CALIFORNIA AND WESTERING SUN 315 



many districts a hardpan of rock or semi-rock or 

 impervious clay is found from a few inches to a 

 few feet beneath the surface. 



The vast and undeveloped resources of so big a 

 State cannot be discovered from the window of a 

 Pullman or a tourist car. The railway line often 

 runs through the worthless districts ; and there are 

 many secrets and more treasure in the sage-brush 

 plains and mountain canyons than the stranger 

 dreams of. Unfortunately, as soon as you settle 

 in a promising region you discover that what you 

 have to purchase is dear and what you have to sell 

 is cheap. It often happens that what you want and 

 what you have to exchange are far asunder. The 

 grainstack and the smokestack should be in sight 

 of each other if you are to dodge the numerous 

 railway charges and the middleman. But when 

 the best is done that can be done, still the distances, 

 even within the State itself, are so great that both 

 the consumer and the producer are at a disadvan- 

 tage as compared with Eastern conditions. 



From my window here in Berkeley looking out 

 over the Golden Gate and across to Mount Tamal- 

 pais, the country seems small in this clear air; but 

 when I read the invitation lying on my desk to at- 

 tend a wedding in San Diego I begin to calculate 



