“ California is further held back by the high price of labor and the scarcity and consequently high price of fuel. Moreover, the superior advantages offered in mining and agriculture have tended to divert capital from manufacturing. Nevertheless, the value of manufactured products has reached a high figure, being exceeded in but few States. The exceptional resources of field and forest account chiefly for this; but the relation of the State to Hawaii has given rise to a large sugar-refining industry, while mining has created a demand for quantities of machinery and explosive materials. ”

“ The Sierra Nevada is characterized by its extreme ruggedness, the sharp, precipitous, deeply sculptured profile of its peaks and gorges, and by the great average altitude of its central mass, as well as by the prevalence of many peaks, which not only reach into the zone of perpetual snow, but bear remnants of the vast glaciers which, until comparatively recent times, covered the crests of the whole range and took so large a part in its erosion. ”

“ No State of the United States, indeed, few of the most favored countries of the world, can boast of so delightful a climate as that of the valley lands of California. Two seasons, the wet and the dry, divide the year ”

“ The canning and preserving of fruit has now become of equal importance, having almost doubled its value during the decade, and placing California first among the fruit-producing States. In the above, some vegetables are also included, such as tomatoes and peas. The manufacture of liquors, also dependent upon agriculture, is developing at an almost equally rapid rate. The high grade of grapes grown has given rise to the manufacture of wines, whose output now exceeds the total of all the other States, being estimated at $3,900,000. ”

“ In the mining districts the Chinese occupied claims which had been abandoned as exhausted by their original proprietors, or acted as cooks and menial servants. In the towns they performed various duties. Their stolid patience and their capacity for long and sustained work made them in one way ideal laborers for the development of a new country; but their extreme frugality and their willingness to work for a small wage made them formidable competitors of white labor. ”

“ The cultivation of hops is rapidly becoming an important industry.
Irrigation. The aridity of the climate of California is not so extreme as is generally supposed, nor is it without its advantages. In most parts the rainfall of the spring months is sufficient for the development of the early maturing crops, while the numerous mountain streams supply a source of irrigation for the production of the more valuable or the later-maturing crops. In nearly every county some farming is done without the aid of irrigation. ”

“ The average mean temperature at San Francisco is 51°—summer, 60°; winter, 49°. Trade winds from the southwest prevail along the coast and give the valleys opening toward San Francisco Bay a climate peculiarly their own. Owing to the cool summer climate of the coast between parallels 35 and 40. San Francisco in July is cooler than San Diego by 7°, and than New York by 17°, and does not attain its highest temperature until the trade winds cease in September.
In the central valleys greater extremes of temperature are experienced than along the coast. ”

“ The Indians were early converted to Christianity, gradually weaned from their nomadic and barbaric state, and induced to lead a settled life. They were taught farming and other civilized pursuits and became in time a peaceful and industrious people. The Spanish Government, which intended eventually to turn the mission estates into administrative districts, never acknowledged the title of the priests to the land, and in 1777 began the founding of pueblos or towns. Upper California was divided into the four provinces of San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco. ”

“ In the latter year there were over 71,000 men, 17,000 women, and 2000 children under 10 years of age employed in manufacturing, constituting in all 6.1 per cent. of the population. Of the fourteen leading branches of manufacture, five were dependent upon agriculture or horticulture. As a wheat-growing State, California early became an important flour-producer, shipping considerable quantities to China and other foreign countries; but with the change of interest from wheat to fruit, the production of flour has slightly decreased, as will be seen from the table appendedabove. ”

“ Hides were formerly exported, but are now manufactured into leather within the State, and this industry has grown until the local supply of hides no longer equals the demand. The manufacturing interests originally developed in response to the demands of local mining concerns are now beginning to enter other markets. Ship-building is also developing. The United States battleship Oregon was constructed by a California establishment. Over two-fifths of the total product of manufactures was accredited to San Francisco; but the city had no gain during the decade. ”

“ California has been subject to a variety of conditions, the effect of which has been to guarantee a steady development of the manufacturing industry, but within very definitely restricted limits. The State's comparative isolation and remoteness from other centres of population, and the heavy freight charges necessarily incurred in transportation to and from the State, have given a field free from competition. ”

“ Most of the gold is now obtained from the quartz mines, especially in Calaveras, Kern, Trinity, El Dorado, Nevada, and Sierra counties. Gold-mining is to-day greatly facilitated by the application of electrical power, which the mountain streams are made to generate. The great prominence and significance of gold in the early years of the State are evident from the great size of the output, the annual average for the decade between 1850 and 1859 inclusive being estimated fit over $55,000,000, and constituting nearly the entire product of the United States. ”

“ Several rodents, such as the golden and Douglas squirrels, are peculiar to these parts of the mountains, while the plains abound in burrowing rodents, among which are large hares that have increased since civilization reduced their enemies, until in the central and southerly parts of the State they have become a decided pest. The coast fauna comprises several representatives of the seal family. The birds of California include many species not known elsewhere. A species of vulture, the California condor, was the most remarkable, but is extinct save in Lower California. ”

“ Granite is especially prominent in these localities and constitutes some of the highest peaks. The elevation of the Coast Range took place at the close of the Miocene period, while the Sierras were formed largely by an uplift that occurred near the end of the Jurassic period. Carboniferous strata occupy a large area in the central part of the State, but they inclose no coal-seams of economic importance.
Mining. California is rich in mineral deposits, particularly gold, which is found in over thirty counties, and the rapid settlement and development of the State were due to this fact. ”

“ The trees of all species are of great size. For illustration, see Sequoia.
Stretching along the Coast ranges from the Oregon line southward nearly to the Bay of San Francisco, and in scattered groves even as far as Santa Cruz, is found the redwood, whose enormous trees form an extremely dense forest, extending to the lower part of Mendocino County. This forest occupies the foggy, wet stretch of land closely bordering the coast. East of this, in the northern Coast ranges, is a mixed forest consisting of red fir and yellow and sugar pines. ”

“ Commerce centres mainly at San Francisco, over two-thirds of all the merchandise imported to the Pacific Coast entering, and considerably over half the exports leaving, by that port. The great lumber trade of the Pacific Coast finds its chief market in that city. The other customs districts are Wilmington, San Diego, and Humboldt. There are lines of steamers to Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, etc., and to New York, Great Britain, Hawaii, China, Japan, Australia, and South America. ”

“ At least one-half of them can speak enough English to carry on ordinary conversation, and the greater number wear citizens' clothing. They are, as a rule, self-supporting, rations being issued only to the old and infirm. In some of the reservations, not only stock-raising, but farming and fruit-growing, have attained a considerable development. The Indians of the Yuma Reservation are the most primitive in the State, living principally upon fish and the mesquit-bean, which abound on the reservation. ”

“ In the north the summer is warmer and the winter cooler than in the south. The rainfall decreases gradually from north to south, being 51 inches at Cape Mendocino and 46.6 inches at Redding, in the interior, on the same parallel as Cape Mendocino, 23 inches at San Francisco and 4 inches at Bakersfield. In southern California the climate may be said to reach perfection. At San Diego the mean winter temperature is 54°, summer, 68°, and at Santa Barbara, 53° and 68° respectively. At Monterey the difference between the average temperature of January and July, is 6°; at Los Angeles, 12°. ”

“ About 1,000,000 acres are devoted to its cultivation—or nearly one-third of the total acreage under that crop in the United States. Both wheat and barley are extensively used for hay, being cut down while green. Corn matures later and requires irrigation, and inasmuch as the irrigated land is more profitable when devoted to the more valuable crops, and barley can be substituted for corn, but little of the latter is cultivated. ”

“ Most of the Indians are taxed, and have made considerable progress in civilized life. The most decided increase during the decade was on the part of the natives born of foreign parents, this class exceeding 21 per cent. of the total population.
There are 9.5 individuals to the square mile, and a decided tendency is manifested to segregate in cities. There are twenty-four places having a population above 4000, their inhabitants constituting 48.9 per cent. of the total population, though in seven States the percentage is higher. The following are the leading cities: San Francisco, 342,700 ”

“ California ranks among the progressive States in its educational policy. The educational system is wide in scope and thorough in administration, and the length of the school year (165 days) is exceeded in only one or two States west of the Alleghanies. The State has succeeded better than most States in dealing with the rural school problem, but still suffers from an undue multiplication of small rural districts. The compulsory school law is not generally enforced. ”

“ Slaughtering is another thriving industry, especially the branch of it which is concerned with meat-packing, this having increased in value from $2,400,000 to $8,200,000. The production of factory butter, etc., although having practically begun during the decade, has already become important. The State ranks second in the production of beet-sugar, the product for 1900 being valued at $3,500,000. Besides this, San Francisco, being the nearest port of entry, secures raw sugar from Hawaii for refining. ”

“ The long coast line has few excellent harbors, and the inland navigation is not extensive, being confined principally to the Sacramento River, which is navigable for small vessels as far as Red Bluff, and the Colorado, which is navigable through its entire course along the borders of the State.
Railway facilities are well developed, particularly in the great central valley. Only in the northeastern portion of the State is commercial progress seriously retarded by a lack of transportation accommodations. ”

“ San Diego is 6° or 7° cooler than Charleston or Vicksburg, which are nearly in the same latitude. The great heat of the interior and of the southwest, where, as at Fort Yuma, the average summer temperature is 92°, is due to the dryness, which is easily borne, and sunstrokes never occur. Thunderstorms are common in California. Everywhere the nights are cool, or at least endurable ”

“ Males who have lived one year in the State, ninety days in the county, and thirty days in the voting precinct, and have not been convicted of infamous crimes, embezzlement, or misappropriation of public money, and can read the Constitution or write their own names have the right of suffrage ”

“ Large numbers of cattle are shipped into the State from Arizona to be fattened for market. Dairying has but little developed. The general breed of horses is not of a high grade, but there are a number of large horse-raising farms which are noted for their superior breeds, and their trotters, especially, are in great demand in the eastern markets. Ostrich farming is limited to a few ranches. ”

“ Steam power is largely used. Barley is the only other cereal which is extensively grown, and the only crop which has been rotated with wheat. The conditions are very favorable to its growth, and there is a tendency to substitute it for corn as a stock-food. ”

“ By shifting the stock from the foothills in the summer to the valleys in the winter, pasturage is afforded for the greater part of the year. The increased production of alfalfa has greatly advanced stock-raising. The State was formerly one of the foremost sheep and wool producers, but for twenty-five years the number of sheep has constantly decreased, and at the close of the Nineteenth Century was less than one-half its former size, being about 2,000,000. ”