316 Beyond the Sien-as. 



Riverside have chosen to make their fair more specifically an exhibit of the 

 citrus fruits. It is here that the Riverside region stakes her all. She wagers 

 all her real estate, her bank account, her household and kitchen furniture 

 and her wearing apparel on the proposition that her citrus belt surpasses 

 •everything on the Pacific slope; and, if you tease her, she will bet you the 

 same array of valuables that it surpasses any other slope on the hillsides or 

 in the bottoms of the world. I say, then, with some hesitation, that the San 

 Jos^ans beat the Riverside exhibit in variety and extent, and that the River- 

 side exposition was distinctly and unequivocally superior in the specialty of 

 citrus fruits. It is not meant by this that the exhibit of the latter was weak 

 in the show of other fruits and products ; on the contrary, it was in every 

 respect a magnificent display, worthy of the most favored and fertile regions; 

 but my judgment is that the extent and variety of non-citrus fruits and 

 vegetables at San Jos^ surpassed, by a considerable measure, the correspond- 

 ing features in the fair at Riverside. In oranges and lemons, however, the 

 southern show is entitled, according to the judgment of one committeeman, 

 to a gold medal bearing on its obverse side a Washington Navel orange tree, 

 and for its reverse inscription, Primus inter Pares. 



The arrangement of the exhibit in the hall at Riverside was equally 

 meritorious with that at San Josd- In one or two points it was especially 

 artistic. I noticed a grotto constructed of Mandarin oranges, and a solid 

 pyramid of the Washington Navel which might well elicit applause from any 

 judges, however critical. There was, also, an orange pagoda, built up in 

 complete imitation of an oriental structure, that might have evoked the 

 enthusiasm of all China. The distribution of the fruits showed excellent 

 taste, even to the details of every table. The evergreen decorations were as 

 elegant as those of the rival display by the San Joseans. The exhibit ex- 

 cited great local interest ; and large numbers of visitors from the surrounding 

 valley and neighboring towns thronged the hall during the whole time of 

 our stay in the city. 



Riverside is, undoubtedly, one of the most booming of the smaller cities 

 of California. The discovery of the fact of the prominence of this region in 

 the production of oranges has brought hither a large amount of capital and 

 enterprise. Rapid development has followed. The men out yonder in those 

 orange orchards mean business. It is not merely an lesthetic alTair to plant 

 and develop these dark green trees. Money value and profit are at the bot- 

 tom of it; the land capable of bearing such orchards is, out of the necessity 

 of the thing, of very great value. The yield per acre from a first-class orange 

 orchard runs up well toward a thousand dollars. It is no exaggeration to 

 say that, with good trees and good cultivation and good care of the fruit, 

 half the above sum may be expected as an annual yield. It is a big thing to 

 have such an orchard, especially when it covers many acres of ground. The 

 Riverside valley is not very extensive. I wi?h it were larger. From the 

 best information, I estimate that twenty thousand acres, hereabouts, will 

 embrace the better part of the Riverside citrus belt, and I think that five or 



