HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 143 



miles from the ocean, and four degrees north of L03 

 Angeles, the mean temperature of August, Septem- 

 ber, and October, was 67°. The mean temperature 

 of the same months at Monterey was 59°; showing a 

 difference of 8° between the sea-coast and the interior, 

 on nearly the same parallel of latitude. A much 

 greater difference would undoubtedly appear, if we 

 had observations for the spring and summer months 

 of Suttersville and the gold mines. 



" These variations in the climate of California ac- 

 count for the various and conflicting opinions and 

 statements respecting it. 



" A stranger arriving at San Francisco in summer is 

 annoyed by the cold winds and fogs, and pronounces 

 the climate intolerable. A few months will modify, 

 if not banish his dislike, and he will not fail to ap- 

 preciate the beneficial effects of a cool, bracing atmo- 

 sphere. Those who approach California overland, 

 through the passes of the mountains, find the heat of 

 summer, in the middle of the day, greater than they 

 have been accustomed to, and, therefore, may com- 

 plain of it. 



Those who take up their residence in the valleys 

 which are situated between the great plain of the 

 Sacramento and San Joaquin and the coast range of 

 hills, find the climate, especially in the dry season, as 

 healthful and pleasant as it is possible for any climate 

 to be which possesses sufficient heat to mature the ce- 

 real grains and edible roots of the temperate zone. 



" The division of the year into two distinct seasons 

 — dry and wet — impresses those who have been ac- 

 customed to the variable climate of the Atlantic 

 States unfavorably. The dry appearance of the 

 country in summer, and the difficulty of moving about 



