. A complete geography. Fig. oranges near Los Angeles, Thousands of persons from the East were originally attracted tosouthern California by the mild climate; but seeing the opportunity THE WESTERN STATES 163 for fruit raising, they started orange groves. As a result of this, Los Angeles has rapidly grown to a city of more than a hundred thousand inhabitants (Fig. 172)^ while nearby are numerous smaller cities. Land that a few years ago was almost a desert, and worth at best only a few dollars an acre, now supports flourishing groves of fruit. So important is irrigation thatit is b
. A complete geography. Fig. oranges near Los Angeles, Thousands of persons from the East were originally attracted tosouthern California by the mild climate; but seeing the opportunity THE WESTERN STATES 163 for fruit raising, they started orange groves. As a result of this, Los Angeles has rapidly grown to a city of more than a hundred thousand inhabitants (Fig. 172)^ while nearby are numerous smaller cities. Land that a few years ago was almost a desert, and worth at best only a few dollars an acre, now supports flourishing groves of fruit. So important is irrigation thatit is being introduced wherever pos-sible ; and every year new irriga-tion systems are being built, someof them at great expense. One ofthe future problems of the Westis how to store the water of themelting snows until needed by thesummer crops. Ranching. — There is so little rainfall in the arid West that only apart of the land can be irrigated. This leaves most of the country. Fig. 161. Raisins drying between the rows of grapevines in a California vineyard. ?^Tf^.^::^-^. ?t.^W:n y^-^^. Fig. herd of sheep in winter, feeding in a field of alfalfa near Billings, Montana. suited only to grazing; and wherever there is water enough forthe animals to drink, cattle, horse, and sheep ranches are found. Insome parts, especially where the grass is scanty, herds of goats are raised. 164 NOBTR AMEBIC A The manner in which a cattle ranch in Dakota is conducted wasdescribed on page 128, and much the same plan is followed for cattleand horses in the Western States. Sheep ranching is conductedsomewhat differently, as can be seen from the ranches about Bill-ings, Montana. A good-sized ranch has from twenty-five thousandto forty thousand head of sheep, which, like cattle, may be fed partlyupon the government land, or the range, and partly on land fencedin and OAvned by the ranchman. During the coldest winter weatherthe sheep are in many cases driven into protected c
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