The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-02-01
California Generally Greatly
Benefited by the Late Pre-
cipitation.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY SUFFERS.
A Portion of That Region Gets Too
Much Water and Some Crops
Are Destroyed.

Between 60, 900, OOO, 900 and 10000, 00o,o 900
tons of water came gathering down on the
surface of this State during the recent
RAINY season, which commenced January
II The heat generated by the condensa-
ton of vapor which produced this rain
was sufficient to raise the temperature OF
the entire atmosphere which surrounds
the globe So says Weather Seer Ham
mond, and he has a formidable array of
statistics and reports to prove his asser-
tions.
Cup to the evening of the 18th" said
Mr.. Hammond, "the rainfall throughout
the entire State had been very light. No
where, except in the Sacramento Valley,
had there been sufficient rain to allow the
ground to be properly plowed. In the San
Joaquin the ground had been summer
fallowed, and the loosened soil was moth
ing but dry dust. In the Sacramento VAL
ley the crops were growing, but they were
much in need OF rain.
up to this period the rainfall in the
lower San Joaquin Valley had been about
3 inches; in the central portion OF the val
ley there had been precipitated about "a
inches, and about inch had fallen at the
lower end. This was about one-fourth OF
the precipitation for the same period last
year. In the Sacramento Valley the rain
fall varied from Az to inches, as against
IA to II inches for the same period of the
year previous. In the southern part of
the State the rainfall along the coast was
about inches. Last year at that time it
was about inches.
'At present the dryest portion of the
State which is devoted to agriculture is the
upper portion of the San JOAQUIN Valley,
in the vicinity of Bakersfield. Here they
have had from 3 to 81 inches. AT Fresno
they have had 4 inches, and Stockton has
had nearly 10.
! Sacramento has had about fourteen, and
Red Bluff, which usually exceeds Sacra-
mento, Is reported by cur correspondent
as having had about the same, though the
Southern Pacific gauge shows 1880 inches,
difference probably due to different ex-
posures. Six inches of rain fell at San
Luis Obispo during the late storm, and
Los Angeles got about four inches.
1.-THE rain was sufficient in all parts OF
the State. with the exception, perhaps, of
the region near Lake Tulare. All other
sections could get along all right without
another rain for month except from
Modesto south. Much of this region, how
ever, is by reason of irrigation independent
| of the rainfall.
1.-The Sacramento Valley was the only
| place where the rain did any injury.
| Considerable ground there was drowned
out and large sections are under water.
| The river reached very critical stage and
| dG present. is Up 10 70 IeeJ at sacramento,
| fall OF little over half foot from it's
highest mark during the storm. One or
two small islands are flooded and the
crops Oh these are destroyed. Large por-
lions of the TUE land along the shores,
which in dry years are capable OF cultiva-
ton, are under water and will remain so
/ until too late Tor planting this year. In
this way considerable harm was done in
that region, but generally the hnin was
very beneficial to the State"