On May 12, 1883 George Chaffey wrote a letter to J. W.
Snowden. J. W. Snowden bought land from the Chaffey brothers and George Chaffey
is updating him about the state of the land. Apparently people who wanted to
settle in the area could pay the Chaffey brothers to get the property set up
for them. J. W. Snowden wanted fruit trees planted on his Cucamonga property.
At the time of the letter’s writing, the land had been plowed and orange trees
were planning on being planted the very next week. George Chaffey claims that
the orange trees are “the best in the market.”
After this update, George Chaffey discusses planting crops
and orchards more generally. He claims that by May the “time for planting
deciduous trees of any kind is past for this season” but that lemons can be
planted for six more weeks. Lemon plants cost the same as oranges and the best
trees to buy are two year old plants. By four years old, trees begin to produce
fruit, but they really start producing fruit by the fifth year. Therefore,
planting two year old trees shortens the wait until the orchard is fully
productive.
George Chaffey also goes into great detail about the
benefits of the apricot tree. Apparently there wasn’t a huge market for
apricots at this time, but as farmers continued to grow them there was hope
that a taste for apricots would develop. In fact, Chaffey is so confident that he
writes, “We do not fear for the ultimate success of the apricot, it is the King
of deciduous fruits.”
George Chaffey then transitions to writing about a friend of
J. W. Snowden, who is thinking about settling in Southern California as well.
Chaffey says that if the man has good work ethic he will not have trouble
finding work in this area, even offering to employ him as a ranch worker for
$75 a month while he gets settled. George Chaffey also offers to employ the man’s
wife for $15-20 a month if she wants to join the man in Southern California. He
recommends that they both come and work for him because “a few hundred dollars
will build a home.” George Chaffey ends the letter by writing, “The country
presents opportunities for energetic persons which we believe cannot be found
elsewhere.”
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