of >vat?2- by irrigating ditches. Through the returning of its elements 

 to tlie >soil by fertilisation, in addition to the splendid irrigation sys- 

 tems, a continuous succession of heavy crops may be assured. 



Southern California, the modern Garden of Eden, minus the ser- 

 pent and blossoming as the rose, was once thought arid and useless 

 desert, was, in fact, part of what was known as the Great American 

 Desert. The transformation has not been wrought through a miracle, 

 but by the thought and hard work of California citizens. They have 

 experimented with localities, brought water upon dry land, studied 

 the soil that they might enrich it, worked and watched and waited 

 and prayed, possibly some of them have cursed; and now that their 

 sheaves, i. e., their full orange crops, are in, their success is attributed 

 to God Almighty. It is due to Him, but in a different way from that 

 intended by Mr. Clark, for God created not only the California country 

 and climate, but the California citizen. 



A Sweet Morsel "The California fruit is gradually taking the 



for market, and will eventually take it all." This 



Californians. statement is worthy of study. It may well be 



rolled under the California tongue as a sweet 



morsel. It means that just as soon as California produces enough 

 fruit to supply all demands, none other will have a show. It is an 

 application of the law of the survival of the fittest, a new reading 

 of "To him that hath shall be given." 



Spiritual Seed A brief glance at the history of the orange in Cali- 

 and fornia will not come amiss here. In 1769 the 



Material. Franciscan fathers started north from Lower Cali- 



fornia, and entering what is now the State of Cali- 

 fornia, established twenty-one missions under the direction of Father 

 Junipero Serra. Their avowed object was the harvest of savage souls 

 that might be brought to Christianity ; but in the sowing of this spirit- 

 ual seed they did not forget their physical comfort, nor forego the 

 sowing of the material seed that would in time bring fruit -to satisfy 

 the craving of their palates. Eighteen of the twenty-one missions 

 boasted gardens and orchards, and to these fruit-loving pioneer fathers 

 of the Catholic Church may be attributed the discovery of the peculiar 

 fitness of the California soil and climate for the beautiful golden ball 

 which brings wealth to its producers and health to its consumers. 



From Small LouisVignes and Manuel Requena planted small groves 

 Beginnings. at Los Angeles for home use in the year 1834. In 

 1841 William Wolfskill set out two acres to oranges 

 as a business venture, and it is thought this was the first orchard in 

 the state planted with a view to commercial profit. There are rec- 

 ords of meagre and scattered plantings from this time on. The 

 records state that in 1862 there were only 25,000 trees in the entire 

 state. The completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1873 

 greatly facilitated the profitable marketing of the fruit outside of 

 California and spurred her citizens to fresh plantings. 



The stories of the introduction of the Washington navel orange 

 into California by Mrs. Luther C. Tibbetts, of the Valencia by Mr. 



