October, 1905 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



251 



surround the ranch house can be seen rising, plume-like, 

 gigantic pompons of green, nearly one hundred feet in air, 

 from a forest of rare tropical and semitropical trees. 



The approach from the south is through a splendid line 

 of eucalyptus or blue gums, which tower aloft, giving the 

 observer an impressive conception of the majesty of forest 

 trees which in Australia attain a height of several hun- 

 dred feet. Here we are upon the " home ranch " of fifteen 

 hundred acres, all in a high state of cultivation. Reaching 

 away from the eucalyptus drive, either side, are groves of 

 various kinds of orange — from the late Valencia to the 

 Washington navel — masses of deep green dotted with discs 

 of gold, lemon orchards in the distance, lime, kumquat and 

 grapefruit, and a long list of citrus fruits, making up one of 

 the largest and most productive citrus groves in the State. 



vistas of palms through screens of cypress, Lombardy pop- 

 lars and pines; indeed, the strange gathering of trees from 

 nearly every clime about this ranch house is not the least 

 of its attractions. 



The ranch house is the central point from which radiate 

 many different interests. In one direction the eye rests upon 

 vast orange groves, their perennial green sprinkled with 

 seeming dust of gold. In another are hundreds of acres of 

 vineyard, where the Mission grape grows in low bunches, 

 California fashion, and converts the gray soil into a coat 

 of green. Toward Pasadena is the live oak grove, and to 

 the north a splendid domain of hundreds of acres of this 

 lowland forest. Another vista includes the winery, to 

 which, in September and October, tons of grapes are taken 

 and pressed, the juice of Zinfandel, Tokay, Mission and 



The Garden Around the Lake — The Home of a California Rancher 



The ranch house itself is a modest villa standing amid 

 groups of palms, fan and date, which with eucalyptus, pep- 

 per, willow and others form grateful shade. The borders 

 of the garden at the lake edge are planted with gorgeous 

 cannas, ferns and brakes, of vigorous and beautiful growth, 

 and strange plants and trees appear at every hand. About 

 the lake or moat, which appears to nearly surround the ranch 

 house, like the moat of a feudal castle, the drive winds, 

 affording attractive and charming vistas. From one point 

 of vantage the great groups of palms and eucalyptus are 

 seen wholly reflected in the water, while from another grace- 

 ful willows drooping to the water, giant rose bushes and 

 trees covered with masses of white Banksian roses appear, 

 merely suggestive of the wealth of bloom to be found here. 

 Other drives in the immediate vicinity of the house show 



many more being stored in huge tuns, and year after year 

 bottled and cased for shipment all over the world. 



A visit to this winery is a revelation to those not familiar 

 with the varied products of a southern California ranch. 

 Hundreds of Mexicans and Chinamen are employed here, 

 making wine, trimming vines, picking grapes, oranges, 

 lemons, limes and other fruits in season, and cultivating 

 the land at other times. This ranch is a community in itself. 

 Within its corporate limits is the town of Arcadia, made 

 up, in the main, of those engaged in and about the ranch 

 and devoted to its interests. In the ranch yard, near the 

 winery, is the ranch store, a type of the general store found 

 throughout the West. Near here are the blacksmith and 

 other shops containing complete outfits for repairs. 



The Santa Anita wine, oranges, lemons and grapes are 



