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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



uninterruptedly during this month, and there is never any rain. 

 Haying is about completed, and grain is ripe. 



July is the hottest month of the year ; the mean daily tem- 

 perature being 63-3 deg., the lowest mean 45*6 deg., and the 

 highest mean 81 deg. The temperature may upon occasion 

 reach 90, 95, or 100 deg., the latter figures being unusual. No 

 rain falls in July, none in August, and very little, if any, in 

 September. The horticultural advantages we possess are due, 

 in a great measure, to this fact. Summer rains would injure 

 our fruits, berries, grapes, hay, and grain, and greatly interfere 

 with the harvesting, curing, and packing processes. Melons are 

 coming in, and apples, pears, and figs are ripening. Some 

 varieties of grapes are ripe, such as the Sweet-waters. 



With the ushering in of August the heat of summer is 

 gradually superseded by the coolness of autumn. So slowly 

 does the change come that the mean daily temperature of August 

 is but 3*2 deg. less than that of July. In this month the 

 minimum temperature is 46*9 deg., and the maximum 79'30 

 deg. Nearly all kinds of fruits are being harvested. Water- 

 melons and musk-melons are plentiful, and nectarines are 

 getting ripe. Full forces are at work in canneries and driers. 

 Then August merges into September ; the latter month bringing 

 weather so similar that the thermometer indicates a difference 

 of less than 2 deg. in the mean temperature. Thus summer 

 shades off into autumn, and another round is commenced. The 

 seasons are separated by very fine lines, and it is difficult indeed 

 to tell when a Santa Clara County winter ends and spring 

 begins, or when spring ends and summer commences. 



It may be said that the elements are always gentle and the 

 climate kind. In this valley it is a year without snow, without 

 tornadoes, without blizzards, and with equable temperature, much 

 sunshine, and long- continued fruitage. 



The figures quoted relating to rainfall apply more particularly 

 to San Jose, where the average annual fall is 19*85 in. In most 

 other districts of the county the rainfall is greater, the figures 

 ranging from 30 in. in the northern portion of the valley, to 

 40 in., and even to 65 in. in some of the mountain districts. The 

 heaviest rainfall occurs along the summits of the Santa Cruz 

 Mountains. The temperature is a little lower on the mountain 

 tops than in the valley, as the upper currents of the air are 

 always cooler. 



