THE CONQUEST OF ARID AMERICA 



has a climate of its own. It is the mildest type of the 

 temperate zone, closety verging upon the semi-tropical, 

 but not adapted to the growth of citrus fruits. Here 

 the rainfall is heavier than elsewhere in California, and 

 proximity to the sea gives rise to frequent fogs. In the 

 southern extremity of this region, from Santa Barbara 

 to San Diego, the climate becomes genuinely semi- 

 tropical and fogs are less common. North of San Fran- 

 cisco the leading industries are lumbering, dairying, 

 stock-raising, and general farming, with some mining. 

 In a few favored valleys fruit-raising on small farms is 

 successfully followed. South of San Franciso the lum- 

 ber and mining interests are insignificant, and the coun- 

 try is mostly devoted to dairy, stock, and general farming. 

 A most notable exception to what has been said of the 

 general condition of the coast region is the Santa Clara 

 Valley, which contributes enormously to the exports of 

 the State. In the beauty of its homes and orchards and 

 the excellence of its horticultural methods, in the organ- 

 ization of its fruit exchanges, and the character of its 

 urban life and civic institutions, the Santa Clara Valley 

 is fully equal to the most ideal localities in California, 

 not even excepting the famous orange districts near Los 

 Angeles. There are numerous opportunities in counties 

 farther south, notably in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, 

 and Santa Barbara, to apply the same methods witli 

 similar results. But while the Santa Clara Valley rep- 

 resents the finest possibilities of the coast region, it 

 also strikingly illustrates certain failings in the econom- 

 ic system of the State which have been dwelt upon in 

 earlier pages. Land is almost exclusively devoted to 

 fruit. Fanners buy their milk, butter, eggs, poultry, 



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