The San Francisco call., 1910-04-02

avoided. One day an experiment was
tried. A hole was drilled in the hard
pan, powder poured in and a blast set
of. The caked earth crumbled into
/, sand Peach trees were planted and a
great. juicy fruit resulted. The rush
for the hardpan began.
COLONIES NOT TOWNS
An alchemy has brought the Smyrna
fig to fruition in it's new abode in
Fresno county. a fertilizing wasp was
imported by George Roeding. given
the Keys to the orchard and new in
| dustry has come into being
In the west "a ranch" means bound
less prairie and hill. In Fresno ii
means 20 acres. That is the natural
| division that time and experience have
set aside as the proper allotment for a
family.
A man can make a good living on
10 acres the saying goes in Fresno
but he can send his son to college, his
daughter to the conservatory of music
and put money in the bank on 20
acres"
In and about Fresno the clusters of
homes are not towns, they are colo
MES The people talk of Washington
colony" for instance, and Temperance
colony" which, by the way, boasts one
OF the largest wineries in the state.
there are no end, formed by the SUBJ
division of large holdings.
Ihese colonies are peculiar to Fresno
IN more than name They are distinct
social centers. Here may be found a
general assembly hall, the common and
civic center, by the rule of consent set
apart for community use
1t is in this way that Fresno has
overcome the objection of farm isola-
ton. The colony" unincorporated
without legal boundary or special regu-
lations, takes on an unwritten govern
ment 1t is the solution of the great
problem that has confronted the lead
ers OF the back TO the land" move
ment in the eastern states.
SPIRIT Of COOPERATION
social condition peculiar to Fresno
has thus been evolved. It is co-opera-
tive first from choice. but ratified by
necessity The settlers came in
groups from distant homes. dwelt as
neighbors and shared each others pros
perity There were introduced Coop
erat1Ve irrigation and co-operatfve
marketing. Great crops could come
only through the wise and economical |
use OF water and this was a task be-
yond the power of the Individual II
was an undertaking for the commun-
lty, working as one. But the problem
was not solved even after the crop had
been grown. Individual marketing
proved as ineffective as Individual ir
rigation. Now unified action, is the
rule from the sowing of the seed to the
sale Of the produce. The imprint of
this community partnership has been
stamped indelibly upon the life in
Fresno. This commercial union among
the men has its counterpart in the
remarkable development of the club
or social spirit among the women. IT
goes even further. The children frolic
together in great parks. And so firm
ly implanted is this trait that the city
has but recently bonded itself to ac-
quire seven large Fairgrounds.
AUTOS FOR EVERYBODY
Nature and man's genius have also
united to obiiterate farm isolation. IT
may be asserted with safety that this
i'll will never affiict Fresno. The level
valley floor, the smooth boulevards and
! the well oiled roads invite the auto
mobile and bicycle to a natural habitat
Fresno city has 10000 inhabitants. 1t
has 1000 automobiles OF bicycles IT
has more than any other city of twice
Its size in America. One chug of the
auto and the car rolls across the valley.
One turn of the pedal and the bicycle
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