Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-12-28
" meteorological PhenOmeMa
Southern California.


about the weather, and when the rains
fall in splendid volume they are reioiced
accordingly. Our seasons are capricious,
but quite reliable withal. 1t has been
the fashion to think of California as
State subject to drouth. Undue promi-
nence has been given to this tendency
from two causes, viz, the undoubted fact
that there are large stretches OF arid land
in California, which are not arabic in the
ordinary sense, and which need irriga-
ton, and because our rains come in a
very peculiar way. 1t requires much less
rain in this State to make crop than in
almost any other region of the globe. The
soil generally ranges in depth from five to
a hundred feet, as against the scant soils
OF the East. The rains come within a
period ranging from the end of Novem-
Der to the end of May. If this downpour
comes exactly right, twelve inches OF
rain will 60 further in California in ma
turing crop than the ordinary thirty
two to forty inches of the State of New
York and Pennsylvania, and the same
remark holds good as to the northwest.
In Illinois and Missouri crops are fire.
qlently failure when the rainfall has
been even above the usual average.
There is certain stage of the corn crop,
for instance, in the East, when tits in the
"milk," where if the rain is delayed for
two weeks the result is failure. In
Southern California, on the other hand
corn natures and very luxuriantly with
out drop of rain. In the winter of
1874-75 corn was planted west of Agri-
cultural Park after the last rain of that
season. The writer saw it put in and
afterward saw it mature into one OF the
most luxuriant crops which he recalls of
any section. 1t WAS planted on ground
outside of the city irrigating system, and
positively never had the benefit OF a
single drop of rain. An Easterner finds
it very difficult to realize fact like this.
This season we have had total rainfall
five times that of last year to date. The
probability is extreme that if only two
inches were to fall from now to the close
of the season of 1S88-SS, the crops would
be abundant beyond any chronicles OF
the past. 1t would be very good thing
if the mete geological officials of the
United States were to make a specially
OF this climatic popularity of California.
We have not encountered in our reading
any detailed mention of class of facts
which might be accumulated in great
volume, and which are OF notably in
teresting character. In the year 1876
Tour famous year Of drouth-the rain
fall of Los Angeles county was only 5.S4
inches. Yet it was in that year that the
experiment OF growing wheat on the
Centinela rancho was tried for the first
time. Strange to say, although the Cen
tinela had been sheep ranch for de-
cades, and Notwithstanding the re
trenched rainfall, the attempt was a
success. A number OF MIR. Dan Free
mans tenants, amongst the rest Mr..
Flood, came to him and offered to sur
render their teams, crops, ETC., for next
to nothing. Mr.. Floods return for his
labors was $4,000. Fortunately for him
he allowed MIR. Freeman to persuade
him to stay by his experiment.
There is no question but that the rain
fall of Southern California has increased
considerably of late years. This is doubt.
less due to the extensive planting OF trees,
and largely, also, to the force of capillary
attraction. Between the two agencies
crops in Los Angeles county are far more
certain than in New York or the Mott th-
west, fact scarcely known or accepted.
The cultivation of the soil has resulted,
through the well understood forces of
capillary attraction, in drawing the
moisture down from the atmosphere and
bringing it up from the soil. When CAL
ifornia shall have been thoroughly set
tied up miracles will be done with arid
lands that are now regarded as worthless.
With thorough cultivation crops will be
matured in this State on rainfall which
would be grossly inadequate East of the
Rocky Mountains.
The Government Of the United States
once did very good thing in dispatch
| ing Gen. Alexander and other officers of
the Engineer Corps of the Army to Spain,
Italy, the South of France, Egypt and
India to make an exhaustive examination
into the systems of irrigation which had
existed in those countries for centuries.
The report which these gentlemen sent
to the War Department was replete with
interesting matter. The HERALD begs
to suggest that competent officers of the
United States Signal Corps should be
detailed to collect data in Southern Cali
fornia relating to our increased rainfall
and to the effect that cultivation of the
soil has had on our meteorological phe-
nomena. The results of such an inquiry
could not fail to be instructive and val
liable.
The man who can do 80, yet fails now
to secure bit of Mother Earth as his
own in this eclectic section, will regret it
| the longest dav he lives and his childron