442 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



the nights are cool. Nor is there any evening fog. During the winter 

 frost occurs but rarely, and snow and ice are unknown. 



Still further inland, in the very heart of the foothills, there is a region 

 which should attract sanitarians, by reason of its promise of therapeutic 

 usefulness. It combines magnificent scenery, moderate elevation, and a 

 bracing atmosphere, with what promise to be most important mineral 

 springs. These occur in great numbers, and in a country which, without 

 them, would leave but little to be desired. Fish and game abound, and 

 prove a sufficient attraction to force energy and life into the most lethargic, 

 and induce that amount of exercise necessary to vigorous health. Volcanic 

 products are here found in great abundance, and mineral deposits are fre- 

 quent. Water, trickling through these, become impregnated with various 

 salts, and, emerging as springs, undoubtedly possess some healing power. 

 Little scientific attention has been bestowed upon them, and, while a few 

 have been authoritatively analyzed, and honest efforts have been made to 

 have them stand on their own merit, many have been given names and 

 analysis, tending rather to prove their resemblance to some celebrated east- 

 ern or European spa, than to make plain the many and strong claims 

 peculiar to themselves. 



While Sulphur, Vichy, and Congress Springs may be rightly named, 

 and their claims of resemblance to their more celebrated sponsors may be 

 just, yet, because of their origin, it is no more probable that any two 

 would resemble than that two kaleidoscopic pictures, although formed by 

 the same glasses, should be identical. The more disagreeable the water 

 tastes, the more redolent it is of sulphur, or the more stained with iron, so 

 much the more eagerly is it sought after. No matter what salts be con- 

 tained in the water, or what be their degree of concentration, the amount 

 consumed is, as a rule, limited only by the capacity of the stomach, or its 

 ability to retain. Thus abused, their very best therapeutical effects can- 

 not be obtained. At a few of the more prominent resorts, physicians are 

 located who can give intelligent directions with regard to the waters, and 

 recommend or forbid their use, therapeutical precautions often disregarded. 



These springs are scattered over the whole State. Provided they be 

 easily accessible and the surrounding country, climate, and scenery be 

 such as to warrant the outlay, a health resort is established; otherwise 

 they are ignored. Hundreds are found throughout the mountains of the 

 Coast Range in spots wild and inaccessible, but even these are by no 

 means neglected. Wild animals, either attracted by the singularity of the 

 taste of the water, or for proved qualities, flock to them, and their loca- 

 tion is usually marked by numberless trails centering there. 



Various classifications of these springs have been attempted, but their 

 ingredients so vary that no rigidly scientific system can be adopted. Nor 

 have the necessary analyses been made to even classify in accordance 

 with the nomenclature ordinarily employed. But crudely as they have 

 been used, and greatly as they have been abused, there is much and unani- 

 mous testimony as to their beneficial effects in certain chronic diseases. 

 Comparatively few springs are found either in the northern or southern 

 parts of the State with more than a local reputation. It is in Central Cal- 

 ifornia, in the foothills already mentioned, that they abound. Lake County, 

 so named for the beautiful sheets of water within its boundaries, contains 

 the majority of these; although many are found in the adjacent counties 

 of Napa, Solano, and Mendocino. In this region alone some thirty loca- 

 tions have been made, buildings erected, and health resorts established. 

 At many of these there are several springs both hot and cold; the former 

 being used topically or in the form of bath, the latter internally. 



