506 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



lines about what you are doing and liow you are ;;ettiny nlunj;. 

 or any bright ideas you may have, and the secretary will ijrobably 

 find something in what you have to say that will be of interest 

 to the other members. There is and should he a fraternal spirit 

 among our membeis. and we all like to hear about the other 

 fellow. 



CONVENTION TRIP OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS. 



{Continued from Srptrmhrr.t 



Tuesday, August 17. — At 9 oV-loek tlie party left the hotel to 

 board the steamer for a trip on the beautiful Bay of San Fran- 

 ciseo, up the Alameda, Oakland and Berkele.v side, past Riohnu)nd 

 and Point San Pablo into San Pablo Bay, where the great Alave 

 Island Xavy Yard is located; then back, past Point San Pedro 

 and San Queutin, Angel and (ioat islands, returning to the hotel 

 for a restful afternoon. After dinner all sojourned to the Hotel 

 St. Francis ballroom, where we were the guests of the S. A, F, 

 at a reception, Dnncing was indul,!;ed in until about 11 o'clock, 

 when all present were formed into line, to Ije received formally 

 by the president of the S. A, F.. Mr. Patrick Welsh, and Mrs, 

 Welsh. Refreshments were served, and about 1 o'clork our ]iarty 

 wended its way back to the Hotel Stewart, nnuh ])lea-cd with 

 a most enjo.vable evening. 



Wednesday, August IS, — This day was spent by the men in 

 the business of the convention and bv the women in writing let- 

 ters, .shopping, etc. 



Thursday, August Kb— At !l a. m. all boarded the cars for Dak- 

 land Ferry, the bay being crossed bv the Creek route. On land- 

 ing, we found that the park officials and several city fathers 

 had jirovided autos. and awav we went up the Jloujitain Drive, 

 through gr(]ves of eueal,vptus trees, with tlieir spicv ]]erfume, 

 past beautiful Lake Merritt, with its wonderful nnniiidpal boat 

 house, and then on to the Ostrich Farm, where ostriclies in all 

 their feathery array were seen: on to Lakeside Park, with its 

 wonilorful view and magnificent oaks; Peralta Paik, with its 

 municipal auditorium, athletic field and recreation ;.'rounds ; 

 Mosswood Park, with its deer pa<ldo<d< ; Idora Park, the largest 

 amusement i>ark in tlie West; tlien up Diamond (anon to the 

 heights overlooking the cit.v and bay ; then out to Berkeley, 

 with its beatitiful residences, geranitun hedges and immense 

 fuchsias. Here is located tlie University of California ami the 

 Greek Theatre, seating T.'ion, endowed bv William Pandcdph 

 Hearst, where we saw Jlargaret .\nglin in rehearsal; ami then 

 to Piedmont Park, where a delicious luncheon was served under 

 the great trees collected from all over the world and planted by 

 the late Frank C, Havens, We listened to speeches b.v the Citv 

 Fathers and park ofi-cials, and then went to the Botanical Oar- 

 dens, then took the ferry back to San Franidsco. The evening was 

 spent by the men of the |)arty as guests of tlie Elks Clilb. whero 

 a stag smoker entertained from S;.'ili to midnight. The bulies 

 of our Jiarty attended the theatre as guests of the Park Board. 



Friday, August 20, — The autos were at the hotel at II: 30, ready 

 to take us around the city of San Francisco and its wonderful 

 parks. Golden Gate, made from sand hills by the wizard McLaren, 

 Here water falls, lakes and ulcus have been created where there 

 was nothing but sand before, drives, athletic fields, stailiuni and 

 the Portals of the Past; tlien to Lincoln Park and along the 

 coast drive by the side of the great Pacific. As \v c p:issed along, 

 we saw an aeroplane flight. Then we went on to the mountains, 

 where we left the chill of the ocean side for the warm, congenial 

 sunsliine of the mountain pass; to Burlingame. to San Mateo, 

 where we visited the wonderful Desablo Estate; then on up the 

 mountains, along Spring Valley Water Reservation to a most 

 delightful .grove, where luncheon v\as served in the open. We 

 were told it was just as delightful on a Christmas day. We came 

 down the mountains by a different route, over the Cr.vstal Spring 

 Dam. built of I.jT.OOO cubic yards of concrete, 170 feel wide, 176 

 feet high and 43 feet thick, costing .$1 ,.1110.(100. After an un- 

 eventful ride home we reached the hotel at aliout p. in. 



Saturday, August 21,— ^\■e left the hotel at 0:30 and took a 

 bus to the Fair grounds, where the party separated into small 

 groups. Here again we saw the work of the wizard McLaren, 

 whose genius had transformed chaotic conditions into beautiful 

 flower beds and gardens. As we passed through the main gate 

 we were impressed with the v\-onderful evergreen walls and flower- 

 ing vines. Then we went on into the South Gardens, with 3.000 

 feet of horticultural beauty and architectural grandeur, across 

 the gardens to the Tower of .Jewels, glitterin.g in the sun. toward 

 the west, to the Palace of Ilorticulture. down the Avenue of 

 Palms to the Court of Four Seasons, past the Italian Towers to 

 the Court of Flowers. We visited the Agricultural, Education 

 and Horticultural Halls, then the buildings of Fine Arts. Xew 

 York State. Oregon, Hawaii, where we en.joyed the weird singing 

 and music of a native troup; then on through the Liberal Arts. 

 State of California and The Netherlands buildings and out to 

 the Marina, where lay the United .States battleships Oregon, 

 Santiago and Xorth Carolina; then by electric chair for a tour 

 over the grounds and to tea in the Chinese T^ Garden, and 

 then to the Zone, wliere the beauty of the lighting is beyond 



description. For the small sum of t< n ceiit^ we were permitted 

 to view the wonderful picture of the nude. Stella, p.iinted by 

 Xain in 1893, and said to be worth one ipiarter million dollars, 

 and so on, raid maze and wonder, till sheer exliaustion drove us- 

 home to the hotel and to bed, to dream of all the mental photo- 

 graphs our minds had taken. And so thi' Hrst day at the Fair 

 goes down in history, 



Siniday, August 22, — .\ well-earned ihiy of rest. Some of us 

 must needs keep up our records and go to cliun h in the morning 

 and to the Adler Sanitarium to see our fririiil Pierscni in the 

 afternoon. 



Monda.v. August 23. — ilen visiting friend- 1 wnmeii slioiijiing 

 and theatre. 



Tuesda.y, August 24. — Shopping and paiking in the morning 

 kept all busy. The afternoon saw us preparing for the con- 

 Linuation of our journe.v south, and at 7 p. m, we left the hotel 

 and boarded the Southern Pacific train, 



\^'ednesday, August 25, — All up early to view ^unny Southirn 

 California, the train making short stops at Burlingame, Palo Alto, 

 San .Jose. Santa Barbara, (Jxnard, Santa Susana, and passing 

 through ( hatsworth Tunnel, We arrived at the Hotel Havwood, 

 Los Angeles, at 10 a. m. The balance of the morning was spent 

 in arranging railroad tickets, and after luncheon we boarded the 

 Ha]>id Transit electric cars for Santa Monica Beach. We passed 

 the military academy, poultry farms, cattle ranches, oil wells, 

 lieautiful homes of the bungalow type, with wonderful geranium 

 hedges, the great eucalyptus trees evei',vwhere : througli Culver 

 Cit.v, with its palm bordered streets and roadsides, and Venice 

 Cit.v, on the Lagoon, We arrived at the lieacli, along wliicli we 

 strolled for miles and where hundreds of beautiful women batlied 

 in one-jiiece suits, and whose swimming anil diving erpial that 

 of the best men swimmers. (;)ur appetites having been sharpened 

 by the sea air. a number of the ]iarty elected to dine at Xat 

 Goodwin's Pier Pavilion, surrounded on tliree sides by the ocean, 

 .\s night came on, the full moon rose up out of the water and 

 scattered its sihery rays a-dancing on the ocean. About !• p. ui. 

 we boarded the electrics for the trip back to the city, and as 

 we passed along the illuminations of A'enice City Beach were 

 viewed with admiration. 



Thursday. August 2li.— We left the hotel at 8:30 and boarded 

 the autos. together with the S, A, F,, to South Park, according 

 to programme, (hi Figueroa street we rode between two rows of 

 magnificent palms, through Chester, where we saw a grove of 

 giant bamboos. At the Dohgny Estate we visited the wonderful 

 jialm house, 7.3 x 200 .x GO fefet high, with an immense swimming 

 ]iool in the centre of it. Continuing ourjourney, we passed the 

 celebrated Hershey Arms, reputed to be the most exclusive hotel 

 in -America. .\ little further on. up on the Hullywood Mountain, 

 we saw the Romish shrine, where the c-ity people of that faith 

 go up to \\orship, (hiward we rushed into Pasadena, and up 

 the mountains, winding in and out for two hours, making over 

 four hundred turns to all points of^the compass and at many 

 of them we came on the most wonderful views of the fertile 

 x'alley below, with its farms and the ..city stretched out as far 

 as the eye could see. In many places the cliffs along which we 

 rode dropped down thousands of feet. At last we came to the 

 top. and an awe-inspiring scene presented itself. Then came 

 the descent, which, if anything, was more hazardous than the 

 ascent, AVhen about tliree-r|uarters of the wa,v down the moun- 

 tains, we suddenly halted, at about 12:. SO. in a beautiful grove, 

 where the Spanish barljeeue, consisting of the following, was 

 served ; 



Billee Fare 



Cabeza Tatemada 



Frijoles Conchili 



Carnero Azado 



Salza 



When all had eaten and appeased their thirsts, wc again 

 boarded the waiting autos. at 2 p. m.. and off we went to the 

 Busch Gardens, a most picturesque, park-like estate. Although 

 the name of the place is associated with a certain beverage, none 

 was to lie had, so we again embarked for the Huntington Instate, 

 where refreshments were served to a very thirsty crowd. Here 

 we saw a wonderful cacti garden, with hundreds of varieties of 

 rarest plants. When all had been refreshed, internally and optic- 

 ally, we again sounded the Klaxtons and were off for the hotel, 

 via Easllake and Elysian Parks, arriving aliout 6 p. m.. tired, 

 dusty and hungry, but satisfied that we had lieen well piid for 

 the trouble and much enhanced in knowledge. !Most of our jiartv 

 went early to bed. to be up ready for an early start for San 

 Diego. 



Friday, August 27.— Left Hotel Haywood, Los Angeles, at 8:30, 

 all aboard the Santa Fe Railroad. As we pulled out of the sta- 

 tion we ran along the river bed where four mule teams were cart- 

 ing out sand. It is said that at this place a despondent man 

 jumped from one of the lieautiful concrete bridges in an attempt 

 to commit suicide, but merely got himself all ilusty. We after- 

 wards crossed several dried-up rivers and as rain is unknown 

 for eight months in the year, irrigation is alisolntelv necessary 



