24 PvESOUECES OF CALIFORNIA. 



wife has no trouble in drying her clothes, provided it should 

 not rain. In fact, the atmosphere of San Francisco, in spite of 

 sea winds and mists, is a dry atmosphere." 



The mean temperatures of spring, summer, autumn, and win- 

 ter, are 54°, 57°, 56°, and 50° respectively, showing a difference 

 of only seven degrees between the average of winter and sum- 

 mer ; whereas a similar comparison in the climate of New York 

 city shows a difference of thirty-nine degrees. There is a range 

 of two degrees more in San Francisco by taking the months 

 separately — January, the coldest month, having a mean tem- 

 perature of 49°, and September, the warmest, a mean of 58°. 

 October is as warm as July, and in some years it has been 

 warmer. The mean of the whole year is 54°, a temperature 

 that requires heavy woollen clothing for comfort. For vigor- 

 ous, industrious men, the climate of San Francisco is the health- 

 iest and most agreeable in the Avorld. I prefer it to all others. 

 But, to enjoy it, a man should have warm blood, full veins, 

 and active habits ; if he is weak or idle, he w^ill find it too cool 

 for him. It is a climate that allows a person to be out in the 

 open air all the time ; no hour is lost because of either exces- 

 sive heat or excessive cold. Women do not like the climate 

 so well as men ; it is too cool for their less vigorous constitu- 

 tions and sedentary habits. 



San Francisco does not lie immediately on the ocean, but 

 only six miles from it, and where there is a great gap to let in 

 the winds and fogs. The nearer the Pacific, the denser and 

 more frequent the fogs, the stronger the winds, the warmer 

 the winters, and the cooler the summers. The great ocean is 

 a powerful equalizer of climate : as you advance into the inte- 

 rior, the range of heat and cold becomes greater. In the coast 

 valleys you can choose your distance. San Rafael is ten miles 

 from the Pacific, Petaluma twenty, Sonoma thirty, Napa thir- 

 ty-five, Suisun forty-five, and Vaca valley fifty. Sonoma valley 

 has a delightful climate, free from fogs and cold winds, and 

 yet blessed with a sea-breeze which tempers the heat of every 

 summer day to the precise degree necessary to the perfect 



