June 3, 1916 



nORTICULTUE E 



755 



THE TRUTH REGARDING CALI- 

 FORNIA. 



The settlers of California wear corns 

 and tliey are tender and you must be 

 careful how you step on them. There 

 are "pros and cons" to every state and 

 climate. There are those who are glad 

 to have you give the "pros," but don't 

 say anything about the "cons." 



Southern California has probably the 

 most delightful climate in the United 

 States. Los Angeles is the magic city. 

 She came into being when science and 

 invention threw their treasures into 

 her lap. It is the best paved city in 

 the world. Many of her streets seem 

 to be planed and sandpapered. Many 

 parts of the city are of almost match- 

 less beauty. The laurel, rubber, mag- 

 nolia, and the large family of the 

 palms, make splendid parks and de- 

 lightful shade. Roses do well, except 

 In winter when in many places they 

 present a bedraggled appearance. "We 

 spent days riding through the city and 

 the surrounding country. It seemed 

 a land Elysian and much more attrac- 

 tive than shoveling snow at 20 below. 

 And yet paradise is a little further 

 on. We were marooned in the beautiful 

 city of Escondido — situated in one of 

 the most charming valleys in America. 

 I told the people there that with all the 

 premiums they claimed they ought to 

 get one on their weather, for they 

 could raise more of it to the acre than 

 anywhere on earth. People think they 

 have a mild climate and build and dress 

 accordingly. The fact is, we suffered 

 much more from the cold than we 

 ever did in our home in Nebraska. We 

 hired a fair cottage of five rooms and 

 in six weeks burned a cord and a half 

 of wood, and had to keep up a fire 

 every day, and then suffered with the 

 cold. During that time we had eight 

 frosts and about as many more nights 

 it came as near frost as it dared to. 

 I have seen the mercury 20 in the 

 morning and 80 at 2 o'clock the same 

 day. There you have four seasons 

 packed in the 24 hours and you must 

 change your clothes or suffer. 



Many people have made money out of 

 land and oranges, but a man who buys 

 an orange orchard who knows nothing 

 about it had better hide when the fool 

 killer comes around. The amount of 

 navel oranges grown is something 

 enormous. They flood the market and 

 often there is loss. My sons bought 

 forty acres in an inland valley, where 

 the mercury is 120 in summer and that 

 hurries up the oranges for the lioliday 

 trade and nets them a fine sum. Then 

 they planted a grove of Valeneias in 

 a good location. These oranges ma- 

 ture in August when oranges are 

 scarce. But it takes no end of care 

 to raise oranges. It won't do to neg- 

 lect them. They can't take care of 

 themselves. They must be duly fer- 

 tilized and watered. I noticed thou- 

 sands of smudge pots through the or- 

 chards. When the mercury drops you 

 can have the privilege of sitting up 



ASTER VIMINEUS STAR SHOWER. 



ASTEB ViMINEUS StAU SHOWEB. 



There are over two hundred recog- 

 nized species of hardy asters and 

 three hundred and fifty or more have 

 been described as such. The majority 

 of them are natives of North America. 

 Numerous varieties of garden origin 

 are also listed. Under the name of Mi- 

 chaelmas Daisies, these asters are ex- 

 tremely popular for garden planting 

 abroad, but in this country they do not 



receive the full appreciation which 

 they merit, doubtless because of their 

 great abundance in a wild state. Some 

 of the hybrids and varieties are hand- 

 some improvements in color, form and 

 abundance of bloom. Our illustration 

 shows one of the best, which is well- 

 named Star Shower. It is from a 

 photograph taken at Mt. Desert Nur- 

 series, Bar Harbor, Me. 



nights to watch Jack Frost and then 

 perhaps the old rascal can sneak in 

 and defeat you. Eternal vigilance is 

 the price of oranges. Then the mar- 

 kets are uncertain and sometimes your 

 crop don't pay expenses. Many raise 

 fruit with no assurance of market. 

 One man in Escondido had a beautiful 

 lot of peaches and let whole wagon 

 loads go to waste for lack of a market. 



ealifoniia is a land of extremes- 

 tremendous floods and prolonged 

 drouths; sometimes there are tremen- 

 dous rains, and aways they are un- 

 precedented—never heard of be<or6. 

 But 25 years ago a friend went there. 

 I asked him how he liked the country. 

 He said it was a land of floods, so wet 

 you might throw out a blanket any- 

 where and it would mire down. Rail- 

 roads washed away and land slides — 

 wherever they could slide. Well we 

 we had a taste of the flood. How it 

 rained in some valleys! The dams 

 went out and Jamestown was repeated. 

 Houses, barns. <'nttle, horses, pigs and 

 fences were swept out into the ocean. 

 An eye witness told me he saw thou- 

 sands of rattle snakes washed down 

 from the mountains, floating in San 

 Diego bay— proliably his imagination 

 was a little too vivid. 



It is possible that Ibe San Diego 

 Exposition will bo perpetual. The 

 grounds are splendid and the best 

 taste and art were displayed in laying 

 them out. The buildings are fine. The 

 exhibits of the early days and of 

 Southern and Central America are 

 unique. One building which gives a 

 representation of Indidn arts is very 

 interesting. The hotels are fine and 

 they know how to treat strangers. We 

 stopped at the Knickerbocker, which 

 is in the centoi' of the street car 



system. The proprietor said. "My 

 sons can attend at the desk and 

 I attend to the guests." We 

 wanted to go to the exposition. He 

 took us out to the track. "We will 

 wait for car No. 6." He saw us safely 

 aboard. One day we wanted to go out 

 three miles away. Said he, "I will 

 show you; take car No. 2," and he 

 saw us safely aboard. So when you 

 go to the exposition, summer or winter, 

 you will find The Knickerbocker auto- 

 iniss waiting for you. Get into it and 

 von can feel at home — assured you 

 will be taken care of. Many of the 

 attractions of the San Francisco Fair 

 have been taken down to San Diego 

 and those who could not go last year 

 can do so this year. San Diego is on 

 the ocean and you have an ideal cli- 

 mate in summer or winter. 



C. S. H.\.Ri!isoN, York, Nebr. 



FCRSYTHIA INTERMEDIA SPEC- 

 TABILIS. 

 Our cover picture this week very 

 inaciequatch- illustrates the most beau- 

 tiful of ail the Forsytbias, as it 

 bloomed this spring in the Forsythia 

 collection in the Arnold Arboretum. 

 Color value and effect in a photograph 

 of a bright yellow subject cannot be 

 adequately brought out in the absence 

 of a strong dark background. The 

 superiority of this hybrid (F. inter- 

 media is a hybrid between F. sus- 

 pensa and F. viridissima) above any 

 the Arboretum plantation this spring 

 was so marked in its rich profusion of 

 bloom that the rest looked corainon- 

 plaie in .nniparison. Nurserymen 

 should prepare a big stock of Forsythia 

 intermedia spectabilis for the call that 

 is sure to come as soon as the public 

 know about it. 



