148 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



mento and San Joaquin, covers an area, as nearly as 

 I can estimate, of between fifty and sixty thousand 

 square miles, and would, under a proper system of 

 cultivation, be capable of supporting a population 

 equal to that of Ohio or New York at the present 

 time." 



If this account be accurate, the soil of California 

 will yield a rich reward to the agriculturist, and be- 

 come a strong attraction to permanent settlers, who 

 are willing to trust to the more certain returns for 

 labor spent in tilling it. It is agriculture, undoubtedly, 

 which must give stability to the increase of the coun- 

 try, and, whatever may be the value of the gold mines, 

 furnish California with her substantial wealth. Few 

 cities or towns ever had a permanent prosperity which 

 had not a neighboring country fit for agricultural 

 purposes. 



The quantity and quality of the present productions 

 of California, other than her mineral wealth, is an 

 important subject for inquiry. Previous to the dis- 

 covery of the gold, the exportable products consisted 

 almost exclusively of hides and tallow ; the inhabitants 

 paying more attention to the raising of horses and 

 cattle than to the cultivation of the soil. The reason 

 is found in the general characteristic of the Califor- 

 nians — indolence. Horses were raised to gratify 

 their passion for riding ; and cattle, because they 

 afforded a subsistence at a very small cost of labor. 

 As to what are, and what, by the character of the 

 soil and climate, might be, the products of California, 

 and how the wants of the people are to be supplied, 

 we quote Mr. King's remarks : 



" Beef cattle, delivered on the navigable waters of 

 the Bay of San Francisco, are now worth from $20 to 



