&l)c JTavmcv'si iHontljhj tttsitor. 



121 



dow may, if ii be preferred, he thoroughly ina- 

 nured ivith unfermeirted dung, then turned over 

 t!:it, and after applying a top-dressing of com- 

 post, may he harrowed lengthwise of the fur- 

 rows, and sown with grass seed liberally ; and if 

 all has been properly managed, the mosses will 

 not for years again infest your meadows. — Amer- 

 ican . tericutturist. 



From ttic Now Orleans l'ic lyune. 

 Upper California. 



AGRICULTURAL, COMMERCIAL A.KD Ml N KRALOGICAL. 



Although the magnificent territory of Califor- 

 nia has now been in our possession nearly three 

 years, very little of a clearly definite character is 

 mi known of its resources. It is true that a 

 quantity of publications have from time to time 

 appeared prol to give outlines of its chief 



characteristics, but most of what they contained, 

 besides being very meagre, was obtained at sec- 

 ond baud, and the whole was so highly colored 

 by the imagination of the writers, wlk) were 

 more or less under the influence of the sudden 

 mania, that they inspired but little confidence. 

 Any treatise, dissertation or other work, there- 

 fore, that seems to promise to shed something 

 like true light on that half fabulous land, is a 

 welcome addition to the sum of our scanty 

 knowledge, and claims at the hands of the jour- 

 nalist immediate attention, in order to increase 

 its publicity. It is in this view that we translate 

 from Trail «" Union on extremely interesting 

 letter, on California, written at San Francisco as 

 late as the 28th of June, and published in that 

 journal on the 4ih and Till inst. It was original- 

 ly addressi d to a Spanish paper, the .Irmonia 

 Social, of Gaudaiajara. The writer, who is evi- 

 dently a man of scientific research and lias lung 

 resided in the country, calls it, a summary de- 

 scription of Upper California, as well under its 

 physical aspect as in an agricultural, a com- 

 mercial, and a mineralogical point of view. We 

 In speak for it an attentive perusal, premising 

 that there is evidently a mistake in the date. It 

 was more probably written on the '28tli of .May. 



Much lias been written of late years on the 

 territory and the productions of Upper California. 

 M. Humboldt wrote on the subject in 1823, with- 

 out an exact knowledge of the country, since lie 

 never visited it. Air. Alexander Forties publish- 

 ed a work on it in 1835; but, equally unacquain- 

 ted with the places he described, lie depended 

 on the accuracy of the accounts which bad been 

 related to him. His book is consequently full of 

 contradictions and conjectures, so thai from the 

 day of its publication, it fell into ridicule, and 

 the author now must be aware of the inconside- 

 rations with which lie wrote. Sr. Custanaras is 

 the author of another work on the same subject, 

 published in I !.j ; but it is a tissue of iuaccura- 

 i ■ ■-. particularly as regards agriculture, for the 

 culture of cotton, tobacco, and other products 

 he enumerates, has never been known in the 

 country. 



Since that date, several Americans have also 

 published the result of their observations; but 

 eaidi of them was possibly actuated by private 

 interest — either because be possessed land in 

 | lie country, or beeause he was employed to 

 write by the large pi oprietors. 



Anterior publications on California, then, can- 

 no' be consulted with confidence; for, to speak 

 of a country properly, one oUght to have a gene- 

 ral acquaintance w iib it, to have travelled through 

 it, and, above all, to be beyond the influence of 

 nal considerations, which insensibly 'give a 

 i| posite to truth. 



It is quite unnecessary to describe [be geo- 

 graphical position n| Upper California. That has 

 In in known from time immemorial, as the 

 Spanish navigators who lir.->t discovered it, de- 

 termined it with sufficient precision. 



The most eligible portion of Upper California, 

 is that comprised between the north and south, 

 for from east 10 west It is very narrow, intersec- 

 ted by barren mountains, and full of sandy plains 

 and table lands, destitute of the It ast signs of 

 vegetation. 



According to the writer's observations, and the 



testimony of a few English agriculturists uho 

 have lived for many yours in the country, Upper 

 California is in general verj barren; its moun- 

 tains and hills are but little shaded with trees, 

 consequently firewood is very sea ice. The spots 

 where timber is most found are at the extreme 

 noi ib. and near a point called Santa I !ruz. Some 

 collections of trees are found at the fout.of the 

 mountains, on the few plains that skirt their 

 base, but they are of little importance; and there 

 are immense plains without a single tree. Su- 

 mach is the most frequently met with, although 

 iii re are oak and several kinds of dye-woods ; 

 pine and popular are of little importance. 



The temperature of Upper California is gene- 

 rally ungenial. The immigrant is exposed to an 

 almost insupportable degree of cold, the prevail- 

 ing winds blowing from the norih-ucst, becom- 

 ing unusually piercing after the fogs, which are 

 exceedingly dense and frequent, are dispersed. 

 In the north-west are situated the Snowy Moun- 

 tains, (Sierras Nevadas,) at the foot of which are 

 the gold placers. Here during t lie day the heat 

 is as great as at San Bias or Vera Cruz, whilst 

 at night and in the morning the cold is excessive, 

 causing numerous maladies. 



The temperature of the country comprehend- 

 ed between east and west is extremely hot. All 

 the arable land in Upper California lies between 

 the north and south ; and is monopolized by 

 twenty-four missions. The writer visited some 

 of them, viz: those of Sa Jose, Santa Clara, 

 Santa Barbara, and others. All indicate to the 

 traveller by the aspect of the ruins which they 

 present, that they were formerly important es- 

 tablishments. According to general opinion, 

 they fell with the law which ordered the secular- 

 ization of the missions. The effect of that mea- 

 sure was the complete destruction of the im- 

 mense quantity of cattle belonging to these estab- 

 lishments, through the abuses committed by the 

 administrators appointed by the Government, 

 who deprived the missions, most unlawfully, of 

 their lands which were their property. A fact 

 connected herewith is still to be more regretted; 

 that was the demoralization which was forthwith 

 introduced among the six or eight thousand In- 

 dians who composed the population of the mis- 

 sions and a few neighboring villages. Many of 

 ibein bad received elementary' instruction ; oth- 

 ers were in possession of trades; a large num- 

 ber worked at agriculture in the fields; even an 

 attempt not altogether unsuccessful bad been 

 made to establish manufactures, the Indians 

 .-bowing an aptitude for weaving. At present 

 nothing remains but a few vestiges of former 

 labors, and a few old looms, long unused. 



The white population of the country is, as it 

 is well known, of Spanish descent, tall and ro- 

 bust, originally cultivating the land, and raising 

 sheep and cattle. They were calculated at the 

 conclusion of the war at about eight thousand, 

 scattered in ranchos, or tin ins, separated by im- 

 mense distances from one another. They dwell 

 in wooden bouses and lead a poor existence. 



The Indians have a particularly disagreeable 

 physiognomy. The face, of bronze, and round, 

 is slightly compressed inward, the nose is rather 

 flat, till! forehead narrow, and the hair as coarse 

 as that on a horse's inane. The Indians on the 

 table lauds of .Mexico are Europeans ill compar- 

 ison with them. Their wigwams are like hives 

 in shape and convenience, and it is certainly 

 wonderful bow the missionaries succeeded in 

 giving them elementary instruction, teaching 

 them trades- even music, for I have seen them 

 perform on certain instruments. 



It may be said that there is but little show of 

 government in the country at present. The 

 American alcades even seem to administer the 



law capricious!} ugh. The religion that 



dominates, is emphatically toleration, the first 

 step made by the conquerors. 



The territory is generally laid out ill table 



lands or plains at the foot of the mountains. 



oil is of a deep color, the surface producing 



numerous grasses, making good pasturage, such 



as clover, oats, and particularly mustard tved. 



I have seen the best lauds in tie; interior, the 

 plains of San Jose and Santa Clara, among oth- 

 ers; but on those lands and on others of im- 

 mense extent I have not seen the least sign of 

 irrigation. 1 have noticed Liu; remarkable scarci- 

 ty of water throughout the whole country ; this 



inconvenience produces deplorable results, for 

 the sow mg of grain is very precai ions, in conse- 

 quent f the infn qui ncy of the rain. The 



periodical rains commence in December or Jan- 

 nary, and end in February or March; ibis is 

 during what aie called good years, for occasion- 

 ally it happens that for two coi ciaivi yei is, 

 not a drop of rain falls from the clouds. Those 

 who baie any, even the slightest knowled 

 agriculture, may form an idea of the capabilities 

 of a country where there is almost a complete 

 absence of water. 



The rivets Sacramento, San Joaquin and Sta- 

 nislaus, of which so many wonders have been 

 related, should be considered as comparatively 

 insignificant. The Sacramento is the one that 

 possesses the largest volume of water, and that 

 is because it is situated in the North, comigious 

 to the Sierra Nevada ; but the San Joaquin anil 

 the Stanislaus, which rise considerably bom 

 January to July, are fordable on foot in August 



and September, and none of these water courses, 

 even comprising the Sacramento, sen e for irri- 

 gation, on account of the little elevation of their 

 beds. I, myself, have seen the San Joaquin and 

 the Stanislaus, and I am capable of expressing a 

 correct opinion on them in this particular. The 

 other rivulets in the country scarcely deserve 

 notice. 



Water for drinking purposes is very scarce, or 

 rather none is found on vast plains, occasionally 

 forty or fifty leagues in extent. The few wells 

 that exist give a liquid of very inferior quality. 

 The best I lecolbct to have taken, is that from 

 the melted snow on the river Stanislaus: that of 

 the San Joaquin is unwholesome, and should not 

 be drank until after it has been boiled. In some 

 places the water has a taste as if strongly im- 

 pregnated with minerals. On my arrival" a't the 

 placers there was water in the "rivulets, beta 

 short time afterward, when 1 was on my return 

 the latter were dry. 



The season for sow ins grain is dui'in" the 

 months of January ami February, that of°corn 

 and beans in May and June. The seed is scat- 

 tered iii the soft earth (literally mud) near the 

 coast, the better to profit by the fogs, of which 

 mention is made above. 



I have spoken of the English and American 

 husbandmen who have resided here more than 

 twenty years. While declaring that the country 

 is not suitable to agriculture they laugh at the 

 importance which has been attached to these 

 miserable regions, and deplore the evils which 

 the new population will have to ei lure, from 

 all that I have seen and beard, 1 am of opinion 

 that the agricultural products of this sterile 

 country will scarcely suffice to sustain the popu- 

 lation which is pouring into it, and who will 

 find, moreover, a scarcity of wood for building 

 and fuel. I judge by ihe pasturages which J 

 have observed on the plains and bills, and the 

 large leads which about d, that the greater part 

 of ihe territory is suited to the raising of cattle, 

 for though there is a scarcity of will r there are 

 heavy fogs, and besides the cattle drink little 

 when they have green pasturages. 



I believe yet, and it has already happened, that 

 in case of abundant snows, many of the cattle 

 will die for want of shelter. It will be the same 

 in limes of greal drought; bin the wool-bearing 

 animals, which thej succeed in raising, are of a 

 Sue quality, as there are no hedges to tear the 

 wool. 



The products of the grain crops are exaggera- 

 ted b_\ those who estimate them at a thousand 

 for one. 



There have been some good crops at the ran- 

 cho of Snnol. for example; but they were ihe 

 product of land which had for a hundred years 

 been used as sheep pasturages. The common 

 increase of grain is thirty-five for one. Corn 

 produces from one hundred ami twenty to one 

 hundred and thirty for one, but they rarely raise it ; 

 the grains are generally of a small size. Barley 

 and hemp produce well enough, bin in ten years 

 not an ordinary crop can be gathered. I have 

 seen in the month of April the pear trees and 

 apple trees without blossoms, and the vines al- 

 most eniiiely dry, without shoots or buds. The 

 lands at die south are a litlle more fertile. The 

 village of San Angelos is the only one which 

 produces oranges and citrons; but it lacks ws- 



