I entered the sunny south half a month ago, coming down along the cool sea, and landing at Santa Monica. An hour's ride over stretches of bare, brown plain, and through cornfields and orange groves, brought me to the handsome, conceited11 little town of Los Angeles, where one finds Spanish adobes12 and Yankee shingles13 meeting and overlapping14 in very curious antagonism15. I believe there are some fifteen thousand people here, and some of their buildings are rather fine, but the gardens and the sky interested me more. A palm is seen here and there poising16 its royal crown in the rich light, and the banana, with its magnificent ribbon leaves, producing a marked tropical effect—not semi-tropical, as they are so fond of saying here, while speaking of their fruits. Nothing I have noticed strikes me as semi, save the brusque little bits of civilization with which the wilderness17 is checkered18. These are semi-barbarous or less; everything else in the region has a most exuberant19 pronounced wholeness. The city held me but a short time, for the San Gabriel Mountains were in sight, advertising20 themselves grandly along the northern sky, and I was eager to make my way into their midst.
At Pasadena I had the rare good fortune to meet my old friend Doctor Congar, with whom I had studied chemistry and mathematics fifteen years ago. He exalted21 San Gabriel above all other inhabitable valleys, old and new, on the face of the globe. "I have rambled," said he, "ever since we left college, tasting innumerable climates, and trying the advantages offered by nearly every new State and Territory. Here I have made my home, and here I shall stay while I live. The geographical22 position is exactly right, soil and climate perfect, and everything that heart can wish comes to our efforts—flowers, fruits, milk and honey, and plenty of money. And there," he continued, pointing just beyond his own precious possessions, "is a block of land that is for sale; buy it and be my neighbor; plant five acres with orange trees, and by the time your last mountain is climbed their fruit will be your fortune." He then led my down the valley, through the few famous old groves in full bearing, and on the estate of Mr. Wilson showed me a ten-acre grove4 eighteen years old, the last year's crop from which was sold for twenty thousand dollars. "There," said he, with triumphant23 enthusiasm, "what do you think of that? Two thousand dollars per acre per annum for land worth only one hundred dollars."
The number of orange trees planted to the acre is usually from forty-nine to sixty-nine; they then stand from twenty-five to thirty feet apart each way, and, thus planted, thrive and continue fruitful to a comparatively great age. J. DeBarth Shorb, an enthusiastic believer in Los Angeles and oranges, says, "We have trees on our property fully24 forty years old, and eighteen inches in diameter, that are still vigorous and yielding immense crops of fruit, although they are only twenty feet apart." Seedlings25 are said to begin to bear remunerative26 crops in their tenth year, but by superior cultivation this long unproductive period my be somewhat lessened27, while trees from three to five years old may be purchased from the nurserymen, so that the newcomer who sets out an orchard28 may begin to gather fruit by the fifth or sixth year. When first set out, and for some years afterward29, the trees are irrigated30 by making rings of earth around them, which are connected with small ditches, through which the water is distributed to each tree. Or, where the ground is nearly level, the whole surface is flooded from time to time as required. From 309 trees, twelve years old from the seed, DeBarth Shorb says that in the season of 1874 he obtained an average of $20.50 per tree, or $1435 per acre, over and above the cost of transportation to San Francisco, commission on sales, etc. He considers $1000 per acre a fair average at present prices, after the trees have reached the age of twelve years. The average price throughout the county for the last five years has been about $20 or $25 per thousand; and, inasmuch as the area adapted to orange culture is limited, it is hoped that this price may not greatly fall for many years.
The lemon and lime are also cultivated here to some extent, and considerable attention is now being given to the Florida banana, and the olive, almond, and English walnut31. But the orange interest heavily overshadows every other, while vines have of late years been so unremunerative they are seldom mentioned.
This is pre-eminently a fruit land, but the fame of its productions has in some way far outrun the results that have as yet been attained32. Experiments have been tried, and good beginnings made, but the number of really valuable, well-established groves is scarce as one to fifty, compared with the newly planted. Many causes, however, have combined of late to give the business a wonderful impetus33, and new orchards34 are being made every day, while the few old groves, aglow35 with golden fruit, are the burning and shining lights that direct and energize36 the sanguine37 newcomers.
After witnessing the bad effect of homelessness, developed to so destructive an extent in California, it would reassure38 every lover of his race to see the hearty39 home-building going on here and the blessed contentment that naturally follows it. Travel-worn pioneers, who have been tossed about like boulders40 in flood time, are thronging41 hither as to a kind of a terrestrial heaven, resolved to rest. They build, and plant, and settle, and so come under natural influences. When a man plants a tree he plants himself. Every root is an anchor, over which he rests with grateful interest, and becomes sufficiently42 calm to feel the joy of living. He necessarily makes the acquaintance of the sun and the sky. Favorite trees fill his mind, and, while tending them like children, and accepting the benefits they bring, he becomes himself a benefactor43. He sees down through the brown common ground teeming44 with colored fruits, as if it were transparent45, and learns to bring them to the surface. What he wills he can raise by true enchantment46. With slips and rootlets, his magic wands, they appear at his bidding. These, and the seeds he plants, are his prayers, and by them brought into right relations with God, he works grander miracles every day than ever were written.
The Pasadena Colony, located on the southwest corner of the well-known San Pasqual Rancho, is scarce three years old, but it is growing rapidly, like a pet tree, and already forms one of the best contributions to culture yet accomplished in the county. It now numbers about sixty families, mostly drawn47 from the better class of vagabond pioneers, who, during their rolling-stone days have managed to gather sufficient gold moss48 to purchase from ten to forty acres of land. They are perfectly49 hilarious50 in their newly found life, work like ants in a sunny noonday, and, looking far into the future, hopefully count their orange chicks ten years or more before they are hatched; supporting themselves in the meantime on the produce of a few acres of alfalfa, together with garden vegetables and the quick-growing fruits, such as figs51, grapes, apples, etc., the whole reinforced by the remaining dollars of their land purchase money. There is nothing more remarkable52 in the character of the colony than the literary and scientific taste displayed. The conversation of most I have met here is seasoned with a smack53 of mental ozone54, Attic55 salt, which struck me as being rare among the tillers of California soil. People of taste and money in search of a home would do well to prospect56 the resources of this aristocratic little colony.
If we look now at these southern valleys in general, it will appear at once that with all their advantages they lie beyond the reach of poor settlers, not only on account of the high price of irrigable57 land—one hundred dollars per acre and upwards—but because of the scarcity58 of labor59. A settler with three or four thousand dollars would be penniless after paying for twenty acres of orange land and building ever so plain a house, while many years would go by ere his trees yielded an income adequate to the maintenance of his family.
Nor is there anything sufficiently reviving in the fine climate to form a reliable inducement for very sick people. Most of this class, from all I can learn, come here only to die, and surely it is better to die comfortably at home, avoiding the thousand discomforts60 of travel, at a time when they are so heard to bear. It is indeed pitiful to see so many invalids61, already on the verge62 of the grave, making a painful way to quack63 climates, hoping to change age to youth, and the darkening twilight64 of their day to morning. No such health-fountain has been found, and this climate, fine as it is, seems, like most others, to be adapted for well people only. From all I could find out regarding its influence upon patients suffering from pulmonary difficulties, it is seldom beneficial to any great extent in advanced cases. The cold sea winds are less fatal to this class of sufferers than the corresponding winds further north, but, notwithstanding they are tempered on their passage inland over warm, dry ground, they are still more or less injurious.
The summer climate of the fir and pine woods of the Sierra Nevada would, I think, be found infinitely65 more reviving; but because these woods have not been advertised like patent medicines, few seem to think of the spicy66, vivifying influences that pervade67 their fountain freshness and beauty.
点击收听单词发音
1 rimmed | |
adj.有边缘的,有框的v.沿…边缘滚动;给…镶边 | |
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2 cultivation | |
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成 | |
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3 groves | |
树丛,小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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4 grove | |
n.林子,小树林,园林 | |
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5 drowsy | |
adj.昏昏欲睡的,令人发困的 | |
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6 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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7 missionaries | |
n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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8 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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9 freckles | |
n.雀斑,斑点( freckle的名词复数 ) | |
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10 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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11 conceited | |
adj.自负的,骄傲自满的 | |
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12 adobes | |
n.风干土坯( adobe的名词复数 );风干砖坯;(制风干砖用的)灰质粘土;泥砖砌成的房屋 | |
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13 shingles | |
n.带状疱疹;(布满海边的)小圆石( shingle的名词复数 );屋顶板;木瓦(板);墙面板 | |
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14 overlapping | |
adj./n.交迭(的) | |
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15 antagonism | |
n.对抗,敌对,对立 | |
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16 poising | |
使平衡( poise的现在分词 ); 保持(某种姿势); 抓紧; 使稳定 | |
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17 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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18 checkered | |
adj.有方格图案的 | |
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19 exuberant | |
adj.充满活力的;(植物)繁茂的 | |
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20 advertising | |
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的 | |
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21 exalted | |
adj.(地位等)高的,崇高的;尊贵的,高尚的 | |
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22 geographical | |
adj.地理的;地区(性)的 | |
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23 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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24 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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25 seedlings | |
n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 ) | |
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26 remunerative | |
adj.有报酬的 | |
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27 lessened | |
减少的,减弱的 | |
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28 orchard | |
n.果园,果园里的全部果树,(美俚)棒球场 | |
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29 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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30 irrigated | |
[医]冲洗的 | |
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31 walnut | |
n.胡桃,胡桃木,胡桃色,茶色 | |
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32 attained | |
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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33 impetus | |
n.推动,促进,刺激;推动力 | |
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34 orchards | |
(通常指围起来的)果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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35 aglow | |
adj.发亮的;发红的;adv.发亮地 | |
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36 energize | |
vt.给予(某人或某物)精力、能量 | |
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37 sanguine | |
adj.充满希望的,乐观的,血红色的 | |
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38 reassure | |
v.使放心,使消除疑虑 | |
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39 hearty | |
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的 | |
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40 boulders | |
n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 );巨砾;(受水或天气侵蚀而成的)巨石;漂砾 | |
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41 thronging | |
v.成群,挤满( throng的现在分词 ) | |
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42 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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43 benefactor | |
n. 恩人,行善的人,捐助人 | |
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44 teeming | |
adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 );到处都是;(指水、雨等)暴降;倾注 | |
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45 transparent | |
adj.明显的,无疑的;透明的 | |
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46 enchantment | |
n.迷惑,妖术,魅力 | |
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47 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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48 moss | |
n.苔,藓,地衣 | |
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49 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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50 hilarious | |
adj.充满笑声的,欢闹的;[反]depressed | |
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51 figs | |
figures 数字,图形,外形 | |
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52 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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53 smack | |
vt.拍,打,掴;咂嘴;vi.含有…意味;n.拍 | |
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54 ozone | |
n.臭氧,新鲜空气 | |
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55 attic | |
n.顶楼,屋顶室 | |
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56 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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57 irrigable | |
可灌溉的 | |
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58 scarcity | |
n.缺乏,不足,萧条 | |
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59 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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60 discomforts | |
n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 );不愉快,苦恼 | |
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61 invalids | |
病人,残疾者( invalid的名词复数 ) | |
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62 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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63 quack | |
n.庸医;江湖医生;冒充内行的人;骗子 | |
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64 twilight | |
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期 | |
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65 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
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66 spicy | |
adj.加香料的;辛辣的,有风味的 | |
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67 pervade | |
v.弥漫,遍及,充满,渗透,漫延 | |
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