Coal has been discovered about seven miles from Watsonville, on the Santa Cruz road, near the Seven Mile house, and at Lewis' valley, in the eastern portion of the county. There has been but little effort made to develope these discoveries.

Lime is one of the staple products of this county. More than one third of all the lime used at San Francisco-about 220,000 barrels, annually—is brought from Santa Cruz, where it is made from a large body of highly crystalline limestone found about two miles north-east of the town.

Gold, in both quartz veins and alluvium, has been discovered in several places in this county. In 1854, a boulder of auriferous quartz was found on Graham's ranch, which contained nearly $27,000 in gold. Quite an extensive mining district was located in the vicinity of this discovery, and small quantities of gold and silver were obtained from both quartz ledges and placers; but mining not paying as well as other pursuits, it was abandoned.

In 1863, some excitement was created by the discovery of gold in the sand on the beach of Monterey bay, between Aptos landing and the Pajaro river. This gold was in exceedingly fine scales, somewhat similar to that found nearly four hundred miles further north at Gold Bluff, in Klamath county. Being difficult to save, and not yielding much to the pan, it did not pay to work. Gold has also been found in nearly all the gulches in the vicinity of the town of Santa Cruz.

The sand along the coast in this county, formed by the erosion of the peculiar, white granite, so abundant in the vicinity of the bay, is remarkably well adapted for the manufacture of glass. Large quantities are collected and shipped to San Francisco, for this purpose. About eight miles north from the town of Santa Cruz, at the base of the Gavilan mountains, is an immense deposit of this white sand, which may be of considerable value when the manufacture of glass shall be more extensive in the State than at present. This sand contains a large proportion of glassy feldspar, in the composition of which there is upwards of twelve per cent. of soda-an important ingredient in the manufacture of glass.

The soil of the valleys of this county is very well adapted for the cultivation of leguminous plants, and a large proportion of the beans. raised in the State is the product of these valleys. Flax also grows with great luxuriance. The table lands, where not cultivated, produce enormous crops of wild mustard, the seed of which is so much superior to that raised further south or north, that it sells for more than any other kind.

The crops in this county have never failed through drought. Its peculiar topography attracts so much fog and dew as to sustain vegetation in the absence of rain.

There are eight grist mills in this county, which made, in 1867, 28,000 barrels of flour; twenty-two lumber mills-twelve steam, and ten driven by water-capable of sawing 11,000,000 feet per annum; also, nine shingle mills, which make over 12,000,000 shingles, annually. Among other important manufactures are gunpowder and paper. The California Powder Works-the pioneer powder mill in the State-was incorporated in December, 1861, and commenced the manufacture of powder in May, 1864, with a capacity of two hundred and fifty kegs per day. In May, 1867, its capacity was increased to over six hundred and forty kegs per day, chiefly blasting powder, and during the nine months ending December 31st, of that year, 158,500 kegs, containing twenty-five pounds each, were manufactured.

The San Lorenzo Paper mill made, in 1866, thirty-one thousand reams of straw paper, from straw grown in the vicinity, and about six thousand five hundred reams of newspaper. Owing to the flood of 1866-67, operations were suspended from January to June of the latter year. During the seven months ending December 31st, 1867, over thirty thousand reams of wrapping paper were made.

The manufactures of this county derived an important advantage from the great earthquake of 1865. That shaking increased the waters of all the creeks and rivers to nearly double their previous volume, during the dry season.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY.

This county is bounded on the north by Alameda and San Mateo counties, on the south by Monterey, on the east by Stanislaus, and on the west by Santa Cruz county. It is about thirty-five miles in length by thirty miles in average width, and contains over 1,050 square miles, or nearly 700,000 acres, of which about 300,000 acres are valley-the balance is low grassy hills, or heavily timbered mountains. The greater portion of this land is enclosed-large tracts in the mountains being fenced for their timber; about 300,000 acres are under actual cultivation, this being one of the most important agricultural counties in the State.

The increase in the assessed value of real estate in the county during the year 1866 exceeded $850,000, and from the large number of new settlers and the additional land under cultivation during the past year, the increased valuation for the year 1867 will probably reach $1,000,000

above that of 1866, making the aggregate assessed value of the real property amount to $6,000,000. This is far below the actual value. It contains a population of twenty-three thousand, of whom seven thousand are under fifteen years of age. The county derives its name from the old Mission of Santa Clara, founded in 1777. The present mission buildings were not erected until 1822, and these are not on the site of the original mission. Two previous structures were destroyed, one by a flood in 1779, the other by an earthquake in 1781.

Santa Clara county is not well watered naturally. So large a portion of it being in the great valley, it has but few streams. The Guadalupe and Coyote creeks are the only water courses of any importance within its limits. These have their sources in the southern part of the county, and, after flowing some twenty miles among the mountains on the east, approach San José, and then empty into San Francisco bay, near Alviso. An abundant supply of water is obtained by means of artesian wells, of which there are nearly one thousand in the valley-its geological formation being exceedingly favorable for boring. All the orchards and gardens about San José and Santa Clara are watered by this means. In 1856, one of these wells, in the vicinity of San José, was bored to the depth of three hundred and twenty-five feet, when the water rose in a solid stream, through a seven inch pipe, to the height of thirty-two feet above the surface. The great increase in the number of wells since that time has materially lessened the flow, and but few of them now force the water above the surface. Prior to 1860, the mammoth fountains these wells formed in nearly every garden and farm were among the attractions of San José. The flow of water was so great that ditches had to be cut to carry off the surplus. Few of the wells are more than one hundred feet deep.

The broad valley of Santa Clara, at the southern extremity of San Francisco bay, twenty miles wide, and extending upwards of thirty miles southward, is charmingly undulated with gently rounded hills, and beautifully diversified with clumps of oak and numberless farms, gardens, cottages, towns, and villages.

The peculiar geographical position of this county, in a broad valley nearly surrounded by mountains, causes it to enjoy an equable climate; but it is from ten to fifteen degrees warmer than that of San Francisco, being comparatively free from the cold winds and fogs which prevail nearer the coast. The greater portion of the soil on the lower plains is a rich black, sandless loam, called "adobe," which yields from twenty-five to thirty bushels of wheat to the acre. Many fields have been planted with grain for ten consecutive years without manuring—

the last crop being the heaviest. This is particularly the case on what is known as Stockton's ranch, a large tract of land on the east side of the valley, purchased by Commodore Stockton in 1847. There are other sections where the land thus continually "cropped" with wheat, on which the yield is much lighter than formerly. Some of the new land yields as high as seventy-five bushels of wheat to the acre. The wheat raised in the eastern portion of the valley, where the soil is somewhat gravelly, sells for the highest price in the San Francisco market, and makes the finest flour.

Along Los Gatos creek, about a mile from San José, there is a tract of rich bottom land which, a few years since, was covered with willows, but now contains about thirty acres of hops, which it produces luxuriantly. The crop at this place, for 1867, was estimated at thirtyfive thousand pounds. About the town of Santa Clara-the highest land in the valley-the soil is lighter and more sandy; similar land extends beyond Gilroy, thirty miles south of San José, but it is not generally cultivated, as it does not prove remunerative to haul produce to market by teams from that point. When the railroad to Watsonville is constructed, many thousands of acres in this district will be cultivated, which are now used for grazing. One reason why much of the hill and mountain land on the west side of Santa Clara valley, about Gilroy, and south of that place, is retained for grazing purposes, is, that being within the range of the fogs from the ocean, the grass is green, and affords good pasturage during the summer. Every year, large numbers of stock are driven from some of the southern and interior counties to be fed on the fresh pasturage of these hills. So valuable are some of these lands for this purpose, that their owners hold them at higher prices than the grain lands of the valleys.

The high lands bounding the valley on the east and west are admirably adapted for the cultivation of the grape, to which large tracts have been applied. The soil of these hills is a dark brown, sandy loam, quite unlike that of the valley. The common California grape, which does not ripen until September in other localities, on the hills southeast of San José, ripens in July and August. The highest ridges of the mountains are in many places densely timbered, affording a supply of good lumber and fuel. The slopes around the edge of the valley are covered with wild oats and native grasses, and afford excellent pasturage for large herds of cows. The butter and cheese made about Gilroy are famous for their richness. There are very few cattle raised in the county, it being so generally under cultivation with grain and fruit.

From San Jose to Gilroy, a distance of nearly thirty miles, the valley in the summer forms an almost unbroken wheat field. In May, June, and July, when the grain is ripening, the view of this portion of the valley is a marvel of beauty. The farmer's houses, surrounded by gardens and orchards, appear like beautiful green islands in a golden sea. A month later, the whole scene is changed; the waving grain has all been cut, and huge stacks of yellow straw and dingy grain bags are piled up in all directions, the latter waiting to be hauled to market. In the spring it presents still another aspect, when the young grain is just peeping above the black soil, and the purple and white blossoms of the apricot and peach form a striking contrast in color with the hazy neutral tint of the distant mountains.

The great extent of level land in this valley admits of the use of all descriptions of agricultural machinery; the consequence is that nearly all the work on the large farms is performed with almost incredible rapidity. A thousand acres are sometimes plowed, seeded, and cut in less time than is required on farms of one hundred acres in many parts of Europe. This advantage, together with the much larger yield per acre, compensates for the higher price of land, labor and material. Large tracts of this valley produce volunteer crops, which are cut for hay, yielding generally about two tons per acre.

There are about forty steam threshing machines, and a large number run by horse-power, in this county; also, ten first-class grist-mills capable of turning out 1,600 barrels of flour daily; and ten saw-mills, with power adequate to cut 70,000 feet of lumber per day. There are seven tanneries-three at San José, three at Santa Clara, and one near McCartysville-which, in the aggregate, make from 12,000 to 13,000 sides of leather annually.

San José, the county seat, is situated near the Guadalupe river, about nine miles from the head of San Francisco bay, fifty miles from the city of San Francisco. It is an old Spanish pueblo, founded in 1777, the first founded by that government in this State, but presents none of the features of such an origin except a few adobe houses on the plaza, and the row of willows which form the alameda between it and Santa Clara, two miles distant. This unique grove, one of the finest drives in the State, was planted by the missionaries, in 1799, ast a walk to connect the pueblo of San José with the mission church, near where it now stands, at Santa Clara. San José is the center of an important agricultural district, the development of the resources of which has been greatly augmented by the construction of the San Francisco and San José railroad, completed in 1863. Nearly one half of its prin