204 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



from the conductor, cheers were given with a will, the locomotive- 

 gave its resounding puff, the wheels turned on their axles, and 

 the train soon took the visitors out of sight. The mind of each 

 one of the travellers was filled with wonder and amazement at 

 the scenes which formed the indescribable panorama ©f this 

 excursion. Their cups of pleasure and happiness were filled to 

 the brim as they wended their way homeward, thinking, as they 

 will ever think, of their ver3- pleasant visit to California. 



Perhaps the most pleasing spot in California, if not in the 

 world, is Passadena and its vicinity. The great stretch of the 

 San Gabriel valle}' of fifty miles, with the Sierra Madre moun- 

 tain range on the north and east, from four thousand to five 

 thousand feet high and reaching back for fort}' miles, is seen ; as 

 the eye follows the range it discerns further back Old Baldy, eleven 

 thousand feet high, snow-capped the year round. Turning to the 

 west the Virdugos loom up, and nearer the foot-hills and ridged 

 hills, which on the 10th of December were clothed with foliage of 

 pea-green hue. From the Raymond hill, the site of the Raymond 

 Hotel, can be seen the most charming scenery, combining moun- 

 tains, hills, the vast valley and through a gap in the hills the 

 Pacific Ocean, with the cit}' of Passadena in full view, and a 

 fertile and highly cultivated country, planted with the trees and 

 orchards of a semi-tropical climate. 



The grounds around the Raymond, about fifty acres, are only 

 recentlj' planted but, in a ver}- few years will form an arboretum 

 in themselves. Here I saw the greatest rariet}' of trees, both indige- 

 nous and foreign. The flowers about the grounds, by far surpassed 

 any I saw elsewhere. La France Roses, — if the rose is the Queen 

 of flowers, La France is the Queen of Roses, — are grown about 

 the Raymond in the greatest abundance, witli the finest buds and 

 flowers, — three times as large as we usually see them in New Eng- 

 land. The tea and other tender roses seemed perfectly at home in 

 the open air. Connected with the grounds are glass houses for 

 orchids and tender plants. Roses are also extensively planted in. 

 cheap houses where glass can be used in case of rain storms. 

 The hotel was virtually surrounded with flowers, and they all seemed 

 kindly to bloom when most needed, and were fully appreciated by 

 the guests of the house. The planting is under the supervision of 

 Charles H. Hovey, formerly of Boston, and the gardener, James 

 Barratt, was with Charles M. Hovey for twent}" j-ears. The Hotel 



