SOCIETY. 407 
River, where that stream breaks through the range of low 
hills, twenty-five miles north of the bay of San Pedro. The 
streets are mostly of good width, but they are not straight; 
they do not cross each other at right angles; they are not 
graded, nor are they paved. All the old houses are built of 
adobes, and most of them are of one story, with flat roofs of 
asphaltum. The new houses are of wood and brick. On the 
northwestern side of the town, and very near to the most busy 
part of it, is a hill about sixty feet high, whence an excellent 
view of the whole place may be obtained, The vineyards and 
gardens are beautiful. There are 2,500 or 3,000 acres of bril- 
liant green—the largest body of land in vineyard, garden, and 
orchard within so small a space in the state. The fences fix 
the attention of the stranger. They are made of willow-trees, 
planted from nine inches to two feet apart, the spaces between 
the trunks being filled with poles and brush. After the fences, 
the stranger’s notice is attracted by the zanjas, or irrigating 
ditches, which run through the town in every direction. These 
zanjas vary in size, but most of them have a body of water 
three feet wide, and a foot deep, running at a speed of five 
miles an hour. They carry the water from the river to the 
gardens, and are absolutely necessary to secure the growth of 
the fences, vines, and many of the fruit-trees, at least when 
young. One of the officers of the town is the zanjero, whose 
duty it is to take charge of the zanjas, see that they are kept 
in order, and that the water is equally distributed among those 
entitled to it. Entering the enclosures, we are among the 
vines, orange, lemon, lime, citron, pear, apple, peach, olive, 
fig, and walnut trees. Many of the vines are from ten to 
thirty years of age. The population of the place may be de- 
scribed as of nearly four equal classes, Americans, Europeans, 
Spanish Californians and Indians. The Americans own most 
of the houses and land in the town, the Europeans probably 
do most of its trade. The town is the seat of the county 
government, and the chief’ business place in this part of the 
state. Its merchants trade largely to Salt Lake. Los Angeles 
