Correspondence. 3^ 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



Tally Ho Ranch, Cal., Oct. 23, 1886. 

 I send you a postal note for a year's subscription to The West 

 American Scientist. I will also endeavor to get some sub- 

 scribers from this valley but I fear I will not be able to get very 

 many as I only know of a few people who would like to subscribe, 

 but I am sure that they, having once read the paper will become 

 regular subscrib rs to the same, and will cheerfully pay a dollar's 

 subscription each, as that is cheap for so much instructive literary 

 matter. I should like to know if you could possibly give me 

 any information whatever concerning Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina 

 and San Clemente Islands, which I intend to visit in a small 

 schooner from Santa Barbara next spring, and to camp on each 

 of them for one month. Who are the owners or occupiers of 

 each of them, and how many inhabitants do they each usually 

 have ? Santa Cruz, I believe, has a permanent population of at 

 least thirty men, and is well wooded with pine, cypress and oak, 

 and has an abundant supply of good fresh water on it. Could 

 you tell me the approximate height (in feet) of the highest peak 

 (Mount Diablo) on Santa Cruz, and also the height of the highest 

 peaks of Santa Catalina and San Clemente, and also the extreme 

 length and width (in miles) of vSanta Catalina and San Clemente? 

 I suppose the continent is at all times plainly visible from each of 

 these islands, and that Santa Cruz, Ana Capa and San Nicolas 

 are also visible on any clear day from off any of the highest 

 peaks of Santa Catalina. How is the fresh water supply on 

 Santa Catalina and San Clemente? I suppose these two islands 

 have a considerable number of live oak trees on them and also 

 plenty of brushwood, bushes and good bunch grass. I hear that 

 each of these three islands have thousands of sheep on them, and 

 that wild hogs are plentiful on Santa Cruz, and that Santa Cata- 

 lina has numerous wild goats and rattle-snakes on it. Those 

 deep canyons and ravines that have been cut out of the side of 

 the mountain at the southeast end of San Clemente must be a 

 grand sight to behold ; have they any running water along their 

 bottoms ? Do you know if any photographic views or drawings 

 have ever been made of any portions of these islands ? I see by 

 your paper that E. L. Greene has been botanizing on some of 

 these islands; could you not prevail upon him to send his impres- 

 sions and observations in natural history during his trip to your 

 paper? I am sure it would be read with extreme interest by many 

 persons, as the Santa Barbara Islands and the Farallones are the 

 only islands that lie off the entire coast of California. Will you 

 please mention to me any books that have ever been published 

 concerning Lower California with their respective prices ? 



Yours very sincerely, 



Almyer Montgomerie. 



