H2 OBSERVATIONS OF A RANCHWOMAN 



other forms of life besides that of the human. 

 Fleas abound ; mosquitoes provide torturing 

 concerts. It is true that vegetables are 

 grown all the year round in the open air, 

 but, like the apples and peaches, they have 

 little flavour ; even the nuts are insipid. At 

 the same time, the climate of California ought 

 to be paradise to the newly-arrived English- 

 man ; strange to relate, he is one of the worst 

 of the grumblers. 



In New Mexico, to sit in the winter sun- 

 shine is to bask healthfully. This does not 

 imply that there is no difference betwixt 

 shade and sunshine with us ; on the contrary, 

 the difference is strongly accentuated. But 

 in this dry, aseptic, bracing atmosphere, and 

 at such an altitude, there is no relaxation of 

 the system, and, in consequence, compara- 

 tively little susceptibility to atmospheric 

 variations. The astonishing leaps the ther- 

 mometer is capable of making betwixt a 

 winter sunrise and its noon is looked on by 

 progressive physicians as being not only 

 beneficial to consumptives, but almost essen- 

 tial to their improvement, implying as it does 

 a strong tonic and bracing influence, com- 



