eucalyptus trees. Beyond these also are palm-girt sidewalks twenty
feet in breadth; while, here and there, reflecting California's
golden sunshine from their glistening leaves, stand groups of the
magnificent magnolias which give the avenue its name.

"Why did you make this splendid promenade?" I asked in mingled
curiosity and admiration.

"It is one of our ways of booming things," was the reply; "out of the
hundreds of people who come to see it, some stay, build houses, and
go into business. Without it they might never have come at all."

"Was not the cost of laying it out enormous?" I inquired.

"Not so great as you would naturally suppose," was the answer, "for
after this country has once been irrigated, whatever is planted on
watered land will grow like interest, day and night, summer and
winter."

[Illustration: MAGNOLIA AVENUE, RIVERSIDE.]

[Illustration: A MAGNOLIA BLOSSOM.]

Riverside's fortunes were made in orange culture, and there was a
time when every one who planted orange trees was prosperous; but now,
under inevitable competition, this enterprise is rivaled in value by
other large industries, particularly the cultivation of lemons and
olives. Thousands of acres of olive orchards are now flourishing in
Southern California, and are considered a sure and profitable
investment.