108 



Adventures in Scenery 



to the river, then said: "Much land; much water. Sometime 

 man get water on land; much crop!" Behold! In the midst 

 of an arid and parched land is a veritable garden. Fruits, vege- 

 tables, and forage crops, in advance of most other districts, go 

 to the markets of the world. 



With annual rainfall of less than 3 inches, with some sea- 

 sons a trace only of moisture from the sky, an unmeasurable 

 fraction of an inch, with summer temperatures of 120 degrees 



Courtesy U. S. Bureau of Soils 



FIG. 33. Stone date garden, near Indio, in Coachella Valley, showing 

 clusters of fruit on trees. 



and even as great as 140 degrees, normal vegetation, as vegeta- 

 tion is known generally, is unknown. Not a blade of grass, 

 but horned toads, cacti, and such life as is adapted by nature 

 to high temperatures and almost no moisture, the expanse of 

 arid plain is weird and fascinating. But man has overcome the 

 obstacles of nature. By feat of engineering skill the river has 

 been harnessed and water brought to the arid plain. "Much 

 land; much water much crop!" 



Where water can be brought to the land here as by magic 



