Contra Costa County History

The climate of Contra Costa County is ideal; it is the golden mean between the extremes of heat and cold. Sheltered on the western border by a wall of hills, this district knows no cold winds or heavy fogs. No matter how raw and cold the winds may blow through the Golden Gate, they do not reach past this barrier. Even during the winter months there is an abundance of sunshine between showers, and the climate may be said to be balmy the year

around. The annual rainfall is twelve to eighteen inches, or enough to insure good crops without irrigation. However, of late years it has been possible to secure much larger returns by augmenting nature, and large irrigation projects have sprung up. These will be treated under another heading.

In the present chapter we will take up the products of the soil under three classifications - horticultural, agricultural, and viticultural. Horticultural embraces the various fruit - and nut-bearing trees, agricultural applies to the general field of farming, and the term viticultural is confined solely to the raising of grapes.

Contra Costa County's principal horticultural products are pears, walnuts, almonds, prunes, peaches, apricots, cherries, apples and olives. Pears form one of the most remunerative crops in the county. Formerly it was difficult to combat the numerous insects that preyed upon this fruit, but through the aid of the State experimental institutions it has been found possible to eliminate the pests by spraying the trees, at a cost of about twenty dollars an acre. Pears do best on heavy, loamy soil. and Bartlett pears are preferred by the cannery men. First-class pear land can be bought at from $200 to $400 an acre. Approximately ten years is required for pears to mature, but after that they will bring in, under average conditions, about $300 to the acre in gross returns, or about $150 profit. The best results are obtained by grafting on to quince roots. But as Bartletts do not join well with the quince, the difficulty has to be overcome by a clever system of intermediate grafting. The Duchess or Hardy pear is first grafted to the quince, and the Bartlett will then unite with either of these.

Thanks to the best of transportation facilities, the raising of prunes is now a very profitable industry. Ten years ago the local prune market was undeveloped, and prunes were considered a risky crop. Today the grower averages four cents a pound, which will bring in from $200 to $400 to the acre, one half of which will be profit. No better prunes are raised elsewhere in the State than in Contra Costa County. The fruit is of a large size, and the conditions for drying are ideal, there being no heavy fogs to wet or mold the drying products. The French prune is the most satisfactory, as it ripens earliest.

The western end of the county is the home of the peach and apricot. Here the individual growers have set out orchards of various sizes, and the large canning companies have planted vast tracts. Both fruits are raised at a handsome profit.

The eastern section of the county is best adapted to almond-raising. Nor is there any likelihood at present of this field being overcrowded. The supply does not keep pace with the demand, and it is necessary to import large quantities of almonds every year. Almonds should be planted in light sandy loam, and different varieties should be set out, as cross-pollination is an important factor in successful almond-growing.

Who has not longed to visit Japan in cherry-blossom time? Perhaps the nearest approach to realizing that desire is to be in Contra Costa County during the same period. Cherries are the tenderest of trees and demand the best care, including tillage, drainage, and the highest quality of soil. They will reward the painstaking horticulturist with big returns - sometimes as high as twenty dollars' worth of fruit from a single tree. The Royal Ann and the Bing are best adapted to Contra Costa County.

During late years olives have been very successfully grown in this region. Once it was the general opinion that olives would do well on poor soil, but this has been found to be a fallacy. Those who get the best results are careful to select the right kind of land and give the trees plenty of attention.

The walnuts of Contra Costa County vie with those of any other section of the State. Although a fairly recent industry, walnut-growing bids fair to become a very important factor in the horticultural activities of the county.

Contra Costa County possesses some wonderfully fertile farming lands, especially those which lie along the deltas of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Here the prize potatoes are grown by the hundreds of thousands of sacks. A large trade has been built up with the Eastern and Central States, which receive potatoes from this section by the trainload.

The small islands lying adjacent to the mainland are phenomenally rich in soil, and the finest vegetables are raised thereon. Contra Costa County is famed for its celery, the white variety, which thrives on the delta lands; likewise its asparagus, which is grown by the hundreds of acres. The green corn from this region is the first to reach the San Francisco market. One might continue the list endlessly, for every kind of garden truck is at home in Contra Costa.

A large amount of alfalfa is grown in the eastern part of the county, and each year shows an increase over the acreage of the previous year. Alfalfa requires an abundance of water and good soil, both of which are to be had in this region. Plenty of good alfalfa land can still be bought at reasonable prices. Alfalfa is one of the most profitable of agricultural products, as from three to five crops can be mowed yearly, and it has a number of by-products that also bring good returns. It is an ideal stock food, and manifests itself in a great improvement in the appearance of the live-stock wherever it is grown.

Wheat, barley, and oats comprise the grain products of the county. The average yield is about twelve centals to the acre, but among the islands of the deltas, where the heaviest crops are garnered, the reward is sometimes as high as twenty-five centals. Contra Costa County has completed a cycle in grain-raising. Fifty or sixty years ago enormous crops of grain were raised. Local seaports were for their shipments of grain, which was carried to the ends of the earth by vessels from all nations.

The one difficulty was that the farmers at that time neglected to put back into the soil the valuable elements which they removed, and in time their lands yielded no more than half a crop. But the modern farmer, who must be a scientific farmer if he would succeed, has repaired the omissions of his predecessors. He has given back to the grain-lands the nitrates and fertilizers they require, and the grain yield is again well to the front. The cycle has been completed.

The vineyards of Contra Costa County have become famous the world over. The soil and climatic conditions are peculiarly favorable to the successful growing of dry-wine grapes, out of which has emerged a great industry. Vineyards have quadrupled in twenty years, the acreage increasing from 1500 to over 6000. Wineries have grown fro fifteen to fifty in the same length of time. The well-known Italian-Swiss Colony, where a vast amount of California champagne is made, owns 1200 acres of grape land in the county. The success of this industry is largely due to the expert knowledge that has been brought to bear upon it. The choicest cuttings obtainable have been brought from all over the world - from Europe, Asia Minor, Persia, and Egypt - and care has been taken to transplant them in the right kind of soil. The importance of the vine in Contra Costa is evidenced by the fact that the largest wine-cellar in the world is situated at Winehaven, near Richmond.

In concluding this chapter, a word of gratuitous warning is extended to the neophyte farmer whose enthusiasm outruns his judgment. No one should undertake to make his livelihood out of the soil, "in the sweat of his brow," without first giving the matter careful thought. He should consult some of the men who have succeeded and find out how they did it. He should ascertain whether soil and climate are adapted to the things he intends to raise. Also, he should not begin on a scale beyond the limits of his capital. Successful farming is a science, and he who follows it as such will succeed, while he who does not is doomed to certain failure.