The Fruits of Natural Advantage: Making the Industrial Countryside in California

309 Pages·1998·7.61 MB·English

by  Steven Stoll

The Fruits ofNatural Advantage

The Fruits
of Natural
Advantage
Malcing the Industrial
Countryside in California
Steven Stoll
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORi"\lIA PRESS
Berkeley / LosAngeles / London
UniversityofCalifc)rniaPress
Berkeleyand LosAngeles,Calit()fnia
UniversityofCalit()fniaPress, Ltd.
London,England
©1998by
The Regentsofthe UniversityofCalifornia
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication l)ata
Stoll,Steven,1966-
Thehuitsofnaturaladvantage: nlakingthe industrial
countrysideinCalitornia/ StevenStoll.
p. cnl.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-520-21172-3 (cloth: allc paper)
1.Fruitindustry-Calit()rnia. 2.Fruit-Calit()rnia-Marketing.
3. I-Iorticulture--Calit()rnia. 4. Agriculture-Econonlicaspects
Calif()rnia. 1.Title.
HD924-7·C2S73 1998
338.1'74'09794--dc21 97-27015
CIP
Portionsofchapter4-are reprintedfrOIl1StevenStoll,""Insectsand
Institutions: lJniversityScienceand the fruit Businessin Calif()rnia,"
AlJriculturalHistory69 (spring1995):216---39, bypernlission.
Printedinthe lTnitcdStatesofAnlerica
9 7 6 4- 2
'I'hepaperused in thispublicationIneetsthe lllininlunl requirelllents
ofAnlerican NationalStandardst()rInt()rnlationScicnces--Pernla
nenceofPaperfor Printed LibraryMaterials,ANSI Z39.4-8-1984.
For Sara
SongofSongs6-7
The realfarmer issaidto adhere too closely
to the waysofhisfather. Heplods. The city
man lvhogoesto the countrylvouldcorrect
allthisbyoverturningit. Heseesrevolution
in everything.
L. H. Bailey,
""TheCollapseofFreakFarn1ing" (1903)
Aspopulation increases) asthepricesof
agriculturalproductsadvance) asagricul
ture becomesmoreintensiveand commer
cialized) the useoftheland mustbefitted to
thegeographic conditionsJvithgreatercare
andprecision.
OliverE. Baker,""TheIncreasingIn1portance
ofthe PhysicalConditionsinDetern1iningthe
UtilizationofLandforAgriculture" (1921)
The climate) seasonsandsoilofCalifornia
differso materiallyfrom those ofotherre-
gions) in almosteveryparticular) andare
so diverse) even in differentpartsofthe
State) thatin manyoperationsJve are com
pelled to deviatefrom oldestablishedrules)
andframe asystem ofourOJvn.
CaliforniaHorticulturistandFloralMagazine
(NoVe111ber1870)
Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IX
PREFACE Xl
ACIZNOWLEDGMENTS XVll
PROLOGUE: IN THE RAIN'S SHADOW
I.
The Conservation ofthe Countryside 7
The Rural Question 8
WhyRegionsSpecialize 16
RelativeAdvantages: California'sWheat Bonanza 25
2.
Orchard Capitalists 32
The IrrigatedLandscape TakesShape 33
Growers 35
Readingthe Environment 4-6
RelativeAdvantages: NewYork's Frost 52
Econon1ies ofthe Packinghouse 55
3·
Organize andAdvertise
When Merchants Ruled the Trade 64
Cooperative Corporations 74-
VB
viii CONTENTS
ADeal in Pears 79
FromOverproductionto UnderconsulTIption 81
TheMarketMakes aLandscape 88
4.
AChemicalShield 94
Single-Crop Ecology 95
MixingChemicals 99
State Business: Orchard Police and
BiologicalControl 102
ScientificAuthority 107
IndustryLeads to Excess 113
5·
White Menand Cheap Labor 124-
ASeason's LaborAllatOnce 126
ConfusionoverExclusion 133
Sleepingonthe Roadside 137
"OurWorkfor OurWages" 142
ImportingaWorkforce 147
6.
NaturalAdvantagesin the National Interest 155
The ContradictionsofGrowth 156
ShiftingScale 162
OrchardCulture inAmericanCulture 173
EPILOGUE: RESTLESS ORCHARD 181
NOTES 187
BIBLIOGRAPHY 239
INDEX 263
Illustrations
Photographicplatesfollowingpage93.
Figures
1. Charles Collins Teague
2. HarrietvVilliarrls Russell Strong
3. Packinghouse
4. Auction house
5. Pron10ting pears
6. Spraychemicals
7. Portraitoflabor: Asian fruit pickers
8. Portrait oflabor: White European fruit pickers
9. Orchard hOlne, 1890S
Maps
Map 1. California's coast ranges and the Sierra Nevada
enclose the CentralValley
Map 2. Relative advantages, 1880s: California and the
\vorld's wheat trade
Map 3. California's lnarket cities in 1924
Map 4. Colony lands: Fresno County
IX