20 
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
PART II. 
Horticultural Interests. 
California is the greatest fruit-growing State in the Union, 
and Santa Clara County is the most important horticultural 
district in the State. This fact is widely known, but com¬ 
paratively few are familiar with the factors which combine to 
produce this result. 
One of the most important is the climate. Upon it successful 
and profitable horticulture very largely depends. Climate in 
turn depends upon the contour of the country and its relation to 
those influences which control meteorological conditions. The 
climate here is determined principally by the Japan current, 
which brings the heated waters of the Indian Ocean across the 
Pacific and sweeps our Californian shores from north to south. 
In the same way, but with a very decided difference, the New 
England shores are swept by cold currents from the Arctic Ocean, 
which bring from the frozen north great icebergs, which chill 
the waters. The Straits of Behring, on the other hand, are too 
narrow to allow the introduction into the Pacific of any con¬ 
siderable amount of water from the Arctic Circle, and there is 
not enough current to carry icebergs very far south. The Japan 
stream, therefore, has full sway, and currents of air from this 
warm water flow over California, modifying both the heat of 
summer and the cold of winter. Another factor which influences 
the climate here is the contour of the coast and the topo¬ 
graphical features of the mainland. 
The Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains bend like a great 
arm around the country from Alaska to Mexico, shielding it to 
a great extent from the cold waves from the east, and forming 
a barrier which effectually prevents the warm air of the Japan 
current from spreading over the plains of Nevada. This 
reserves its full influence for California. The conditions are 
unique, and the resulting climatic effects are not experienced 
elsewhere. Local conditions are also peculiarly favourable. 
The valley is protected from harsh sea winds on the west by an 
unbroken range of mountains. The Coast Range on the east 
protects us from the cold winds, which in winter sweep from off 
