STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 441 



are directly influenced by the ocean breeze, and extends but a few miles 

 inland. In the valleys back from the coast, the summer heat becomes 

 unbearable, there is but slight vegetation, and good water is not easily 

 procured. The winters, however, are said to be mild, dry, and wonder- 

 fully invigorating. Only a few inches of rain falls, and out-door life is 

 practicable. 



It is this region that first attracted the attention of sanitarians and gave 

 California its greatest climatic reputation. Even now the majority of 

 invalids look to Los Angeles as to a new Mecca, and with ever increasing 

 wonder behold the mighty changes wrought by the hand of man, which 

 for once have far outrivaled nature even in her most lavish mood. This 

 climate speaks so strongly for itself, it is so mild and delightful, that the 

 most caviling cannot find fault, and the invalid susceptible to the slightest 

 chill, utters no complaint. For this reason it is taken for granted that it 

 of necessity agrees. What is agreeable does not always agree. The cli- 

 mate of San Francisco, directly influenced by the cold ocean breeze, is not 

 agreeable and makes but a poor impression on the visitor. Beyond all 

 other spots along the coast it is disagreeable, and all drawbacks to the 

 coast climate are here illustrated in extreme. This is caused by its loca- 

 tion. The Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys here have their outlet. 

 During the summer both are intensely hot, and the rarified air, rising 

 rapidly, forms a vacuum which the ocean breeze rushes in to fill. The 

 Golden Gate is indeed a gateway, presenting no obstruction, and the wind 

 sweeps through it, across the bay and up the Sacramento and San Joaquin 

 Rivers with great velocity. During the early morning, and ordinarily, 

 until near noon, the bright sky, the mild and bracing atmosphere, makes 

 one so tingle and scintillate with life that every nerve of the body and all 

 the faculties of the mind are in a state of tension, and no more delightful 

 form of intoxication can be imagined. When the interior valleys, warming 

 up, begin to suck in the cool sea breeze, the gentle motion of the air adds a 

 new delight. In the course of an hour, all is changed. It is no longer a 

 breeze — it is a hurricane bearing everything before it that is ordinarily 

 moved by such a force. Between the town and the ocean stretch several 

 miles of sandhills, and, fed by these, the streets soon become a swaying 

 cloud of dust, fine sand, and rubbish. On gala days when the sun shines 

 on the interior valleys with unusual intensity, small gravel is added, that 

 cuts like a whip, and fills eyes, nostrils, and mouth with a grimy coat. 

 Strange to say the inhabitants soon become accustomed to this, and after 

 a few months residence, this one drawback counts for naught against its 

 more powerful claims for their approbation. Along the whole coast the 

 heat of the interior causes a like afternoon breeze, but except in a few 

 localities where a break in the foothills gives it free sweep, is not dis- 

 agreeable. 



This climate is susceptible of subdivision; the one just described being 

 directly on the coast; the other, more moderate, but of the same type, a 

 few miles inland, and protected by the foothills from the full force of the 

 breeze. Here lie many valleys with a climate equaling that of Southern 

 California. Those which have become best known, because of their prox- 

 imity to San Francisco, are the Livermore, Santa Clara, Napa, and Santa 

 Rosa Valleys. None of them are distant an hour's ride, but because of 

 their location, the afternoon breeze is shorn of all harshness. These are 

 fast being occupied as summer resorts. The country is rolling, well 

 watered, and fertile, bearing grapes, fruits, and flowers in great profusion. 

 In summer the thermometer may register 70° or 80° at midday, but such 

 heat is exceptional. The mornings and afternoons are never sultry, and 



