34 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



room is as clean as a parlour, and the fruit waggons are re- 

 splendent with bright paint and artistic lettering. The draught 

 horses are all large, sleek, and fat, and the carriage horses are 

 neat-limbed and of noble lineage. 



Water is piped from springs upon the mountain side, several 

 hundred feet above, to every building upon the place, under a 

 pressure of 150 lbs. to the square inch. A hose-cart is provided 

 for protection in case of fire, and the main buildings are covered 

 with pipes, so that they could if necessary be quickly flooded. 

 The buildings and various portions of the farm are connected 

 with the engine-room by electric alarm bells. The residence 

 and packing-house are connected with Los Gatos and all the 

 principal towns in California, by long-distance telephone. A 

 private electric plant furnishes both arc and incandescent electric 

 lights for the residence, packing-house, drying-ground, stable, 

 and other buildings, and also for the town of Los Gatos. The 

 15-acre plot used as a drying-ground, as stated, is also 

 supplied with electric lights, and all work involving the handling 

 and packing of the dried fruit is done at night in order to avoid 

 the settling upon the fruit of the minute particles of dust set in 

 motion by men and horses. Near the residence there is a grove of 

 live-oak trees. From their branches depend a number of electric 

 lights, and scattered about among the branches are a number of 

 rustic seats. Near at hand there is a large cement plunge bath, 

 supplied with a spring board and other accessories. A Grape 

 arbour and trailing vines furnish grateful shade, and the pool is 

 supplied with running water from mountain springs. 



Twenty-five men are employed upon the place the year 

 round, and from seventy-five to 100 in the season. Every 

 company of men works under its own foreman, each foreman 

 reporting to the superintendent, and he in turn to the proprietor. 

 Everything moves forward quietly and as systematically as 

 clockwork. It is all very much like a dream. 



The packing-house is two storeys high, 55 ft. in width by 

 185 ft. in length, and is supplied with the latest and most im- 

 proved machinery. It has also an elevator. The ground floor 

 is of cement, and is kept very clean. The machinery is all 

 propelled by steam power. The engine is a Putnam 60-horse 

 power. It was built to order, and is a most beautiful piece of 

 machinery. It is kept as neat and clean as the furniture in a 



