STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



151 



HUMBOLDT COUNTY. 



The exhibit of Humboldt represented many important and varied in- 

 dustries. The making of such an extensive exhibition from so remote a 

 section, with no direct connection by rail, evinces great public spirit and 

 enterprise on the part of the people of that county. 



Humboldt is a coast county, and is one of the largest in the State, hav- 

 ing an area of two and one quarter million acres. It has an ocean front 

 of more than one hundred miles, with the best harbor in the State north of 

 San Francisco. The area of this county is composed of the western slope 

 of the Coast Range, which rises there to an altitude of eight thousand feet. 

 Although it is situated wholly north of the fortieth parallel of latitude, all 

 the sea level portion has a mild, winterless climate. The mean tempera- 

 ture of the winter months is forty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, which is fully 

 as mild as that of Naples, the sanitarium of Southern Europe. The annual 

 rainfall is nearly thirty-five inches, and the rainy season is longer than in 

 the interior counties. The advantages of this longer rainy period and 

 greater rainfall are obvious. The agriculturist is less dependent upon 

 irrigation, and the average crop rate is not only large, but there are fewer 

 crop failures. 



The water system of this county is large and well distributed. The 

 area drained by her rivers and creeks is larger than some of the smaller 

 States of the Union. 



The forest belts of this county are among the most noted and extensive 

 of this coast. There are four hundred and seventy thousand acres of red- 

 wood timber land, four hundred thousand acres of pine, spruce, and fir, 

 two hundred thousand acres of oak, madrone, laurel, and other tree growths; 

 there are four hundred and fifty thousand acres of lands adapted to the 

 plow, and five hundred thousand acres of grazing lands. The lumber 

 interests have already assumed immense proportions. There are several 

 large mills, employing many men and teams, and there is quite a fleet of 

 shipping engaged in the transportation of lumber to market. The annual 

 output of lumber from the mills of this county is more than one hundred 

 million feet. In connection with the sawmills there are large planing 

 mills, door, sash, and blind factories. 



The grazing iiiterests of the county are extensive, the principal prod- 

 ucts being beef, mutton, wool, butter, and cheese. The heavy rainfall, the 

 length of the rainy season, and the humidity of the atmosphere from the 

 nearness of the pastures to the ocean, give an abundance of green grass. 



The figures of the dairy products are not available, but they are large. 

 When the railways, now in course of construction, are completed, Hum- 

 boldt County will attract a large immigration. There is no other section 

 of this coast with more varied resources. Lumbering, grain, vegetable, 

 and fruit growing, cattle, horse, and sheep raising, and dairying, are pro- 

 ductions that will attract the coming settler. The commerce of that 

 county has already assumed large proportions, as will be seen by the fol- 

 lowing list of arrivals and departures for twelve months at Eureka, the 

 county seat of the county: 



Arrivals. 



Steamers 148 



Barks-... -- 8 



Barkentines 16 



Brigs ft 



Schooners 494 



Departures. 



Steamers 141 



Barks.. --- 10 



Barkentines 17 



Brigs 4 



Schooners 502 



