152 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Any one of the varied resources of Humboldt would insure prosperity, 

 and all of them will give her an unprecedented development. The exhibits 

 include specimens of redwood lumber, showing the enormous size to which 

 those trees attain. One plank exhibited measures six feet and eight inches 

 in width, and another plank is eleven feet and three inches in diameter. 

 This was taken from the tree eighty-four feet from the base. There were 

 many specimens of polished redwood which demonstrate the beauty and 

 desirability of that material for house finishing. 



There are samples of mesquite grass more than eleven feet in height, 

 oats eight feet high, and timothy and red top grasses six feet high. The 

 exhibits of grain, fruit, and vegetables are of high excellence. The dis- 

 play of minerals is attractive, and give evidence that a large mining devel- 

 opment will follow the construction of railways to that county. Humboldt 

 County has the natural resources to become one of the richest and most 

 populous of the State] 



EL DORADO 



Is another county in the foothills, and a large portion of her area is situated 

 in the warm gold belt on the eastern slope of the Sierras. This was one of 

 the historic sections of the State in the gold era. Here a large portion of 

 the great stream of eager gold hunters first reached the gold placers as they 

 poured through the passes of the Sierra Nevada. Untold millions of gold 

 were taken from her hill sides, mountain sides, and ravines; and there are 

 still untold millions within her area, awaiting the miner. As rich as she 

 has been, and still is, in precious metals, the wealth of her orchards, vine- 

 yards, and gardens promises to be incomparably greater. Her area is one 

 million five hundred thousand acres, more than half of which is adapted 

 to some kind of tillage. The water system of the county is one of the 

 largest and best distributed on the coast. Every hill side and valley has 

 its springs of clear, cold water. Good well water is found everywhere at 

 moderate depths. The mountain sides are covered with great forests of pine, 

 spruce, and fir, and there are no portions of the county without the timber 

 for fuel for the settler. 



The soils are rich in fertile elements from the disintegration and wash- 

 ings of the great rock formations of the higher mountains. Land is very 

 cheap and its products have ample transportation facilities to market by 

 railroad. 



The climate is the same as in all that region on the western slope of the 

 Sierras. It justifies the name of templada, given to it by the early Spanish 

 explorers. It is the true golden mean between the extremes of heat and 

 cold. 



To an altitude of twenty-five hundred feet semi-tropic productions in per- 

 fection are found. Oranges are grown in and around Placerville, which 

 has an altitude of eighteen hundred feet. Figs, pomegranates, raisin grapes 

 (natives of the valley of the Nile), olives, and apricots, all semi-tropic prod- 

 ucts, flourish to that altitude. The exhibition of this county is a large 

 and attractive one. 



The mineral exhibits embrace rich gold quartz, slate from several quar- 

 ries now being worked, fine marble, chalk, copper, and iron ore. There are 

 hops, tobacco, cotton, hemp, and flax; peanuts, almonds, walnuts, figs, 

 olives, persimmons, oranges, and lemons; great quantities of peaches, 

 pears, plums, and prunes; wheat, barley, oats, and corn. The display of 

 large vegetables is extensive, and of great excellence. Everything that 

 grows in the temperate and semi-tropic zones seems to find a congenial 

 home in that county. Horticulture is still in its infancy, but enough devel- 



