The morning call., 1891-02-11
SEEKING IMPORTATION
About California and What 1t Can an,
Does Produce.

About California and What 1t Can and
Does Produce.
a gentleman doing business in San Fran
cisco and having home in Sonoma County
received letter few days since from a
friend in Chicago asking for Information
about California, as it is his intention to
locate somewhere" and to this the follow
ing reply was sent:
Since you compliment me by saying that you
"thlnk' you can believe me, although Cal.iOr-
man, VIII answer your several questions To The
best OF my ability. You say that yourself and
TWO Others wish 10 make final settlement some
Whete III CidiOTnla; You WISH TO locate where
you can enjoy all those comforts for which the
State IS celebrated, aud II possible you wish 10
livt near THIS city. You want oranges olives
and In fact all kinds OF California fruits, a
healthy, pleasant climate, convenient sea bath
Ing, etc, and you ask, "What Is the matter with
Santa Rosa; why has II no watering place on the
Coast? Is il Too cold ?-will oranges grow
there?" etc. Now, before answering YOU VIII
say this: There are In California Two distinct
Kinds oil GalllOInlans one class are called
boomers. They believe in advertising the coun-
Try Tor all that is GU. They believe IN the coun-
ny, swear by II, and possibly exaggeIate little
when speaking Of this lovely Stale. he other
class Is called by the boomers silurians They
are mostly old CaifoIniaus who believe in the
country possibly more than the boomers, but
they do not wish to sell out. and they think tie
best way 10 work for tho interests OF The State is
10 develop IL and let 1t speak for ITSELF They
think tue state Is settling up fast enough. They
are opposed 10 any scheme which would tend 10
HI up lhe state with class oil Undesirable Gill
Zens, and they believe that those who must be de-
celved or assisted In any way TO get them here
would be undesirable Now l suppose that
belong TO the sllurans. so II don't praise Cal
fognlt as much as you expected l would you
Will know the reason Now you can get all that
you ask for In any OF the valleys around this
bay; but you cannot find any one locality any
where that Will excel In all things, because diff
erent fruits require different conditions. My ex-
peilence is that the best oranges are always
grown where the summers quite warm; in
tact, / think too warm for comfort. SO far
Riverside, IN southern California, and Oroyie
and Its vicinity In Central California, appear 10
excel in oranges. AS to olives, IL Is believed
lhaJ they VIII do well everywhere on the low
hills and in the valleys in this part Of lie State
thousands OF acres are planted to olives In
Sonoma and Napa counties, and many orchards
aIe now bearing lruit Apples are grown every
where, but the best are raised IN the foothills OF
Inc Sierra Neyadas or along The coast believe
the apples OF the future will be grown along the
northern coast, near the ocean, for tuere the
cOuiln inoth does not seem 10 lnJure them. All
other fruits seem 10 do well everywhere. This,
10 regard 10 fruits. Is my opinion, based upol
what knowledge / have GU tue subject Santa
Rosa is pretty place, situated In The middle Of
a large fertile country where all the fruits OF
California are successfully grown. The town Is
improving larry well al present, and viii pfoba-
bly, grow TO be quite city. There Is no rail-
road to the coast, and seaside resort IribtI-
taIy or convenient 10 the place as yet With a
railroad, Santa Rosa would be within one hour
OF the ocean.
In regard to climate along the coast will be
able TO give you some iacts gathered partly by
personal observation during the last forty wears
and partly Il ON the new Coast Pilot by Profes-
scr George Davidson, than whom there Is no
better authority. The air near the water and
the water OF the ocean, at any gwen point along
the coast, are almost exactly OF the same tenn
perature. AS you 90 north along the coast the
water OF the ocean increases III GOODNESS about
one degree Fahrenheit for one degree of lati
tude. This would make the ocean west of
Santa Rosa between one aud no degrees colder
than at Santa Cruz and Monterey, which small
difference, l think, would hardly be noticed.
There seems to b. popular idea, even in San
Francisco and the northern valleys, that the
coast north of here is much colder aud more
foggy than the southern coast This idea Is
mostly erroneous, aud arises from ths The
people or San francisco Judge by their own
climate, aud people from the northern valleys, in
going to the coast, 20 through the gaps in the
coast range. and they judge the whole coast by
what they hnd In these wind gaps. Their con-
clusions do not do justice to the northern coast
climate, Tor II Is we'll known that two-thIrds OF
the time when these wind gaps are filled with
fog the bald shore OF the ocean, perhaps within
mile or two, especially TO The northward, may
be clear, warm and pleasant. / have SEEN per-
baps on hundred different occasions the en-
trance 10 San Francisco Bay. Tonlales, Bodepa
and the mouth OF Russian River enyrloped in
dense fog, While two miles north of the latter.
where The coast range Is unbroken, the whole
coast aud Including narrow strip along the
ocean, would be clear and warm. Professor
Davidson fully lexplains this 10 the new Coast