8 



weighing 250 pounds ; squashes 150 pounds ; beets 100 

 pounds ; and carrots oO pounds. Astonishing as these 

 facts may seem, it is easy to understand how such results 

 are obtained where growth never ceases. The mean tem- 

 perature of the coldest month, December, at San Fran- 

 cisco is said to be fifty-five degrees : in the interior it is 

 probably lower. 



Althouo^h our attention was mainlv "iven to the or- 

 chard, vineyard, and garden, our luimerous journeys 

 through the interior of the State aftbrded us opportuni- 

 ties of learning its agricultural character. We were 

 everywhere impressed with the immense extent of the 

 fields and farms, and flocks of cattle and sheep. One 

 gentleman in Sacramento informed us that his farm em- 

 braced 13,000 acres of land, and that last year he sold 

 $40,000 worth of wheat. We visited one dairy farm, 

 containing 3500 acres, with 600 cows, only an hour by 

 rail from San Francisco, on the San Jose railroad ; and 

 were told of another farmer who had 2300 head of milch 

 cows. We met in our travels flocks of sheep on 

 their way to the mountains, of 3000 to 5000 head, for 

 fresh pasture. One firm from Maine, Avho crossed the 

 mountains in 1852 with 2000 sheep, now shear over 

 100,000, and own 150,000 acres of land. Another gen- 

 tleman who went from Roxbury in this State, with whom 

 we were formerly acquainted, now farms 32,000 acres of 

 land, and has 7000 sheep. His neighbor owns an island 

 devoted to sheep husbandry, and has 135,000 sheep. 

 This island is green with verdure throughout the year, 

 and it is said that in Los Angelos County one may travel 

 on the road for twenty-seven miles through the farms and 

 islands of one proprietor. While lands in the interior, 

 of most excellent quality, are to be had for from five to 

 twenty dollars per acre, those near the market are held 

 at prices far beyond the means of immigrants, or persons 

 of less capital. 



With the valley lands so wonderfull}^ rich and produc- 

 tive, with a climate so mild that farm stock is rarely 



