Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-12-27
Ths Local Status.

Year is reached without at least
one coplous rain the chan ces for a
dry year are at least eight to one
. calculation founded upon care
ful review Of the weather statistics
Of the past thirty years-thers are
yetseveral days before New Years,
In which it is liable to rain off.
hand and copiously. But, whether
1t rains before the New Year or 20,
the HERALD weather seer is salts.
Ned that the coming season will
have . sufficient rainfall. To drop
all assumptions of mystery, we
will give the gr ounds for the faith
that 10 in US. If any one will sup
ply himself with one Of those ta-
blss In which the rainfall for the
last quarter Of century is lndi-
Gated BY raised vertical lines, he
will nnd that no year of very
heavy rainfsll-such as the last
has at any time been followed by a
drouth. A year Of merely sufficient
rainfall 10 frequently followed by a
dry year, but . season of supera.
bundaut rains never. All signs are
said to fail In dry country; and
svsn our weather prophecy, found
cd upen the strictest principles of
anelogy, may fail, but we do not
bslisve that our judgment will be
discredited in the outcome. The
skies may stay serene and clear,
and decline to distill a tear for
wesks; but, until towards the end
Of February, we shall adhere to
our opinion that at least an ordi-
nary rainfall will be vouchsafed
our people this year.
We are as sensible as anybody
can be that our opinion on the
weather, Que way or another, il
not worth baubee; and we shall
therefore consider the matter on
the supposItion that the coming
season Is to be one OF drouth. Dis
guise it as We may, the fact is un-
questionable that more money is
In circulation in Los Angeles
county 10 u dry than in a wet year.
We will 60 further, and advance
the startling rproposition that if
standing drouth were guar
antsed in California Los An
gsles would soon be the rich
est county in hard cash, as it is
In latent agricultural and pomo-
logical resources, in the State. The
reason is a simple one, aud can be
summarized in brief sentence,
Wis We have the most varied irri-
eating facilities and the largest ex-
tent Of moist land of any county in
California-by moist lands we wish
to be understood as meaning land
which is reliably moist in years
when the small streams, instead of
being full, are dry, and in which
the rivers, instead of OVERT owing
their banks, scarcely rise to the
ancle OF the forder. The conse-
Quence is that, while our mesa
farmers, in such years, fail to make
crops, those of the farming class
who are fortunate enough to own
bottom lands, or lands with an ir-
rigation privilege, make splendid
crops and get very large prices
four or five times those realized by
the farmers OF the Northwest or the
Mississippi vailey-for their pro-
ducts.
Take the past year in Los Ange-
les county. 1t should be borne in
mind that that was the first year
In which our local rain gauges were
kept In check by branch of the
United States Signal Service de-
partnent. We consider that the
fact OF the existence of q United
States Sergeant in our midst gaug-
ing the rain at a considerable alti-
tude from the ground is equivalent
to a reduction of fully ten inches in
the reports of our local pluviome-
ters. The natural local enthusiasm,
AID the difference between q rain
gauge set on the ground and at q
considerable altitude, amounts TO
such discrepancy, without i'm
pugning the truthfulness of the
owners of the gauges. If our prem
fses are correct, we must have
had, last year, the largest rainfall
Of which any record has been made
In Los Angeles county.
The peculiar spontaniety of the
soil Of this county must be kept in
mind in noting the result of these
copious rains. -Under ~: genial
sun the cereals make stalk at ter.
rihc rate. Grain grows so rank
and tall that, as matter of course,
lodgment and rust follow. As
consequence. our wheat fields yield
ed but a fourth of crop, and our
barley failed to fill out properly,
last year. The excessive m DISTURB
even tol | against our vineyardists.
We thus find ourselves confront
Ell, in Los Angeles county, with
the singular paradox that we do
well In n rainy season which is not
too wet, and that q dry season
here, which extends throughout the
Stale at large, leaves the mass of
our farmers with an unusually
Dlafhoric hank apcoilnt