Page:The Tourist's California by Wood, Ruth Kedzie.djvu/267

 FRESNO, TULARE, INYO AND KERN 223 tract of 200 acres which was once arid desert, and which by the genius and faith of Theodore Kear- ney, a successful raisin grower, became an exotic garden. The University of California fell heir to this Fresno Eden which is now conducted as an experiment farm. The City of the Ash Tree came into being in 1872. The Central Pacific then had so much dif- ficulty in selling its lots that a plan was contrived whereby purchasers were allowed to acquire them " on trial." If the land proved satisfactory, the price was paid. Buyers could not be tempted by other means to invest, and sales were slow even then. Forty years have elapsed. . . . Fresno real estate is no longer sold on approval. Fresno -Los Angeles, 278 m. Time, 9 hrs. by midnight express. En Route to Kings River Canyon. The Kings River, from whose flood many farms and orchards draw their irrigating supply, is one of the main benefactors of this section of mid- California. Scenically, the canyon of the South Fork is compared to the Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy Valleys. The Kings River gorge lies higher and excels in its vistas of surrounding mountains, while Yosemite is pre-eminent in foli- age, falls and meadows. The scenery about Bull-