TO COACHELLA VALLEY 117 



panting man was to take his seat there, lightly ar- 

 rayed, and spray water on the screen with a hose. 

 The resulting evaporation would temper the breeze 

 to a fair degree of comfort. He might even, she 

 pointed out, have pipe or newspaper in the other 

 hand, a sybaritic touch that strongly appealed to 

 me. In the following weeks, when warmth was plen- 

 tiful and water scarce with me, I thought many a 

 time with envy of my friend sitting with hose and 

 pipe in solitary luxury, or perchance comfortably 

 soaking in the barrel at the corner of the house, 

 which he had pointed out to me with pride as form- 

 ing a simple but admirable bathtub. 



The burlap-and-hose combination, by the by, 

 plays a prominent part in desert household economy. 

 Where ice is not to be had the housewife resorts to 

 the home-made refrigerator: nothing more nor less 

 than a skeleton box or frame provided with shelves 

 and covered with burlap. It is placed in a shaded 

 outdoor spot, and water allowed to drip on it so as 

 to keep it damp on all sides. The evaporation is so 

 rapid in this dry, hot air that the temperature within 

 is lowered by many degrees, and even milk or butter 

 may be kept good for a reasonable time. No doubt 

 it was this simple invention that gave the good lady 

 a clue. If a pound of butter could thus find relief, 

 why not a farmer? 



Along the foothills that extend in a dull, mud- 

 hued wall along the east side of the valley, groups 

 and files of palms grow in almost continuous line. 

 A visit to them proved interesting. The erosive 

 effects of the storms that fall (usually in late sum- 



