 53.9 7,350,000 12,000 1750.0 lbs. 2
Oats ........................ 5,425,000 bu. 29 0.3 4,340,000 175,000 31.0 bu. 30
Potatoes ................ 13,015,000 bu. 9 3.0 19,522,000 95,000 137.0 bu. 8
Rice ........................ *9,720,000 bu. 2 18.1 11,761,000 162,000 60.0 bu. 1
Sorghum (Grain)... 4,050,000 bu. 6 2.8 4,252,000 150,0(0 27.0 bu. 3
Sweet Potatoes...... 1,056,000 bu. 17 0.9 1,690,000 8,000 132.0 bu. 6
Wheat.................... 9,100,000 bu. 23 1.1 16,380,000 650,000 14.0 bu. 24
Total value-all crops ............ 4 4.37 $457,750,000
* Owing to continuous rains at harvest time and later, there was a loss of over 2,000,000 bu.
MINERALS. California is famous also for her yield of precious metals. The Chief mineral
productions, 1920, were gold, 692,019 ounces, value $14,305,300; silver, 1,513.495 ounces, value
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N. W. Ayer & Son. N. W. Ayer & Son's American Newspaper Annual and Directory: A Catalogue of American Newspapers, 1922, Volume 1, book, 1922; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc9267/m1/71/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .