STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 213 



Judge of this county to plant there a two-year old seedling. Though twice 

 subjected to the hardship of a change of location, that tree flourishes to-day, 

 and yields an average annual crop of about two thousand oranges. It has 

 stood the test of our most rigorous winters for thirty years, and to-day it 

 is not far from a correct statement that one half of the trees now in full 

 bearing around us have been grown from the seed of the fruit of the Bid- 

 well Bar tree. It may seem somewhat strange that people of Butte County 

 have been so slow in accepting the conclusion arrived at by the planter of 

 that tree, and that the culture of the orange, lemon, and lime as a commer- 

 cial proposition commenced sooner. But you must remember that a young 

 and thrifty orange tree sold in Oroville but five years ago at $5 per tree, 

 and the consequent expense of an orchard would have been enormous. 

 Again, ours were a people whose minds looked not to the golden fruit, but 

 to the gold of the earth for fortunes. The miner was used to his pick and 

 shovel, and cared only for fruit as his gold dust could purchase. The 

 abundant yield of wheat, barley, and oats furnished quicker returns to the 

 farmer, to whom the culture of the orange seemed a thing for southern 

 climes only. The cattle man dreamed only of his herds on a thousand 

 hills for wealth, and the merchant found his dreams satisfied by an over- 

 flowing till. The older citizens contented themselves with planting trees 

 for ornamental purposes, and were surprised, as time rolled on, to find that 

 " Beauty had became the bride of use," and the town of Oroville a perfect 

 orange grove. With it the lime, lemon, citron, pomegranate, and olive 

 yielded a rich harvest, and the question now is not" What can be produced 

 here?" but " What is it we cannot produce?" 



In 1886 the twenty men who resolved to make an actual test of orange 

 culture on a large scale even doubted their success; but in this pavilion 

 you will find from their young orchard specimens of fruit that defy com- 

 petition. The work of the Oroville Citrus Association is accomplished. 

 It has demonstrated the unrivaled superiority of the soil and climate for 

 citrus culture; it has lessened the cost of planting orchards; it has in- 

 creased the population of your county; it has caused to be builded, like 

 magic, the flourishing colonies of Thermalito, Palermo, Rio Bonita, and 

 Villa Verona; it has given confidence to the older settler, and new homes 

 of modern build and attractive and permanent improvements attest his 

 intention to live the remainder of his days within its confines. 



In 1885, at the Citrus Fair held at Sacramento, Butte County was 

 awarded the first prize, the following year the second only, because the 

 narrow space confined her exhibit where she could not properly compete. 



One year ago to-day, in a canvas pavilion on this spot, we had an exhi- 

 bition that had never been equaled, and which was said to be too grand to 

 be excelled. Such prophecies were false, for we have before you here an 

 exhibition that surpasses it in every way. Look around you. Palermo's 

 villa, golden-crowned, and embowered with flowers of spring time, flourish- 

 ing here at Christmas, greets you on the east; Messalia's bounties on the 

 north, with Bangor, Wyandotte, and Honcut; on the south Thermalito's 

 tropic bower, with flowing springs and numberless palms, aids to com- 

 pletely surround the pagodas, columns, and pyramids of Oroville; while 

 west of all, guarded on each side by the sons and daughters of the Golden 

 State, rises the cross upon the rock of ages, and reminds us that faith in 

 the land in which we live, and unceasing labor for its advancement, is the 

 cross to which all good citizens should cling, imbedded in a foundation not 

 made of shifting sand or wavering faith. 



Within this inclosure is an exhibition which (stop and think) the wbole 

 of Europe could not produce material for, even though she called together 



