STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 249 



is not a drop beyond the necessities of agriculture, and even in the seasons 

 of most rain, much pleasant weather is interspersed. If the winter be not 

 extraordinary, it is generally regarded as the most pleasant season of the 

 year. In the intervals of rain, it is bright, sunny, and calm. It is spring 

 rather than winter. The grass starts as soon as the soil is wet. At Christ- 

 mas, nature wears her green uniform almost throughout the entire State, 

 and in February and March, it is set with floral jewels. The blossoms 

 increase in variety and profusion until April, when they are so abundant 

 in many places as to show distinctly the yellow carpeting on hills five miles 

 distant. 



In the Atlantic States the storms of approaching winter put a stop to 

 the labors of the farm and force both man and beast into winter quarters. 

 In California it is just the reverse. The husbandman watches the skies 

 with impatient hope, and as soon as the rains of November and December 

 have softened the soil, every plow is put in requisition. Nothing short of 

 excess or deficiency of rain interferes with winter farming. The planting 

 season continues late, extending from November to April, giving an aver- 

 age of nearly six months for plowing and sowing, during which the 

 weather is not likely to interfere with outdoor work more than in the six 

 spring and summer months of the Eastern States. Owing to the absence 

 of rain harvesting is conducted, which would confuse the ideas of an At- 

 lantic farmer. There are no showers or thunder gusts to throw down the 

 grain, or wet the hay, or impede the reaper. The hay dries in the swath 

 without turning. The grain remains standing in the field awaiting the 

 reaping machine, it may be, for a month after it is ready to cut — and so it 

 remains when cut, awaiting the thrasher. When thrashed and sacked, 

 the sacks are sometimes piled up in the fields a long time before removal. 

 In September or October the great grain-growing valleys may often be seen 

 dotted over with cords of grain in sacks, as secure from danger from the 

 weather as if securely housed. Owing to the absence of severe frosts, the 

 gardens around San Francisco supply fresh vegetables all through the 

 winter. New potatoes often make their appearance in March. In May 

 the potatoes are full grown, and the largest weigh a pound or more. Many 

 of the interior valleys are subject to malarious fevers, but not generally of 

 a severe type. The various forms of disease which prevail elsewhere are 

 found here, but they present no peculiarities worthy of comment. Insanity 

 and diseases of the heart and blood vessels are frequent, but this is due 

 rather to moral and physical causes than to climatic influence. The re- 

 lation of the climate to pulmonary affections presents its most important 

 aspect. Many persons threatened with lung disease, or but slightly affected 

 by it, have regained their health completely by immigration to this State. 



TIMES OF PLANTING AND MATURITY OF STAPLE PRODUCTS. 



In the valley portion of Northern California, the times of planting and 

 sowing, and the times of maturity of the staple products, are as follows: 



Planting. Maturing. 



Wheat December and January June. 



Barley December and January... lime and July. 



Oats. January and February June and July. 



Corn February and March June to August. 



Beans February and March. May to July. 



Peas.. ...February and March April to June. 



Tomatoes February and March May to J uly . 



