218 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



VJ^iy, 



^TlilTERATURE, ^i^RAVELS & MfERSONAL «10TES. 



COMMUNICA TION^. 



LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA. 



RY G. 

 San Francisco, May 13tli, 1877. 



I know you will be interested to hear that 



Mr. called upon me at the hotel ; invited 



me to breakfast ; that I went and had a most 

 courteous reception, and a charming time. The 

 boat was crowded going over to Oakland ; as 

 San Francisco is such a cosmopolitan city the 

 the people turn out strong to excursions. Besides 

 regular passengers, 9000 excursion tickets were 

 sold up to two o'clock. A short horse-car trip 

 brought mc to a line laying piece of ground on 

 the route — the long avenue bordered with Aca- 

 cia trees in full bloom. The house, like all in 

 California, is built of red-wood, but in elegant 

 style. I was ushered into the library where Mr. 



and Mrs. , Mrs. and Mrs. , his 



nieces, of Philadelphia, awaited mo. 



After a cheerful half hour of talk we went to 

 breakfast. A course of omelette Avas succeeded 

 by beefsteak ; that by birds, and that again by 

 tomatoes and artichokes ; then hot cakes and 

 some genuine moliisses, which he had secured in 

 Honolulu. 



Mr. and Mrs. then took me round" her" 



splendidly planted grounds. There was a Deo- 

 dar Cedar 20 feet high ; Norfolk Island Pine ; 

 Cedar of Lebanon; Pinus Pin oa, a Portugese tree 

 25 feet high ; Eucalyptus, 2^ feet diameter; grass 

 lawns of great extent; shrubs and plants in the 

 greatest profusion, luxuriance, bewildering nov- 

 elty and variety. All this had grown up within 

 twelve years, and been created on a spot as un- 

 tamed, when they came in possession, as any 

 in the world. As there was no railroad then 

 and but few florists, each tree has a personal 

 history which added to its interest : this one hav- 

 ing been brought by such a friend " by hand all 



the way." Of course in the piece-meal creation 

 of such a place many must have been sacrificed, 

 and yet it is a superb collection for any place, 

 and is the largest in variety and extent of any 

 on the coast. At great expense a rockery was 

 hauled by ox teams to the grounds after being 



selected by Mrs. , in the mountains, and 



arranged under her supervision. An artificial 

 stream plays over the rocks and a pond for gold fish 

 of some extent, receives the water. There were 

 glades and clumps of wild .shrubbery, rural walks 

 and rustic bridges and seats and arbors ; fuschias 

 climbing (or trained) up to the second-story; 

 flower-beds in mathematical shapes, and rosea by 

 the thousands. Box trees, hollies, cork trees, and 

 an infinite variety of familiar and unfamiliar 

 plants that would fill a gardener's catalogue to 

 enumerate. We then went to the Fernery; and 

 here in a damp atmosphere and under shaded 

 light, with water trickling down a rockery over- 

 grown with ferns, were big ferns and little ferns 

 — maiden hair and club ferns — green, parti- 

 colored, delicate and grass. The Elk-horn fern 

 was hanging up over the entrance, a bunch 

 about as big as a large hornet's nest, with leaves 

 just in shape like an elk horn stretching out. 

 Then we went in the parlor, and met the young 

 ladies who with their children are occupying a 

 cottage in the grounds. 



Then Mr. and I got into the buggy 



which had been waiting for us, and behind a 

 $3,000 pair of magnificent black horses we trot- 

 ted around the vicinity and through Oakland. 

 The drive was perfectly charming. From near 



Mr. 's, we look right out over San Francisco 



Bay through the Golden Gate, with numerous 

 islands and San Rafael and San Quentin in view. 

 The Coast Range are but a short distance away 

 and add a charm to the scenery. Oakland is a 

 large city of elegant residences and more modest 

 country homes. 



[For the above interesting sketch of California 

 home life, we are indebted to a Philadelphia 

 friend to whom the letter was addi-essed. — 

 Ed. G. M.] 



