18 
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 68*8 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gradually superseded by the coolness of autumn.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 ah' are 
always cooler. 
