Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 2.djvu/464

386 We have thus obtained from reliable sources, a fair account of the soil, situation and climate of California, with the exception of that portion of the new State lying to the southward and eastward of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Range, and between those mountains and the Colorado. This district is believed by experienced Californians to be mostly desert; at least, so much of it as lies upon the usual emigrant trail from the Colorado to San Diego, and that which is further north, in the neighborhood of Frémont's explorations, is known to be of such a character. Elsewhere, however, in the large valley between the two great ranges of the coast and the Sierra Nevada, and in the small lateral valleys that pierce their rugged sides in every direction, are the arable lands of California. In a previous part of this notice we have shown that the present boundaries of the State give to her 155,550 square miles of superficial area, or 99,552,000 square acres, exclusive of islands adjacent to the coast. If it be granted that one half of California is covered with mountains and that one fourth is a desert waste, we have still one fourth, or 24,888,000 square acres of arable land left for productive purposes. Messieurs Gwin, Frémont, Wright and Gilbert, in their Memorial already cited, do not hesitate to assert, that, after all due allowances, three-fifths of the whole territory, embraced in the State of California, will never be susceptible of cultivation or useful to man. This would leave, as the remaining two fifths, 62,220 square miles, or 39,820,000 square acres, constituting the total valuable agricultural and grazing district, and distributed at intervals over the whole surface within the actual boundaries.

Such are some of the substantial elements of self-reliance and independence possessed by the new State, exclusive of her precious metallic deposits. The genial soil is well adapted for the growth of those grains which are suitable for European or North American emigrants. Wheat, barley, rye and oats grow abundantly, as well as potatoes, turnips, onions, and all the roots known to our gardeners and farmers. Oats, of the species cultivated in the Atlantic States, are annually self-sown on all the plains and hills along the coast, and as far inland as the sea-breeze has a marked influence on the climate. This fact indicates that similar grains may be raised in the same region without resorting to irrigation. Apples, pears and peaches may be brought to great perfection under skilful culture. The grape, too, received much attention in former days at the missions and among the villagers, who produced an excellent fruit, the