IN CALIFORNIA 109 



itself is smaller and less imposing. The Romneya 

 is indeed the giant among California wild flowers. 

 The magnificent blooms, with white petals of the 

 texture of crepe, are from six to eight inches across, 

 and are set singly but in great profusion in the 

 midst of the blue-green foliage, on bushes which are 

 sometimes as high as twelve or fifteen feet. It is 

 of rather local occurrence, though abundant enough 

 where it does grow, from Santa Barbara County to 

 Lower California. It is a favorite in California 

 gardens, where it is better known than in its wild 

 haunts. Indeed most people do not know it for a 

 wild flower at all. 



Chaparral and Bee-Pasture 



To feel yourself really in the California of your 

 dreams, there is nothing like riding your mustang 

 on a trail through the chaparral. There is some- 

 thing in this word chaparral that smacks of the 

 California soil in a way that no other word does. 

 You have come across it in books of travel and in 

 tales of adventure; you do not know just what it 

 means, but it sounds romantic and Spanish-buc- 

 caneerish, and as soon as you arrive you are agog 

 to find out about it. So, some sunny April morn- 

 ing when the air is full of bird song and the roses 

 are blowing fragrant kisses to you from every gate 



