206 



CALIFORNIA. 



expense of which needs not exceed about 10 

 cents to the square yard, has lately been tried 

 at Cherbourg ; and it is thus far regarded as 

 proving completely successful. 



The following application for prevention of 

 the rotting of wood, especially suitable for fence 

 posts, piles, and the materials of various wet 

 constructions, is recommended, in a late num- 

 ber of Dingler's " Polytechnic Journal," as supe- 

 rior in view of its economy, and its impermea- 

 bility to water, as well as of the great hardness 

 it assumes : Take 50 parts of rosin, 40 of finely 

 powdered chalk, 300 parts (or less) of fine white 

 sharp sand, 4 parts of linseed oil, 1 of native red 

 oxide of copper, and 1 of sulphuric acid. First 

 heat the rosin, chalk, sand, and oil, in an iron 

 boiler ; then add the oxide, and with care, the 

 acid : stir the composition carefully, and apply 

 the coat while it is still hot. If it be not 

 liquid enough, add a little more oil. This coat- 

 ing, when cold and dried, forms a varnish 

 which is as hard as stone. 



To the many processes in use for the treat- 

 ment of wood with a view to render it more 

 durable, and incidentally also less inflammable, 

 that recently patented by T. Cobley, of Meer- 

 holz, Hesse, promises to add another. In this, 

 a strong solution of potash, baryta, lime, stron- 

 tia, or any of their salts, is by action of a pump 

 forced into the pores of the timber, placed 

 within a close iron vessel. After this opera- 

 tion, the liquid is run off from the timber, and 

 hydrofluo-silicic acid is forced in; the latter, 

 uniting with the salt in the timber, forms with it 



an insoluble compound ; and the wood is said to 

 be in consequence rendered quite uninflammable. 

 In conclusion, for the year, of this subject of 

 building materials, it may be proper since, al- 

 though the American climate is less severe on 

 the materials of edifices than is that of some 

 European countries, the actual decay of build- 

 ing stones is even here considerable, and the 

 subject therefore one of practical importance 

 to express a regret that persons who are in this 

 country also conversant with facts respecting 

 the comparative decay and durability of the 

 materials employed in our public and private 

 buildings, or those making investigations and 

 inventions in connection with such materials, 

 do not more frequently communicate their re- 

 sults to the scientific journals, in which they 

 would be rendered accessible, and could be- 

 come of general utility. The continually in- 

 creasing employment among us of iron in the 

 construction of buildings, it is true, substitutes 

 for a part of our subject the consideration of 

 the qualities and working of that metal. But 

 the marbles, sandstones, granites, &c., will still 

 continue, as well as bricks and various woods, 

 to be largely used for building ; and the ques- 

 tion of real economy, as well as in certain in- 

 stances those of beauty in time, and of the in- 

 terest that is sure to connect itself with struc- 

 tures very long preserved, render a particular 

 investigation of the comparative durability and 

 unchangeableness of these various materials in 

 the climates of our country a work greatly to be 

 desired. 



O 



CALIFORNIA. One of the Pacific States 

 of the Union, first settled in 1769, ceded to the 

 United States, by Mexico, in 1848, and admitted 

 into the Union as a State in 1850. Its capital 

 is Sacramento. The area of the State is 188,982 

 square miles, and its population in 1860 was 

 379,994, of whom 23,348 were Chinese and 

 Mexican half-breeds, and 14,555 Indians. 



The Governor of the State to December, 1863, 

 is Leland Stanford, whose official residence 

 is at Sacramento. The Secretary of State, 

 whose term of office expires at the same time, 

 is William H. "Weeks, of Sacramento. The gov- 

 ernor was elected in September, 1861. He 

 received 56,036 votes, the Union Democratic 

 candidate, J. Conness, having 30,944, and the 

 Breckinridge Democratic candidate, J. R. 

 McConnell, 32,751. Stanford's plurality was, 

 therefore, 23,285. In 1862 the only State officer 

 elected was a Superintendent of Public In- 

 struction, and John Sweet, the Republican 

 candidate, was elected, receiving 51,238 votes, 

 while Stevenson, the Union Democratic candi- 

 date, had 21,514, and Fitzgerald, the Regular 

 Democratic candidate, had 15,817. The Senate 

 stands, 32 Republicans, 4 Union Democrats, 



4 Regular Democrats. The House, Repub- 

 licans 63, Union Democrats 10, Regular Demo- 

 crats 7. 



The Legislature of 1861, believing certain 

 amendments to the constitution of the State re- 

 quired, passed a bill proposing amendments to 

 articles 4, 5, 6 and 9. According to the Con- 

 stitution these proposed amendments were to be 

 passed upon by the next Legislature, and if 

 adopted by" them submitted to the people for 

 their sanction. The amendment to section 9, 

 which extended the term of office from three 

 to four years, was adopted, and, being submitted 

 to the people, received their sanction, but the 

 amendments to the other sections were modified 

 by the Legislature of 1862, and, though sanc- 

 tioned in their modified form by the people, 

 the irregularity of their modification, in the 

 opinion of the highest legal authorities, ren- 

 dered them void. 



The message of Governor Stanford, sent to 

 the Legislature January 5, 1863, reviews the 

 financial condition of the State. The total in- 

 debtedness of the State is $5,579,284.76. The 

 financial year (or, rather the financial period, 

 for there were but ten months and twenty days, 



