THE CONQUEST OF ARID AMERICA 



in the world. The leading characteristics of this locali- 

 ty have been referred to in another chapter. But the 

 very success which attended these methods in the past 

 place limitations upon the country as a field for future 

 expansion. Land values have risen high, and the water- 

 supply has become almost as precious as gold. Health- 

 seekers and the leisure class have been attracted in large 

 numbers, and occupy the field which would otherwise 

 be open to home-makers of smaller means. A class of 

 wealthy people is a prominent feature of immigration 

 in the southern valley. These opulent settlers plant 

 orchards of oranges, lemons, and olives, just as their 

 poorer neighbors do. It is reassuring to reflect, how- 

 ever, that they can accomplish little more with their 

 abundant capital than humbler settlers may do with 

 their united labor. The sun, the sky, the earth, and tho 

 waters will be as kind to one class as to the other. 

 While it should not be inferred that none but the very 

 rich can settle in the south, it is perfectly true that this 

 charming district is not within the field of the largest 

 future developments. 



A district known as Antelope Valley is one of the later 

 developments of southern California. This lies north of 

 the Sierra Madre mountains, on the southern margin of 

 the Mojave Desert. Irrigation has here begun to evolve 

 orchards, fields, and beautiful homes from conditions 

 which, in their virgin state, were peculiarly forbidding. 

 A series of promising colonies, chiefly engaged in almond- 

 culture, have been successfully established. But tho 

 amount of land that can be reclaimed in this locality is 

 severely limited by the scanty water supply. 



Where, then, is the field to accommodate the hosts 

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