COMMERCE. 329 
fine farming-lands, and great facilities for commerce. For these 
reasons, Washington will occupy an important place on the 
Pacific, will have a dense population, and will contribute much 
to build up the commerce and increase the wealth of Califor- 
nia. The climate of the western district of Washington is very 
moist throughout the year—cool in summer, and not cold in 
winter. Ice seldom forms more than two inches in thick- 
ness, or remains more than two or three days; but the sun is 
hidden nearly every winter by fogs and clouds, for weeks at a 
time. The climate of Washington bears as close a resemblance 
to that of England as does the climate of California to that of 
Italy. 
British Columbia has a population of six thousand, yields 
about one million dollars in gold-dust annually, and has fine 
forests of ship-timber along the shores of the Gulf of Georgia. 
The soil is not rich, either on the mainland or on Vancouver 
Island, and the land will not be extensively cultivated there 
until after the richer land of Washington territory has been 
occupied. 
The western part of New Mexico and Arizona is a barren 
country, unfit for tillage, but rich in minerals, which may at 
some day attract a large population. At present, its white 
inhabitants, west of the Rocky Mountains, do not number more 
than one thousand. The present silver production of Arizona 
may amount to ten thousand dollars per month. Western Ari- 
zona and New Mexico obtain most of their imported goods 
from San Francisco. 
The population of Utah is about forty-five thousand, and 
they do much of their trading with Placerville and Log An- 
geles. 
The western coast of Mexico, from San Blas northward, has 
a population of about a million and a half, and these obtain 
many of their imported goods from San Francisco. 
The Hawaiian Islands have a population of seventy thou- 
sand, including two thousand whites, and they obtain most of 
their imported goods from San Francisco. 
15* 
