HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 339 



The citrus fair aud horticultural exhibition were in progress 

 here during the time of our meeting, to which each member of 

 our society received complimentary tickets through the courtesy 

 of the manager, President Jones. If any of you Miunesotiaus 

 could have been placed unawares in the midst of such a collection 

 of fruits and flowers you would have supposed you were lost in 

 Paradise. All the varieties of citrus and deciduous fruits, fresh, 

 dried and otherwise, grains, nuts and vegetables, products of 

 every sort and kind, gathered as it were from every country and 

 clime, and yet principally grown in the valley of Santa Clara, 

 California. 



But the crowning feature of our entertainment was the ban- 

 quet gotten up by the ladies of San Jose on the last evening of 

 our meeting. Words would fail to describe; it was simply im- 

 mense, superb, perfect, whatever those terms may mean. 



The next morning carriages were in readiness, according to 

 previous arrangement, to convey us into and over the country 

 round about, where we were shown the immense orchards, vine- 

 yards, dry-houses, and the entire modus operandi of successful 

 fruit culture, from the planting out, the kinds mostly planted, 

 the manner of cultivation, pruning, irrigation, gathering of the 

 fruit, taking care of it, marketing, etc. 



When looking over this vast extent of country, devoted al- 

 most entirely to orchards, I felt like exclaiming, "Oh! Santa 

 Clara, thou art a jewel in the crown of California." 



We next proceeded on our northern excursion. Tickets had 

 been generously furnished to each member of' our party by the 

 agent of the Southern Pacific Railway, Mr. J. B. Lanck, and the 

 program of our journey announced, which would extend a dis- 

 tance of several hundred miles through the most fertile valleys 

 of Northern California. 



By way of Monterey we next found ourselves at Oakland, 

 where another banquet was in waiting to receive us, or rather we 

 were there to receive it. These banquetings furnished grand op- 

 portunities for speech making and nut cracking, and with the 

 usual ride around, passed off very pleasantly. The next morn- 

 ing we started on our northern trip proper, an army of horticul- 

 turists, fully 200 strong, prepared to capture everything before 

 us. The first place of attack was Napa, famous for its wines, 

 and the trophies here won consisted principally of bouquets and 

 ladies' smiles, followed by a most sumptuous banquet for a second 

 course. After the usual speech making we were taken to the 



