Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-07-06
HOW TO GET TO CALIFORNIA.

tnree-oerthed encofhnments TO which you will
be contiaed, will not allow any larger package
ana the access to your large trunks is so diff
cult and destructive that it is best to let them
slumber till you reach your destination. In
whatever season, you will require light clothes
an the Caribbean sea, and thence two thirds of
the way to San Francisco. When you reach
Lower California, you will suddenly require
all your wOclens, and in California, heavy un-
der and outer clothing must be always n chief
part of your wardrobe, especially if you locate
anywhere within fifty or one hundred miles of
the coast.
In engaging your berth, prefer the seaward
exposure, and three or four state rooms astern
Of the wheels. The New York officers will tell
yoa that your ticket is numbered for the Pacific
steamer, and entities you to a corresponding
choice there. Pay no regard to this You will
nnd that extra means must be resortcd to- if
You would secure any regard to the rights you
were promised. The voyage is not SO great n
matter as you will anticipate. The crowded
company SoOG forms itself into circles Of COM
panionship, and we found the time alwavs
aSreeably occupied, without dull moment, to
the end. Take with You means of amusement.
chess, backgammon boards cards song books.
SPy-giasses Opera glasses arc bes0; map of
tne route will be found in great request. La
dies are social on board ships. and with n few
such means of pastime they will keep social life
active A violin player, for dancing on deck
In the evening, and guitar to aid singing will
be found invaluable
You will find good order and good humor
prevail. Every one seems to hayo made IN
hiS mind to make the most of things, and gen
eraIiy' passengers are agreeably disappointed
Sea-slckness is a small affair If you face the
music and have il out, it will be all over on
the secOnd day with US, two hours finished
the complete settlement of accounts There
after you feel buoyant and appetitish The
boarding Is good in substantials. You will not
af h,.tE Al Al
the Pacific 1T was sweet. Tea-drinkers must
provide the article and spirit-lamp to make
It Coffee Is usually good on the Pacific
steamers. Little nicknacks in your private
sores never come amiSs. Champagne and
Bergner bottled lager are complete stomach
ses4hers, when rough weather disturbs you.
You will find a memorandum book and Its use
agreat beguiler of the hours. If you follow
these directions, and put on your best good
nature, your voyage to California will be- as
ours, like picnic on the lakes Ladies will
sFprehend exposure for want of privacy. But
You will find the unayOidablity of exposure
calls forth all the delicacy for which Ameri-
cans are world-renowned. and nobody on board
ship will appear to see what ladies desire to be
unObseryed. This is particularly seen when
in the tropical heat, ladies with Young children
have to lie about the floors OF the deck and
saloons, considerably exposed, but never in
suited by rude gaze or remark The most in
VI,
are obliged to spend their honeymoon in sepa-
rated berth rooms, unless the couple will pay
tor third passengers fare, which is seldom
thought to be so necessary before experience,
too late, reveals the astounding intelligence
When you get to the Isthmus, the first thing
you see ere you leave the wharf is tropical
fruits that tempt You almost beyond resistance
Cocoanuts, bananas, pine apples, oranges,
lines and variety of other fruits. These
may be eaten in the forenoon with moderation.
But great restraint is demanded by prudence.
To our unaccustomed organs of digestion they
bring disturbances which, in the Panama eli
mate, subject us to the deadly fever of the
lsthmuS, and to the often destructive diarrhra
Of that country On the Pacific side you have
almost always still wind and water; and that
part Of the voyage is enlvened by the frequent
sight of land, mountains upon mountains, and
bJ, now and then. whale blowing up his wa
ter-spOuts
Water spOuts are almost sure to be seen dur
Ing the passage through the Caribbean sea,
after you pass Cuba. The manner of their
formation is plain to the eye From a dark
stratum of rain-clOuds proceeds 4 gyrating
wind movement, which draws out q cOnical
tube OF clOud-we1b ng not unlike the spinning
m threads from cloud of cotton. This tube
sways to and fro in the wind, and is supple as
an elephants trunk. Ere this tube has spun
its length third of the way towards the ocean
a boiling movement of the water is observed in
the direction to which the water spout points
Often the water spout draws itself up and
forms no junction. But when the phenomenon
Is complete, the column Of water from the sea
advances upward, and the two sections meet,
forming one water spout, whose functions ap-
pears to be to pump up water into the cloud,
though doubtless the process is as often re-
yeTsed. When LIT alcne, the cO'u nm 6 ntly
attenuates its su bstance and divides itself up
ward and pwnwaId. But, should a ship strike
it or pistol ball be- fred into it for safety, it
bursts and sends down a terrible food, which
has, at times, destroyed the ship and its con-
tents The waterspout appears to be an in
tensihed process of evaporatian from below,
and Of rain fall from above, induced by trOpi-
cal intensity of heat and electrical disturbance
The Panama railway is all right, and gives
good despatch. Its route is through alternate
wet and dry lands, mostly in forest and tangled
shrubs of varicolored flowers, with huge vines
hanging from highup limbs, forming natural
swings fit for service The soil is very rich,
and the whole may be readily drained. But
1t rains during eight months Of the year, and
can scarcely be made healthy. But Aspin-
wall, which is on a coral island, just isolated
from the mainland by good filling drainage,
and by the admirable management Of the own
ers, appears 10 be not unhealthy to the temper
ate. The stranger, if he observe only the
buildings and their business will imagine him
self in some town on.the Mississippi. Every
thing is clear Yankee. till you the trees
and fruits, and the half Indian and half negro,
work-peOple and msrketjobbers at their mid
street table stands.
The Pacific steamers coal from lighters in the
bay Of Acapulco, giving you four hours to q
ashore aud see life in Mexico, whicA in this
yearly esrthquake-shaken town, is worth see
ing. The finest row boats present themselves
In countless numbers, and with vOciferous ap-
peals that beat the New York cabman. Here
they quickly cook you fowls that are kept alive
ready -plucked for emergencies. At whatever
hour Of night you arrive, the town is astir, and
the streets filled in the centre with fruit stands
Do not omit taking all your ladies ashore. II
Is a grateful recreation and very invigOrating
DRY PRISTISG.-The following is from a late
number of the London Mining Journal:
A new paper has been made with prepared
albumen from residue of the beet root after dis
tillation and the manufacture Of sugar, which
has been patented by the inventor DR. Collyer
The greaf pacutiaritv of this naner - tho, :,