rially from that of the counties farther south. It is a little cooler, more rain falls, and the surface is generally rugged and much of it covered with forest trees of great magnitude and value, some of which grow to fifty feet in circumference; redwood, cedar, oak, ash, laurel, and fir are abundant. There are, however, many rich valleys, and the pasture range is excellent, as the fogs from the ocean keep vegetation green the greater part of the year. The climate is perpetual summer, and semi-tropical and tropical fruits thrive. Dairying, lumbering, and agriculture are the chief pursuits of the people. There are eighteen thousand acres of land cultivated, producing one hundred and ten thousand bushels of wheat and one hundred thousand bushels of barley. One-third of the buckwheat raised in the State is grown in this county. The grape, orange, olive, mulberry, almond, walnut, lemon, fig, and fruits generally, do well. There are seven thousand cattle in the county, and one hundred thousand pounds of butter produced annually. Lumbering is carried on quite extensively, there being twenty-seven saw-mills in the county. There are numerous tanneries, lime-kilns, and a paper and powder mill at the town of Santa Cruz. SAN MATEO.-On the coast line, directly north of Santa Cruz county, bounded on the west by the Pacific ocean, north by the county of San Francisco, east by the Bay of San Francisco, and south by Santa Clara county, is the county of San Mateo. As will be seen, this county is situated upon the peninsula lying between the ocean and the Bay of San Francisco. The climate is much cooler, both in summer and winter, than in the counties farther south, but frost is almost unknown, and snow never falls; and most of the semitropical fruits grow well. On the coast the damps and fogs keep the grass green all summer, and the effects of drought are but little known. The surface of the country is rugged, and its southern half covered with forests of redwood, fir, cedar, oak, and other valuable timber; but the northern end of the county is rolling hills and small valleys, covered with grass and wild oats, but entirely destitute of trees. Large areas of the county are fit for agriculture and grazing. Dairying and lumbering are carried on to a considerable extent. Gold, in small quantities, has been discovered, but no mines of importance have yet been developed. During the early part of 1871, quartz veins, containing gold, silver, and lead, but abounding in the latter, had been opened quite close to the Bay of San Francisco, and within five miles of the city of San Francisco. The area of the county is four hundred and thirty-two square miles. There are eighty-five thousand acres of land cultivated, and four hundred and fifty thousand bushels of wheat, five hundred thousand bushels of barley, three hundred thousand bushels of oats, twentytwo thousand bushels of beans, six hundred thousand bushels of potatoes, thirteen thousand pounds of hops, twenty-four thousand tons of hay, thirteen thousand bushels of onions, two hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds of butter, and two hundred and fifty thousand pounds of cheese produced annually. Great variety and quantity of fruit and vegetables are produced for the San Francisco market. The grape, lemon, fig, walnut, almond, mulberry, olive, and orange are grown, but do not thrive so well as in the counties farther south. There are fifteen thousand five hundred cattle in the county, twenty-five miles of railroad, and seventeen saw-mills, the latter producing large quantities of lumber. This county furnishes San Francisco with its chief supply of milk and water. Redwood City, a small town upon the line of railroad from San Francisco to San José, is the county-seat. The railroad from San Francisco to San José and other points south passes through the whole length of the county. There are no towns of importance in San Mateo: Belmont, Menlo Park, and San Mateo, all upon the railroad lines, are thriving towns. The population of the county is 6,635, of whom 3,493 are native and 3,138 are of foreign birth. SAN FRANCISCO.-The county of San Francisco, in which is situated the city of San Francisco, the great mercantile emporium of the Pacific coast, and the third commercial city in the United States, contains an area of forty-two square miles, and embraces the narrow peninsula between the Pacific ocean and the Bay of San Francisco. It lies south of the Golden Gate, and the northern point of the county, upon which is situated the city of San Francisco, is a succession of rugged hills, sand ridges, deep gulches, and green valleys. On the southern side, adjoining San Mateo county, the surface is covered with grass and the soil is rich, but there are large ranges of mountains; while on the western side, facing the Pacific ocean, shifting mountains and hills of white sand, carried from the shore of the Pacific ocean inland for miles by the strong prevailing west winds of summer, give a wild and desolate appearance to a wide section entirely barren and destitute of trees. |