[Young Orchard, Palermo, Butte County]

In 1880 Carleton Watkins spent almost two weeks in Los Angeles, where he was transfixed by the process of water transforming a vacant landscape into bountiful fields. In this picture of a young orchard, the receding rows of saplings create a compelling geometric composition. After the financial collapse of 1873, Collis P. Huntington, one of the executives of the Southern Pacific Railroad, devised a plan to sell real estate along the railroad's right-of-way for agricultural purposes. Watkins's appealing photographs of successful orchards and farms contributed to the success of Huntington's plan.