II 



HOETICULTUEE 



THE first questions for the would-be horticulturist to 

 determine are : industry and locality. In Cali- 

 fornia he has the choice of hill or valley, of the seaboard 

 or the interior, of climates which include the snows of 

 Shasta in the north, and in the south the everlasting sun- 

 shine of San Diego. Of the many industries which 

 challenge attention, it is sufficient to name the prune, the 

 apricot, the peach, the olive, the apple and pear, and the 

 citrus fruits : the lemon and orange. 



The settler of course wants as much as he can get for 

 his money ; and I take for granted that he has, or will 

 have, a wife and family. It behoves him, therefore, to 

 consider not soil and climate alone, but those advantages, 

 social, educational, and religious, lacking which life in a 

 new country may prove not worth the living. A man of 

 small means cannot afford to make mistakes ; he has no 

 capital to squander in costly experiments ; and it is cer- 

 tain that he will make mistakes, that he will lose both 

 time and money, unless he is prepared to profit by the 

 experience and advice of others. On this account alone 

 it is absolutely necessary to select a locality where the 

 industry adopted has passed the experimental stage. 

 Most young Englishmen, particularly those of the upper 

 and upper-middle class, make their homes in places where 

 Ishmael would starve. They try to combine two things 

 which have no affinity for each other, viz., sport and 

 money-making. Accordingly, they buy cheap land far 



