The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1903-03-19
Redlands, California. March z, 1908.


noon of the 27th of February, having
spent most of the day at River
side'', the Oldest orange growing sec
tion in this vicinity. Had our lunch
con Mt the Glenwood, one of the IA
nous inns for which the place is
noted, and the interior of which is
strictly in the old Moori III style the
hotel covers three sides of block or
square, the fourth being an open
court, with Towering trees, shrubs
and clambering vines everywhere. In
this court is an old mission house
with the real mission bells still hang
ing. In the hotel also, is chime of
bells which make sweet music for
half an hour while the guests of the
house are assembling for lunch, and
then the orchestra takes up the enter
tanning until two O'Clock. We then
went out for a walk and to inspect
the Carnegie library which is in the
same Moorish style of architecture.
Redlands is indeed a wonderland,
and simply beyond my powers of DIES
cription, everything is so beautiful
and the air so soft and delightful. |
think, however, the feature that i'm
presses one most is the wonderfully
rapid and luxuriant growth of all
vegetation. On our arrival we met
with a warm welcome from Mrs. Cur.
tbs Wells who has made it her home
here for sixteen years, having come
when there were but half dozen
houses in all, and now it numbers
seven thousand inhabitants Twenty
year; ago this was region of sage
brush and cactus, now for miles and
miles in all directions the lowlands
and foot hills are covered with groves
of the finest fruit and Towering trees
and shrubbery, with the mountains
beyond glistening white with snow
for this valley is surrounded north.
south and east by massive mountain
barriers, some of the peaks attaining
a height of twelve thousand feet, but
on the west the valley winds unbrok
ell to the placid Pacific. Tue city
covers an area of seventeen square
miles, the depot and business portion
in part covering the lowlands and the
rest. together with the heights, being
devoted to the most beautiful resi-
dences and the orange plantations.
The days are warm, dry, and invig-
Grating and the nights cool.
The finest parks 1 have ever seen
abound here, with smooth macada-
mixed road, running through them
like unfolding ribbons, the air heavy
with the perfume rising from acres of
carnations, lilies, and Towering trees,
with miles and miles of Marechal
Neil and other rare and beautiful
roses to delight the eye.
Among their citizens they include
seventeen millionaires and several
many times millionaires. Smiley
Heights is notably beautiful place,
with most superb views in all direc.
tions. The residence of Mr.. Burrigt
of Boston is located 265 feet higher
than the main street, and is one
hundred and thirty feet long, will
beautiful marble piazzas from fifteeI
to twenty feet wide on every side
The grounds of Mr.. Stickney are
noted for their exquisite japanese
gardens.
Here water is king, the wcnderfu
aqueducts bring the pure sparkling
fluid down from the canyons in the
mountains to the tops of the hills
three hundred feet high about Red
lands, and so perfect j. the system tina
these hills, with reservoirs at thu
tops, are irrigated by little bitches dowl
their sides into the lowlands, thu
supplying an abundance of moistur,
to the soil. and clothing them to thei
very SUBMITS with the finest of frui
trees, shrubbery and flowers. From
these heights you can look down OF
more than five thousand acres of or
ange trees all laden with blossoms
and fruit, for it is here that luscious
fruit grows to perfection, and they
are now picking five thousand boxe
per day and shipping to the eastern
markets. The picking begins JUS
after the holiday season, and will con
tue until April first learned from
the records Of the board of trade tina
81, 854 boxes of oranges have beef
shipped so far during this season
with $50 boxes of lemons and
great quantity of grape fruit Yes
terday we visited several fruit pack
ing houses, and were greatly inter
ested in Watching the work as carried
on by the Lyon Packing Company
which sends out twelve hundred boxe
day Here load after load OF frui
was brought in direct from the fields
and weighed-for they buy by tn,
weight here. They were then care
fully emptied into hopper out O.
which the golden balls merrily ROLLED