quantities of fruits and vegetables; 7,425 pounds of butter, 4,070 of cheese, 156,650 of wool, and 7,500 of honey were produced. The county contained 7,694 horses, 287 mules, 70,152 sheep, 166 goats, 8,802 hogs, and 31,597 head of neat cattle.

This is an excellent section of country for sheep, swine and cattle raising. Owing to the heat of the climate in the summer, remoteness from market, etc., dairying is not extensively carried on-the most of the cattle raised being intended for the shambles. Wool growing, however, is increasing rapidly; while it is doubtful if swine can be raised and fattened in any other part of the State with the same facility as here. These animals being marked with the owner's brand, after the manner of sheep and cattle, are suffered to run at large in the tule swamps, where they not only grow, but soon become extremely fat, feeding on the roots of these plants and on fresh water mussels found in great quantities about the margin of the lake. Swine thus left, being thereafter little cared for, and rarely seeing human beings, soon become quite wild, making it necessary for the owner to shoot them when he wishes to secure the carcass. Cattle thrive in this region the year round without housing or fodder, being rarely ever pinched by hunger or suffering from cold.

Tulare contains two grist mills, carrying each two run of stone, and having a capacity to grind 130 barrels of flour daily; the one is driven by water, and the other by steam-their aggregate cost having been about $25,000. The flour ground in 1866 amounted to 10,250 barrels. There are three saw mills in the county, carrying five saws, and capable of cutting 20,000 feet of lumber per day.

The only mining carried on in Tulare consists of operations in quartz, the business being mostly confined to the vicinity of White river. There are four mills at this place, carrying in all twenty-five stamps, and costing in the aggregate $40,000. They have all been running with a good average degree of success; the lodes at this place, though not large or numerous, being compact, and carrying a good body of fair grade ore.

No water ditches have been constructed in the county except such as are designed for bringing water upon the land. Of this class, there are about fifty, all of limited capacity-the area of land irrigated amounting to 4,000 acres.

CHAPTER IV.

CLIMATE.

General Remarks--Temperature-Extremes of Heat and Cold-Winds-The Sea BreezeNorthers-Southeasters-Rains-Storms-Cloud and Mist-Snow and Hail-Thunder and Lightning-Relations of Climate to Agriculture and other Pursuits-Health, Domestic Economy, etc.

In this outline of the climate of California minute details and the scientific investigation of causes are avoided, and a practical view of the subject is presented to the reader, with especial relation to the capacities of the country, and the comforts and industries of the people.

T

The climate of California is too much varied to be considered as a whole. It might be regarded almost as a heterogeneous mixture of the tropical and the arctic. From the Capital city, under the noonday sun of the summer solstice, with a temperature of from 90 to 100°, exceeding the extreme summer heat of the Atlantic States, you will see the snows glistening on the Sierras at no great distance. And by taking the cars on the trans-continental railroad, a few hours of travel will transport you to an arctic landscape. On the other hand, embarking on the steamer for San Francisco, at two o'clock in the afternoon, and travelling in the opposite direction, before night you are shivering in the cold sea breeze which sweeps up the bay.

It is not necessary to journey so far in order to experience the same transition. You have only to cross any of the mountain walls which separate the ocean and bay from the interior, and which dam out the cold ocean atmosphere.

There are essentially two climates in California, the land climate and the sea climate. The latter derives its low temperature from the ocean, the water of which, along the coast, stands at from 52° to 54°, all the year round. The evenness of the ocean temperature is owing to a steady current from the north, which is accompanied also by winds in the same direction during the entire summer season, or rather from April to Octo

ber inclusive. Almost daily, during this period, a deluge of cold, damp air, of the same temperature as the ocean over which it has passed, is poured upon the land. It is mostly laden with mist, in dense clouds, which it deposits at the foot-hills and on the slopes of the highlands, or carries a short distance into the interior wherever there is a break in the land-wall.

The land climate is as nearly as possible the opposite in every respect. In summer and autumn it is hot and dry. It undergoes various modifications from the configuration of the surface of the earth. Even the mountains, which retain the snow till a late period, present a high temperature in the middle of the day; and the presence of snow on their summits in June is owing to the great mass which has accumulated on them, rather than to cold weather.

A large district of territory lies between the jurisdiction of the two climates, and subject to their joint influence. It is composed chiefly of valleys surrounding the bay of San Francisco, and penetrating into the interior in every direction. There is no climate in the world more delightful than these valleys enjoy, and no territory more productive: Whilst the ocean prevents the contiguous land from being scorched in summer, it also prevents it from being frozen in winter. Hence, ice and snow are not common in the ocean climate. The difference in temperature is comparatively slight between summer and winter.

The cold of winter in the interior is not intense, even on mountain elevations, with the exception of the tier of counties in the extreme north. Its degree depends much, however, on the altitude of the locality. The severity of winter is due, not to extreme cold, in any part of California, but to violent and prolonged snow storms in one section, and cold and prolonged rains in others.

It is interesting to cast the eye over the map of the State, and trace out climatic modifications as governed by topography. First, look at the long range of coast, the slope of which, as far back as the first mountain wall, is under the control of the ocean, and has the most uniform of climates. It is a narrow strip of territory, the only part of the State preserved from desiccation in summer by daily showers of mist, and, therefore, admirably adapted to dairy purposes. Then survey the counties bordering on the great bay-Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo, borrowing one half their climate from the ocean and the other half from the interior; inexhaustible in agricultural resources, and forming the granary of the Pacific. The Pajaro and some other valleys farther south, to which the sea winds gain access, belong to the same system; and those also

of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, although in a lesser degree, being farther removed from the ocean. Then regard the mountain region, with its countless little valleys, buried up with snow in winter, bursting forth into a paradise with the spring, and converted into furnaces by the summer's sun, and yet luxuriant with all kinds of delicious fruits. In this section are concentrated the mining interests. Finally, view the southern section, embracing one fourth of the State, removed alike from both extremes which operate in the north, controlled neither by mountain nor ocean, and enjoying the most genial temperature-a section of country wanting only in the certainty of winter rains to make it an Eden.

After these general remarks, let us proceed to a more definite view of the subject, taking the climate of San Francisco as a stand-point and basis of comparison. This is proper, not only because the metropolis is the center of population, containing one fourth the inhabitants of the State, but because its climate is a type of that of the coast and bay regions. We will first consider the temperature.

TEMPERATURE-EXTREMES OF HEAT AND COLD.

The record of the climate of San Francisco, as kept by Dr. Henry Gibbons, extending from the autumn of 1850 to January, 1868, a period of seventeen years, shows the coldest weather during that time to have occurred in January, 1854, when the mercury fell as low as 25°. The coldest noonday for the same period was 37°. Persons who do not rise early may see no ice in that city for several years in succession. When it is cold enough to preserve ice in the shade all day the circumstance is noted as a phenomenon. It is not uncommon for the entire winter to pass away without bringing the thermometer down so low as the point of freezing. In the year 1853 it fell at no time lower than 40°, or eight degrees above the freezing point.

The extreme of heat in the same period occurred on September 10th and 11th, 1852, when the thermometer reached 97° and 98° on the two days respectively. This, however, was entirely exceptional, and might not again occur in half a century. The air was dry as a sirocco, and had a curious effect on the wood-work of houses, causing a constant crackling noise, from the shrinking of the timber, and the plaster breaking on the wooden partitions. In a locality somewhat exposed to reflected heat from the sun, and where the temperature was 100°, a thermometer with a wet bulb fell to 680-the evaporation reducing it thirty-two degrees.

With the exception just noted, the hottest day in the seventeen years was on the 6th of July, 1867, when the thermometer stood at 93°. In October, 1864, and in September, 1865, it reached 91°; and in July, 1855, it rose once to 90°. Thus, it appears there were but six days in seventeen years when the temperature was as high as 90°, and only two of these six days were in the summer months.

The absence of warm weather in the summer months is characteristic of the coast climate and strikes a stranger forcibly. The most ordinary programme of this climate for the year is as follows, beginning with the rainy season: The first decided rains are in November or December, when the country, after having been parched with drought, puts on the garb of spring. In January the rains abate and vegetation advances slowly, with occasional slight frosts. February is spring-like, with but little rain. March and April are pleasant and showery, with an occasional hot day. In May the sea breeze begins, but does not give much annoyance. In June, just as warm weather is about to set in, the sea breeze comes daily, and keeps down the temperature. It continues through July and August, occasionally holding up for a day or two, and permitting the sun to heat the air to the sweating point. In September the sea wind moderates and there is a slight taste of summer, which is prolonged into the next month. The pleasant weather often lingers in the lap of winter, and is interrupted only by the rains of November or December.

By running the eye over the following table, a general idea can be gained of the coast climate as regards temperature. The first column represents the average temperature of each month at sunrise, for seventeen years; the second, at noon; and the third, is the mean of the other two.