212 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



4. 



from the danger of innndation should impress upon ns the necessity of 

 givin<^ this subject early consideration. The tuie and swamp lands of 

 this valley, when reclaimed, which to rae is as certain as time and 

 seasons, will become the garden of the State. "When the mountains and 

 plains shall be redeemed fi-om their aridity and apparent sterility by 

 irrigation, then the great staple of export from the Pacific coast will 

 consist, not in gold and silver, but in the products of the soil. In every 

 conntr}' many things deemed essential to modern civilization are now 

 transported, and probabl}- will be for all time, from distant parts of the 

 globe; and Ave have no reason to expect that California will be, even 

 after the proudest triumphs in development we can ever hope to achieve, 

 an exception to the rule. Tessels will continue to make our shores, laden 

 with such ai'ticles of luxury and necessity which we may fail to ])roduce 

 here. Instead of exporting from this coast fift}' or sixty millions of 

 dollars to -pay for these things, we would send hundreds of millions of 

 dollars in wines and other agricultural products, and thus turn the pre- 

 mium on exchange in our favor. 



The rearing of domestic animals is another subject which commends 

 itself to the attention of all who feel interested in the welfare of the 

 State. It cannot have escaped the observation of those engaged in. 

 rearing stock in California that the indigenous grasses, once so abundant 

 as to pasture thousands of animals where only hundreds are able to 

 subsist now, are fast disappearing from the plains. This is attributable 

 no doubt to excessive grazing, especiall}' by sheep and horses, which 

 destroys the seed, and consequently the essential condition of reproduc- 

 tion. Weeds spring up and encumber the ground, and stock disappear. 

 That these grasses can never be restored in their original excellence is, 

 to me, extremely problematical. Whether any forage plant can be 

 found that will grow upon our hills and plains, and become a profitable 

 substitute to the original grasses, remains ibr the future to bring I'orth. 



Thei'e must be a remedy somewhere in nature, but who will discover 

 it? He who should succeed in making the discovery would be a bene- 

 factor to his race, and deserve the lasting gratitude of his country. Till 

 this can be accomplished, it becomes us to be careful of the grazing capa- 

 bilities of our land ; otherwise we destroy what cannot be replaced. 

 -Hence arises the necessity, if no higher motive, of rearing breeds of finer 

 blood, and diminishing the scrub races that have to such an alarming 

 extent heretofore destroyed the grasses to little profit. There is 

 another fact in connection with the subject of raising stock Avhich 

 deserves to be noticed. When pasture lands are not over fed so as to 

 eradicate, and there is an abundance of pasture for stock in winter, it 

 sometimes occurs that we have hard winters — cold weather, and some 

 snow, that render it al)Solutcl\- necessary to be ])rej)ared to feed stock, 

 say at least one month, if we would be certain to save them. During a 

 residence here of twenty-four years, I have witnessed but one such 

 season — then there were from six to eight inches of snow, which lay in 

 this valley for nearly a month. I feel it a duty to place this warning 

 upon record, because what has once ti-anspired is sure to occur again. I 

 have seen also one, and only one, really dry season— that was eighteen 

 hundred and forty-four. You have so recently seen the effects of dry 

 seasons, especially in tlie southern part of the State, it is necessary only 

 to make this passing allusion. 



The subject of establishing agricultural schools and colleges, where the 

 arts and sciences applicable to j)ractical farming can be acquired for the 

 benefit of the jiresent as well as future generations, is one of momentous 



