Glasgow weekly times. (Glasgow, Mo.) 1848-1861, 1850-05-09

- "S 'd'iotiOuS III we CIlmdtC OF CuI'
ifornia account for the various and con.
fiictlng opinions and statements res.
pecIing it.
A stranger arriving at San Francis.
co IN summer is annoyed by the cold
winds and fogs, and pronounces the
climate intoIerable. A few months will
modify IT not Danish his dislike, and he
Will not fail 10 appreciate the beneficial
effects Of cool, bracing atmospheric
Those who approach California over
land. through the passes Of the noun.
tains. find the heat of summer, in the
middle of the day, greater than they
have been accustomed TO, and therefore
may compaia of it.
Those who take mp their residence in
the valleys which are situated between
the great plain of the Sacramento and
San Joaquin, and the coast range of
bills, find the climate, especially in the
dry season, as hcalthful and peasan, s
tits possible for any climate 10 be which
possesses sefficien, heat to mature the
cereal grains and edible roots of the
temperate zone.
The division of the year into two dis
tinct seasons-dry and wct-impresses
those who have been accustomed TO the
variable climole of the Atlantic States
unfavorabIy. The dry appearance Of
the country in summer, and the Difficult
ty of moving about in winter, seem to
impose series difficulties in the way Of
agricultural prosperity, while the many
and decided advantages resulting from
the mildness Of winter, and the bright,
clear weather of summer are not ap-
preciated. These will appear when
come TO speak of the productions of
California. We ought not TO be sur
prised a, the dislike which the immi.
grants frequently express to the eli
mate. /, is so unlike that from which
they come, that they cannot readily ap-
preciate its advantage, or become recon.
ciIed TO the extremes Of dry and wet.
If a native Of California were 10 60
TO New Englsnd in winter, and see the
ground frozen and covered with snow.
the streams with ice, and find himself
in temperature many degrees colder
than he ha ever felt before, he would
probably be as much surprised that peo-
pie could or would live in so inhospita.
ble region, as any emigrant ever has
been al wha, he has seen or felt in Cali
fornia.
So much are our opinions Influenced
by early impressions. the vicissiludes of
the season with which we are familiar
love of country, home and kindred, that
we ought never to hazard has,y opin-
ion when VIC come in contact with cir.
cumstances entirely different from
those 10 which we have all our lives
been accustomed.
SOIL.
The valleys which are situated paral.
lei to the coast range, and those which
extend eastwardly in all directions
among the hills towards the great plain
ofihe Sacramento, are Of unsurpassed
fertility.
They have deep, black, alluvial soil,
which has the appearance of having
been deposited when they were cover
ed with water This idea is strength,
ened by the fact that the rising grounds
on the borders Of these valleys and
many hills Of moderate elevation, have
a soil precisely like that of the adjoin.
ing plains.
This soil is SO porous, that il remains
perfectly unbroken by guliies. nolwith.
standing the great quantity Of water
which falls in it annually, during the
wet senson. The land in the northern
part of the territory, on the Trinity and
other rivers. and on the borders Of
Clear Lake, as far as il has been exam.
ined, is said 10 be remarkably fer.
tile.
The great valley of the Sacramento
and San Joaquin has evidently been, at
some remote period, the bed of a lake;
and those rivers, which drain it, present
the appearance of having cut their
channels through the aluvial deposit
after il had been formed. In fact, it is
not possible that they could have been
instrumental in forming the plan thro'
which they pass. Their head-walors
come from the extreme ends of the val.
ley, north and south; and, were it not
for the supply Of water received from
the streams which flow into them from
the Sierra Nevada, their beds would
be almost, if not quite, dry in the
summer months. The soil is very rich
and, with proper system of drainage
and embankment. would, undoubtedly,
be capable of producing any crop, ex-
cept sugar cane, now cultivated in the
Atlantic States of the Union.
There are many beautiful valleys and
rich hill sides among the foothills Of
the Sierra Nevada. which, when the
profits of labor in mining shall be redu.
ced so as 10 cause its application to ag-
ricullure, will probably support large
population. There is said to be q rich