These memoirs include Theodore Payne's "Life on the Modjeska Ranch in the Gay Nineties" (long out of print) plus other memoirs never before published. Payne (1872-1963) was a lifelong horticulturist who pioneered in the preservation of California native plants. The book gives an enthralling view of Southern California lands and people from the 1890s to the 1940s. It is the only book by or about Theodore Payne now available.