of the residents.  There has never been a boom in Fresno, but a high railroad official recently, in speaking of the growth of the city, said:  “Fresno in five years will be the second city in California.”  This prediction he based on the wonderful expansion of its resources in the last decade and the substantial character of all the improvements made.  It is a pretty town, with wide, well-paved streets, handsome modern business blocks, and residence avenues that would do credit to any old-settled town of the East.  The favorite shade tree is the umbrella tree, which has the graceful, rounded form of the horse chestnut, but with so thick a foliage that its shadow is not dappled with sunlight.  Above it is an intensely dark green, while viewed from below it is the most delicate shade of pea green.  Rivaling this in popularity is the pepper tree, also an evergreen, and the magnolia, fan palm, eucalyptus, or Australian blue gum, and the poplar.  All these trees grow luxuriantly.  It has also become the custom in planting a vineyard to put a row of the white Adriatic fig trees around the place, and to mark off ten or twenty acre tracts in the same way.  The dark green foliage of the fig is a great relief to the eye when the sun beats down on the sandy soil.  Leading out of Fresno are five driveways.  The soil makes a natural macadam, which dries in a few hours.  Throughout the year these roads are in good condition for trotting, and nearly every raisin grower is also an expert in horseflesh, and has a team that will do a mile in less than 2:30.  The new race course is one of the finest in the State.  Toward the west from Fresno has recently been opened a magnificent driveway, which promises in a few years to rival the Magnolia ave. of Riverside.  This is called Chateau Fresno ave.  It has two driveways separated by fan palms and magnolias, while along the outer borders are the same trees with other choice tropical growths, that will one day make this avenue well worth traveling many miles to see.  This is the private enterprise of Mr. Theodore Kearney, who made a fortune in real estate, and it is noteworthy as an illustration of the large way in which the rich Californian goes about any work in which he takes an interest.  Probably the finest avenue in Fresno is the poplar-lined main driveway through the Barton vineyard.  It is a mile in length, and the trees, fully fifty feet high, stand so thickly together that when in full leaf they form a solid wall of green.  The vineyard, which is a mile square, is also surrounded by a single row of these superb poplars.

A visit to one of the great raisin vineyards near Fresno is a revelation in regard to the system that is necessary in handling large quantities of grapes.  The largest raisin vineyard in the State, if not in the world, is that of A.B.  Butler.  It comprises 640 acres, of which a trifle over 600 acres is planted to the best raisin grapes.  Butler was a Texas cowboy, and came to Fresno with very little capital.