upon the nerves, and for two days I felt as though I needed absolute
rest, but, remembering that I had already been long absent from my
office, I commenced my work at Merced the next morning. The town of
Merced is the capital of the county of that name; it is not many years
old, but it has a striking difference to many new small towns I have
seen in the Colonies, in that it has several very good buildings and
residences. It has seven churches and chapels of various denominations,
some good shops, medical men, society, schools, gas, water, electricity,
and a station on the main Great Southern Pacific Railway. It is
undoubtedly a town which must rapidly increase in value, for this
reason: My clients, Messrs. Crocker and Huffman, at a cost of some two
million dollars, have tapped the Great Merced River 25 miles off, and
brought water down to the town and irrigated the country round. They
have formed a reservoir 640 acres in extent. Hitherto the rich lands
around the town of Merced have not been irrigated, and consequently were
not suitable for growing the Fruits for which California is so famous;
but, now that a system of canals, formed by my clients, has irrigated
their estate, extending over some 50,000 or 60,000 acres, the whole of
this great area is changed in value, and is available, and will
eventually be used, for the production of choice Fruits. Thus, Merced
will become a centre, like other parts of California, and, being so much
nearer than those other parts to San Francisco, will benefit
additionally by that advantage alone. Merced is only 152 miles from San
Francisco, while Fresno is 207, Bakersfield 314, and Los Angeles, 483
miles. It is rumoured that another line of railway will also be formed
in connection with the present main line, and Merced would then be an
important railway junction. I drove out every day with Mr. Huffman, and
inspected the country for some miles around the town, including the
Merced River, 25 miles off. The land designated British Colony, is, at
its commencement, only two miles from the Merced Railway Station, hotel,