The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1870-03-23
A Trip to California.

In letter published in the Southern Cuz-
tivator, Prof. Joseph LeConte, now of the
University of California, thus describes his
journey to his new home:
Our trip across the Continent was really
delightful. The sleeping cars are so admira.
bic that there is not the least fatigue. I was
as fresh on my arrival, after seven days
travel, night and day, as was when I start
ed from New York--perhaps little more
so. The scenery-so beautiful, so novel, so
ever-varying-kept the mind in state of
constant pleasurabe excitement, First, the
boundless and !reeless, but luxuriantly green
plains of the Platte River valley; then the
excessive barrenness and ruggedness of the
Black Hills; then the deep and precipitious
cations; then the desolation of the Salt Lake
Valley, and the rainless alkaline plains !;
then the woody TANKS and snowy SUBMITS
of the Sierras; and finally, the fertile plains
of California. We arrived here in the latter
part of the dry season-there had been no
rain for three or four months. The country,
therefore, was brown and sere, and the air
dusty. The rain commenced about six weeks
ago, and now everything is green. With
the first fall of rain in October, the grass
springs, the trees bud, flowers expand, and
everything presents a beautiful appearance.
In all the private grounds, however, the
green and the flowers are kept up all the
year by artificial watering. The winter here
is so mild as not to interfere seriously with
the growth of vegetation.
The most remarkable popularity of the
face of the country which strikes new
conner, is the want of forests. You have no
doubt heard much of the magnificent forests
of California; but these are confined princi-
pally to the slopes of the Sierras-there are
some magnificent forests also on the coast
range. Such coniferous forests, believe,
are not to be found anywhere else in the
world. Besides the Giant Trees, (Sequoia
gigantea,) there is the redwood tree, which
often attains diameter of Is or 20 feet, and
heighth Of 800 feet; the Sugar pine and
the Pitch pine, each of which are often 10
feet in diameter and 300 feet high. A species
of Arbor Vitae, (Thuya, attainS an equal
size and altitude. About the Bay of San
Francisco, however, there is nothing like
true forests. Imagine bay five or ten
miles wide, and twenty or thirty miles long,
dotted with high rocky islands, completely
surrounded by beautifully picturesque mouu-
tains, 1900 to 5000 feet high, connected with
the Pacific only by narrow outletthe Golden
Gate" about mile wide, between high rocky
promontorieS, and you will have some idea of
this magnificent bay-certainly one of the
finest harbors IN the world" The mountains
about the bay, where they are not precipit-
Gus and rocky, are covered with green grass
and dotted over with clumps of trees, form
ing separate parks rather than forests. The
infinitely diversified Sculpturings of these
mountains, produced by erosive agencies, are
thus exposed to the eye of the geologist.
The most remarkable peculiartie8 of the
climate here, are, first, the alienation of
dry and wet season; and second the uni
formity of temperature. In speaking of the
wet season, you must Dot suppose that there
is constant rain. There is not more rain in
the wet season than we have in the winter
East. The rain falls so gently that much
less sufices. There is the same proportion
perhaps greater proportion of fine days
here than there. The winter is the most
delightful season of the year. The rains
are often at night, and the days bright. The
mean winter temperature is about the same
as in the low country of Georgia, but the
extremes here are not so great. We have
only light frosts the summers are never so
hot as to produce the slightest lasSitude; the
summer afternoons are too cool-really
chilly. Everybody, therefore, wears the
same clothing and fannelS all the year
round. This is the coast climate here. In
the interior, the winters are colder, and es-
pecially the summer days are hotter-very
hot; but the nights are always COOL Never
a night in California in which one does not
require blanket. On the other hand,
scarcely any fire in winter-only little
morning and evening. The coast climate
farther south is not affected by the chilly sea
breezeS of the summer afternoons. The
chilliness of the winds spoken of is due to
the existence of an Arctic current off the
coast in this part. The climate here is de
cidedly invigorating-it has agreed with us
all wonderfully,