132 RESOURCES OF CALIFORKEA. 



from the west, and in the afternoon from the north ; to-day 

 from the south, and to-morrow from the northeast, and you 

 will see that the people inhabiting that place are seriously 

 affected by the sudden and abrupt changes. This is easily ex- 

 plained. The sudden changes interrupt the action of the skin, 

 and cause the poisonous matter that should be eliminated 

 therefrom to be thrown back on the internal organs, thereby 

 causing disease. The great difference in the velocity of the 

 wind at this point and elsewhere is also noticeable. The aver- 

 a< T e number of miles traveled during the eight months' obser- 

 vation I have referred to, was thirteen miles per hour at 2 p. 

 M. ; during the rest of the day it will not exceed from three to 

 five miles per hour. The great velocity acquired by the wind 

 at San Francisco and other places, impairs health by vaporizing 

 the moisture of the skin and thereby rendering the surface 

 cold. The remarkable lightness of the wind can therefore be 

 set down as a cause of exemption from sudden and serious- 

 colds, that often grow into pulmonary complaints. The hu- 

 midity of the atmosphere is also of the greatest importance. 

 There is a disposition to rely too much on the absence of 

 moisture. There was moisture in the air of San Diego, as the 

 observations proved, and it was a very necessary quality. The 

 application of an ointment to a sore was not because the oint- 

 ment contained curative powers, but simply to protect it from 

 the irritating action of the air. This shows that moisture, and 

 not its opposite, is necessary. It would be folly in a man with 

 ulcerated lungs to seek the rarified air of a high mountain. The 

 action of the oxygen would prove positively injurious, because it 

 would irritate the lungs, which require, instead of extreme 

 dryness, exactly the reverse condition of the atmosphere 

 moisture." 



The entire coast between Santa Barbara and San Diego, with 

 an average width of twenty miles, and an area of three thous- 

 and square miles, will probably be occupied for a health 

 resort. Among the towns along the shore are Ventura, 



