238 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



preparing and cooking. It was greatly relished, and was a good adver- 

 tisement for the dried fruits. 



The address of welcome was given by one of their most eloquent 

 speakers, who was evidently accustomed to such duties. 



He said he wanted to talk to us ''about the days of old, the days of 

 gold, and the days of '49." He mentioned the days of gold, the great 

 rush from all parts of the world, how it advertised the state; the days of 

 cattle, when the valleys were filled with herds exceeding anything pre- 

 viously known in this country; then the days of wheat, wherein the large 

 fields have only been rivaled in later years by the Dakotas and the Red 

 river valley. I will digress to say that about the only farm operation 

 witnessed by us in traveling through the state, was putting in wheat. I 

 saw in one field eight eight-horse teams, each drawing a four-gang plow, 

 a seeder on the plow, and a plank behind to cover the grain, so that about 

 thirty acres were completed each day. Some of the larger ranches have 

 a traction engine which draws a gang of eleven or more plows, with 

 seeder and plank, putting in from twenty-five to thirty acres per day, 

 requiring one extra man and team to supply fuel and grain. In harvest- 

 ing, this engine is hitched to a header which puts the wheat into bags, 

 the straw and chafif furnishing most of the fuel, conveyed by machinery 

 to the engine. It is coupled to several wagons, and the bags of wheat 

 taken to the elevator. No buildings or fences or horses are to be cared 

 for; and the engine is left by the wayside without shelter, food, or drink 

 until needed to repeat next year's operation. Little hope for us in Mich- 

 igan to compete with this sort of wheat-raising. 



Our speaker assured us the days of fruit were the most important of 

 them all, and that they had come to stay. As we traveled about the 

 state, we could better appreciate why Pomona received his highest 

 praise. 



The days of gold brought few permanent settlers to the state. The 

 same was true of the days of cattle and wheat, which were controlled by 

 large ranch owners living in cities, or in other states or foreign countries. 

 This encouraged no building of houses and barns, or other homelike sur- 

 roundings. A few cities and villages came into existence, but the 

 country remained unoccupied. 



It was the days of fruit which gave birth to Riverside, Redlands, Orange- 

 vale Colony, Chula Vista, Fresno, Santa Rosa, Ontario, Napa, Colton, 

 Pomona, and many other places around which cluster vineyards, 

 orchards, and the small fruits. It has greatly augmented the popula- 

 tion of the commercial cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, 

 San Jose, and San Diego, increasing their trade and stimulating their 

 prosperity. 



The greeting was not only cordial and enthusiastic, because it was 

 addressed to i)omologists, but it was the horticultural industries which 

 were attracting emigration, settling the state, improving its lands, erect- 

 ing houses and barns, school-houses, and churches. People, these, who 

 verily mnde the "desert blossom as the rose," building cities and villages 

 with model houses and grounds, embowered in trees and shrubs and 

 flowers, with all the social equipment of a refined and intelligent society. 



A hearty greeting and a generous welcome were accorded us by all 

 classes, the governor and state officers giving a reception at the eapitol, 



