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BLUE GRASS GROWN WITH SUCCESS IN CALIFORNIA KENTUCKY FODDER IS PRODUCED AT OAKDALE OAKDALEExperiments Experiments Madeon20000Acre Tract of Land Near San Francisco J L Sawyer Head of Venture VentureSAN SAN FRANSISCO Calif May 31 Horse ¬ men and breeders in the State of California are becoming increasingly enthusiastic over the discovery of what is believed will prove a thoroughbred Shangra La in which it is just becoming known is a region of 20000 acres on which blue grass is growing in abun ¬ dance Not only is this California grass said to be rich but it is easily accessible being but ninetysix miles inland from San Fran ¬ cisco and closer to Stockton The native grasses of California it is generally known are strictly seasonal and of short duration It quickly withers and fades which has re ¬ sulted in the general use of alfalfa alfalfaIt It is reported that hardly a day passes during which one or more horsemen of prom ¬ inence who have recently heard of the area but still are skeptical do not visit it to see for themselves They leave completely con ¬ vinced that everything that has been said about it is true trueOliver Oliver Jones formerly with Calumet Farm and who is said to have attended Dustwhirl and her foal that was later to become known as Whirlaway on the occasion of the latters birth was among recent visitors after first having seen it in February In his enthusi ¬ asm he predicted that the region which is near a town named Oakdale will in time be ¬ come a second Lexington The entire de ¬ velopment was the result of an experiment started by an Oakdale banker J L Sawyer who is also one of the largest cattle and sheep ranchers in Central California Be ¬ coming interested in experiments with clo ¬ ver alfalfa and other types of fodder Saw ¬ yer about eight years ago sent to Kentucky and got some blue grass seed It not onlyj did exceedingly well but it began to spread spreadIRRIGATES IRRIGATES THOUSAND ACRES ACRESTwo Two years ago Sawyer started to really cultivate blue grass Setting aside a thou ¬ sand acres he installed an irrigation system ana natural drainage facilities to prevent the land and the crops from going sour The results were beyond all expectations So successful was the experiment he was soon raising the fattest cattle the fattest calves and the plumpest sheep throughout the state Today he is being paid a premium for such stock His sheep number about 20000 head headWhile While particularly interested in cattle and sheep RancherBanker Sawyec also started raising Percherons which also did amaz ¬ ingly well Finally he decided to experiment with a standardbred and invited a friend to pasture a mare which was then in foal on a portion of the broad acres in u field of blue grass and clover Both were then left there until the colt had reached its maturity Last fall the colt cleaned up at the Stockton Fair and it was Then this new equine Eden came to the attention of certain owners and breed ¬ ers interested in thoroughbreds thoroughbredsUNDERLYING UNDERLYING STRATA OF LIMESTONE LIMESTONEMeanwhile Meanwhile Sawyer bought two thorough ¬ bred mares one of which Covering a daugh ¬ ter of War Cry is in foal to Brooklyn and will be kept in these fields of kneehigh blue grass and cloveT during the period of gesta ¬ tion and while raising the foal The other mare boasting the proud lineage of Ben Brush and Ormonde has a new foal the sire of which Sawyer had temporarily forgotten At least he had forgotten the name be ¬ cause he is a cattle man and not supposed to remember those things but the colt is of splendid bone bubbling over with vitality and bouncing around like one of the lambs in an adjoining field fieldThe The secret of the success of this particular area in raising blue grass that has been regarded for years as being incapable of cul ¬ tivation in California is that the underlying strata is limestone quite close to the surface and that the waters from the Sierra moun ¬ tains that fill the numerous flowing creeks that crisscross this somewhat hidden pla ¬ teau contain all necessary chemicals It is apparently a natural setup setupBlue Blue grass said Sawyer is not a native of Kentucky It was imported from certain parts of England where it was known as flat grass So quickly did it take to the Kentucky soil it spread ove the entire state That is what is happening right here This particular district evidently has the proper soil soilWith With the importation of the best blood ¬ lines that can be found and now a region wherein the richest pasturage in the country remains green throughout the year horse ¬ men are predicting that California is really on its way and that this Oakdale district in particular will some day be a center of thor ¬ oughbred activities
