The Newtown bee., 1893-04-07
CALIFORNIA AS SHE IS.
Selections From Private Letters of R. H. Smith of Riverside, Cal, to Newtown Friends.-A Faithful Review of the Situation.

Riverside, when first laid out, was mile square, a business center with some two-story, few three-story, but many single-story business houses. It has since reached out irregular boundaries to include some 5G square miles, the out side territory being mostly orange ranch es, with modest or more elaborate hous- es scattered among them. The famous Magnolia avenue Is three miles below the business tract stretching off some nine miles to the south. Outside the eight or 10 business blocks or squares, the side walks are sometimes bordered on one hand by neatly trimmed cypress hedges and on the other by century plants, huge fan palms, pepper trees, or tall cypress trees, with now and then pretty geraniums, roses or chrysanthe- nuns, blooming between the side walk and the street. Often there is nothing to protect
 THE ORANGE TREES.
 from the passing pedestrian and all about the railroad station the oranges hang temptingly near at hand, The or ange trees grow taller than I supposed, often as large as a tall young apple tree, but fuller of leaves and branches. These orange orchards are irrigated about once a month, the water being let on from ditches beside the street or from pipes which are gradually taking the place of open ditches. Nothing is al lowed to grow among the orange trees and soon after irregation, cultivators are seen among the trees to kill down weeds and grass.
 Riverside lies in the valley of the San- ta Ana river, but it is not such valley as you would imagine. It is extensive and dotted here and there with detached hills or mountains, not as high as the ranges that enclose the territory oD either hand, east, west and north, but just as bleak and bare. We live on the
 WESTERN SIDE OF RIVERSIDE
 proper, the business portion, and it is six or seven miles across to the east to the Box mountains, while across the seemingly level territory run deep, dry ravines, probably once the beds oi streams. West of us is the Rubidoux mountain and west of that the Santa Ana river, which here flows in asgenerally northeast to southwest course. The general course of this valley is north east to southwest; IS or 20 miles north of us is the San Bernardino range oi mountains, with scanty growth of pin. on their jagged crests. Back of these mountains to the north is the Mojave (pronounced Mohave) desert, stretching for hundreds of miles east and west. This desert is uninhabited for the most part, with railroad or two threading it's arid waste.
 THE ONLY RAIN
 we had in December was on the first Sunday evening of the month, a small shower, and drizzling rain of several hours on the Saturday before Christmas. From then until the Sth of January hardly a cloud was to be seen. Int warm rain of Christmas drove away the frost that had prevailed for several nights and December 27, the thermom- eter registered 7s degrees, the highest point for the month. The lowest point touched in December was on the 18th, 25 degrees. The people here dread the .snorthers," which are peculiar to the winter season; they blow the leaves from the north side of the orange trees fill the air with whirlwind of dust, and rattle around the buildings as you know old Boreas can.
 THEY ARE OF VARYING VIOLENCE, sometimes much more violent than at others. and sometimes little more than 4 stlfr breeze. They rattle off Che oran- zee. but apart from the chatter do little