ities, discharges continuously about three inches of water of a nearly uniform temperature of 110° Fahrenheit, at all seasons. This water contains in solution, iron, soda, magnesia, sulphur and baryta, and a large quantity of it is bottled and sold in San Francisco. It is by no means unpleasant, but pungent to the taste. Within fifteen feet of this hot spring there are a dozen or more large springs of pure, cold water. The beauty of the surrounding scenery, and the curative qualities of the waters, have caused the erection of a fine hotel on the edge of the cañon, to reach which a good road has been made from Gilroy.

Lexington, twelve miles southwest from San José, is situated in a gap in the Sierra Azul, as the Santa Cruz mountains are here called, in a beautiful amphitheater of densely timbered mountains nearly two thousand feet high, that surround it on all sides. There are extensive tracts of good farming and grazing lands in these mountains. In the plateaus formed by the rising of the land, the grape, apple, peach and other fruits, as well as all the cereals, grow remarkably well. There are a number of good orchards, and upwards of one thousand acres of cultivated land in this district, which invariably produce fine crops. Six of the largest lumber mills in the county are located here. Los Gatos creek, passing through it, furnishes abundant water power. This is also one of the most noted sections of the State for split lumber, such as posts, rails, and pickets. The timber here splits with a peculiar smoothness and straightness. Upwards of one million feet of this description of lumber are annually shipped from Lexington.

McCartysville, ten miles southwest from San José, is situated at the foot of the Coast Range, in a pleasant valley nearly surrounded by mountains, some of which are more than three thousand feet high, from which flows Campbell's creek, a considerable stream of water, giving adequate water powerfor a number of lumber and grist mills located on it -lumber and grain being staple products of the district. Farming, stock raising, and the cultivation of fruit, are also carried on successfully. The remarkable increase in the supply of water in the San Lorenzo river, after the earthquake of 1865, referred to in the topography of Santa Cruz county, extended to this place, which is nearly twenty miles north from that river. The water in Campbell's creek was doubled in volume, greatly to the advantage of the millers and lumber

men.

One mile above, and northwest of McCartysville, on Campbell's creek, are situated the Pacific Congress springs, so called because of the resemblance of the waters to those of Congress spring, one of the fountains at Saratoga, New York. There are at this place three of

these springs, the two lower but four feet apart, the third being separated from them by a space of about fifty feet. They are but a foot or two deep, being excavated from the sandstone, the lower one, which receives the drainage of the others, sending off a stream about two inches in size. The water from these several springs is so nearly alike that the difference can scarcely be perceived by the taste. By analysis it is shown to contain 335.85 grains of solid matter to the gallon, composed as follows:

It is considered a healthful and refreshing beverage, and though but recently introduced, is fast gaining favor with the public, about eighty dozen bottles being sent away daily, besides considerable quantities consumed by guests visiting the springs. The gas is collected in a receiver placed over the principal fountain of the group, whence it is conducted through a pipe and forced into the bottles.

Alviso, the shipping port of Santa Clara county, is located at the junction of the Alviso slough and the Guadalupe river, about three miles from the bay of San Francisco, and eight miles north of San José. There are good wharves at this place for the accommodation of shipping, and a number of flour mills, granaries, and stores. The Alviso brand of flour is one of the best in the State.

New Almaden is situated about thirteen miles southerly from San José, on the Alamitos creek, in a narrow glen, nearly five hundred feet above tide level, between high ranges of mountains, Mount Chisnantuck, the culminating peak on one side being nearly one thousand eight hundred feet high, and Mount Umauhum, on the other, nearly one thousand five hundred feet in height. This place was located in 1845, by Don Andres Castillero, the original discoverer of the New Almaden quicksilver mines, which are situated in the mountains on the southwest of the town, and nearly nine hundred feet above it; but the deposits of cinnabar extend for several miles along the range. The town of New Almaden contains about one thousand eight hundred inhabitants, nearly all of whom are either employed about the mines and works, or in ministering to the wants of those who are.

The Enriquita mine is two miles northwest from the Almaden, and the Guadalupe two miles still further north. The details pertaining to

these mines are given in another chapter, devoted to the subject of "Quicksilver."

Another town connected with a quicksilver mine has sprung up within the past year, about three and a half miles south from San José, on Chapman's ranch. The developments in the Bautista mine, located here, are such as to warrant the belief that the discovery is of some importance. Furnaces, several stores, and private residences have been built at this place within a few months.

There are excellent roads throughout the county, mainly connected with San José, but more are needed for the proper development of its

resources.

In addition to the important deposits of cinnabar in this county, it also contains several veins of copper ore, which have been worked to some extent. Petroleum and asphaltum are abundant in the range of mountains between Gilroy and Watsonville, particularly on Sargent's ranch, and in Moody's gulch, near Lexington, at a point one thousand one hundred feet above the sea. A number of wells were sunk here in 1865, and small quantities of oil were obtained.

SAN MATEO COUNTY.

This county embraces nearly the whole of the peninsula of San Francisco, which separates the bay from the Pacific ocean. It is over thirty miles in length, six miles wide on the north where it joins the county of San Francisco; nearly sixteen miles wide in its center, and ten miles wide on the south, adjoining Santa Cruz county. It was organized in 1856, when it was separated from San Francisco, to which county it formerly belonged. It contains 154,980 acres, 140,000 of which are enclosed, 62,000 being under cultivation. A branch of the Gavilan, or Santa Cruz mountains, here called the Sierra Moreno, traverses it from north to south, reaching an altitude in some places, of 3,000 feet, averaging about 1,500 feet, forming two slopes, the eastern one shedding its waters into the bay of San Francisco, and the western into the Pacific ocean. These mountains, in the southern part of the county, are steep and rugged, but covered with redwood and oak.

A bench, from two to five miles wide, which skirts the bay of San Francisco, and another about a mile wide and ten miles long, near Half Moon bay, caused by the uplifting of the land, are among the most valuable portions of the county, for agricultural purposes. This land is exceedingly fertile, and produces fine crops of the cereals, but small tracts in the mountains, and many charming little valleys among

them, are also under cultivation, in which grow luxuriantly, fruits, vegetables and grain. Much of the mountain land is also used for grazing purposes; many large herds of cows are kept here, which supply some of the best milk consumed in San Francisco.

The excellence of the climate, which is milder and less humid than that of San Francisco, and the accessibility of that city, have caused this county to be thickly settled for homestead purposes. Here a large number of the wealthy citizens of the metropolis have erected private residences, around which, all that money, taste, and skill, can accomplish in the way of adding to the natural beauty of the scenery, has been done. Few counties in the State contain a greater number of elegant private mansions and gardens, than San Mateo. The San Francisco and San José railroad, passing through it for nearly twenty miles, has greatly tended to increase the number of this class of residents, and materially aided in developing the resources of the county.

Its population, at the close of 1867, numbered 6,000; in 1863, it contained only 3,250. The value of its real estate and productions, has increased in a still greater proportion since the completion of the railroad.

San Mateo is one of the dairy counties of California, much attention being paid to this business. The facilities for feeding the stock; the heavy fogs from the ocean condensing on the slopes of the hills, keeping the pasturage green for months after the grass is withered in the valleys, and the convenience to San Francisco, afford many advantages to dairymen. There are fifteen dairies in this county, which, collectively, have five thousand cows.

The county contains two water, and three steam saw-mills, of sufficient power to saw 35,000 feet of lumber daily; three shingle-mills, with capacity for cutting 75,000 per day; and two grist-mills, capable of making 200 barrels of flour daily. Its chief resources are grain and lumber.

Redwood city, the county seat, about twenty-eight miles south from San Francisco, is situated on the edge of a broad plain, extending from an estuary of the bay of San Francisco, through which passes Redwood creek, navigable a short distance for schooners, drawing seven feet of water. This plain is but little above the level of high tide, large patches of it being a salt marsh. It gradually rises as it approaches the mountains, most of it being under cultivation. The city, which was founded in 1851, contains many good stores and private, as well as public, buildings; several churches and schools, and about eight hundred inhabitants. It is the chief shipping place for the

county; considerable quantities of redwood, lumber, firewood, grain, flour, fruit and vegetables, milk, butter, cheese, and other produce, are sent from here to the San Francisco market.

Half Moon bay, about twenty miles north-west from Redwood city, on the opposite side of the peninsula, is the shipping port for that portion of the county.

There are several other towns and villages in this county, the chief employment of the inhabitants of which is farming and lumbering.

The Cañada del Reymundo, situated nearly in the center of the county, enclosed between lofty mountains, is one of the most beautiful places in the coast-range-about six miles in length, by about two miles wide, the surrounding mountains covered nearly to their summits with live oak, madroña, bay, laurel, maple and young redwood; the lower hills with buckeye, elder, willow, and alder; every level spot a grain field, garden, orchard, or grassy meadow, with cottages peeping out of nooks and corners; while the running water from numerous springs, and the music of swarms of birds that nestle in the thick underbrush, all combine to form a scene so secluded and peculiarly rural, that it is not possible to conceive anything more in contrast with the dust and turmoil of San Francisco, only two hours' ride distant. The whole of this charming glen was included in a grant made by the Mexican Government, to John Coppinger, one of the early settlers; but it has since been subdivided among a number of persons, and now forms one of the most important farming and stock-raising districts in the county.

San Andreas valley, near the headwaters of the San Mateo creek, which gives name to the county, is a similar, but somewhat smaller valley.

Crystal Springs, where a number of springs of clear, cold water break through the rocks in a beautiful cañon, is one of the resorts of the people of San Francisco. The roads are good, and the scenery fine in the vicinity.

The greater portion of the water used for domestic purposes in San Francisco, is obtained from Pillarcitos creek, in this county, whence it is conveyed by means of iron pipes a distance of twenty miles. The Spring Valley Water company have constructed extensive works in the Pillarcitos cañon for the purpose of collecting and distributing this water. Their dam has formed a beautiful lake, two miles in length by about one thousand feet in average width, which is surrounded by precipitous hills, combining to make it one of the most attractive spots within so convenient a distance from San Francisco. This dam crosses