254 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
servations were given in a series of articles in Moore’s 
Bural New Yorker, from which I select and quote the fol¬ 
lowing : 
The Coast Range of California , etc .—California is estimated 
to contain within its boundaries 189,000 square miles. About 
50,000 square miles are supposed to cover the entire range of 
coast-valleys and mountains. 
There are large tracts of country on the coast range adapted 
to grazing and the dairy, though, taking the whole state to¬ 
gether, I was told the dairy lands were of comparatively limi¬ 
ted extent. One great advantage which the coast lands pos¬ 
sess is a low, even temperature—a temperature averaging 
about 60 deg. Farenheit during summer and winter, and subject 
to no extremes of heat and cold, like that prevailing in the 
middle and north Atlantic states. The winters are so mild 
that cattle do not require to be housed, and during most of 
the time can procure sufficient sustenance in the field. In¬ 
deed, cattle are often wintered without a particle of food other 
than that which they pick for themselves over the ranches— 
though it is not generally considered good economy to allow 
the herds to thus shift for themselves during the first part of 
the rainy season, since the rain washes out the nutritive ele¬ 
ments of the old grasses, while the new vegetation springing 
up, is flashy, or too immature to afford the requisite nourish¬ 
ment for the thrift and well-being of the animal. Hence in 
November and December it is considered good economy to 
eke out the pastures by giving the herds a daily allowance of 
fodder. 
The Climate , Grasses , etc .—To understand fully how stock is 
fed in California some explanation of the seasons and the char¬ 
acter of herbage found upon the ranches will be required. If 
we except the higher mountainous ranges, the California year 
may be divided into two seasops only—the wet and dry. The 
rains begin to fall during the latter part of October and con¬ 
tinue during November and December. The moisture is suffi¬ 
cient to start vegetation into a vigorous growth. Green past- 
