Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
May,  1904.  J 
Correspondence. 
227 
fog.  In  Ventura  and  Santa  Barbara  Counties  the  bean  and  beet 
crops  are  grown  with  the  aid  of  the  moisture  of  the  fogs. 
So  you  see  we  have  the  proper  conditions  for  plants  needing  a 
dry,  hot  climate,  a  damp,  cool  climate — cold  winters  and  hot  sum- 
mers, or  an  even  climate  the  year  around,  such  as  is  found  around 
San  Francisco  Bay. 
At  Santa  Barbara  is  a  private  botanical  garden  in  which  it  is  said 
plants  from  all  parts  of  the  world  are  growing.  I  have  seen  the 
garden,  and  the  appearance  will  bear  out  the  statement. 
There  are  .several  large  and  successful  seed  farms  in  the  State, 
and  the  seeds  are  considered  of  fine  quality.  Near  Haywards  is  a 
peppermint  farm,  producing  oil  of  peppermint.  Olive  oil  is  also 
produced  in  large  quantities  in  the  State  ;  the  quality  is  as  good  or 
better  than  the  Italian. 
In  the  hills  near  Oakland,  the  camphor  tree  is  growing  wild ;  also 
bamboo ;  the  camphor  tree  was  planted  to  produce  camphor  for  the 
market,  and  I  suppose  the  bamboo  was  brought  over  at  the  same 
time.  The  camphor  tree  grew  and  flourished  and  produced  cam- 
phor, but  it  cost  from  #1.50  to  $2.00  per  pound,  when  camphor  was 
selling  in  the  market  at  50  to  60  cents  per  pound.  While  the  tree 
was  a  success,  the  business  was  not ;  but  at  the  present  indications,  if 
camphor  continues  to  advance  and  labor  becomes  cheaper,  Cali- 
fornia will  be  able  to  hold  the  camphor  market  in  check,  and  not  be 
at  the  mercy  of  the  Japanese  government.  At  the  present  time,  the 
tree  springs  up  in  the  unplowed  field,  like  sassafras  does  in  New 
Jersey.    It  is  found  there  now  as  a  bush  of  a  few  feet  in  height. 
Following  is  a  list  of  the  medicinal  plants  I  have  observed  grow- 
ing here:  Peppermint,  pennyroyal,  cascara  sagrada,  balm  of  gilead, 
horehound,  mustard  (cultivated),  catnip,  phytolacca,  stramonium, 
tansy,  quercus  (yielding  nut  galls),  yerba  santa,  yerba  buena,  fennel, 
spikenard,  rumex. 
At  Vallejo  I  have  seen  rank  growths  of  fennel  in  the  streets  near 
the  water  fronts ;  in  this  county  I  have  observed  the  alder,  which  in 
the  East  grows  as  a  bush  along  the  water  courses,  growing  like  a  tree, 
having  a  height  of  35  to  40  feet  and  a  diameter  of  8  to  10  inches. 
With  most  plants  in  this  State,  it  is  not  a  case  of  "  Will  they 
grow?  "  but  "  Will  it  pay  to  grow  them  ?  " 
Yours  very  respectfully, 
W.  H.  Guest. 
Willits,  California. 
