S24 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



California has built many schooners, and one war-vessel of 

 fifteen hundred tons, but will never construct many ships. Her 

 evergreen-oak, laurel, and madrona, are good for ships' knees 

 and frames ; but the trees are rare and costly, and far from 

 the shipyards : while Puget Sound is so near, and has such 

 very great advantages over us, that we cannot compete with 

 Washington territory. 



There are a great many excellent roads in the mountainous 

 districts of the state, but the general character of our high- 

 ways is poor — muddy in winter and dusty in summer. Mac- 

 adamized roads are few. Slowly we are getting railroads. 

 There is one, twenty miles long, between Sacramento and 

 Folsom ; another, forty-five miles long, is being made from 

 Folsom to Marysville ; one has been commenced between Val- 

 lejo and Marysville ; and another is to be soon begun between 

 San Francisco and San Jose. 



All our cotton and cotton goods are imported. There is 

 not a cotton-carding machine, spinning-jenny, or loom, in the 

 state. No linen is grown or manufactured here. All our fine 

 woollen goods are imported. We have only two woollen- mills 

 in the state, and they make only blankets and coarse cloths. 



Large quantities of leather are tanned in California, but it is 

 all heavy. We tan no fine calfskin, morocco, or kid. Nearly 

 all our boots and shoes for men's wear, and all for women, are 

 imported. There are small shops where men's boots and shoes 

 are made by the single pair to order after measure taken, and 

 the customers in most cases are desirous of having a very ele- 

 gant fit ; but there are no large factories to make boots by the 

 thousand. 



We make no gunpowder, fire-works, fire-crackers, pitch, tar, 

 or turpentine. It is said that our pine-trees do not contain the 

 resinous sap to make turpentine, pitch, and rosin, and therefore 

 we shall always have to import these articles. 



There are two paper-mills in California, one of which makes 

 printing-paper and the other straw wrapping-paper. We still 

 import much of our printing and wrapping paper, and all of 



