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Show u203 found one of the most beautiful and striking shrubs of the coast- Dendromecon rigidum; its beautifnl yellow flowers shining conspicuously among a foliage that wore always a delicate glaucus bloom. It was the one redeeming feature of the vegetation. On the grounds most visited by the herds of sheep, all vegetation, save sage- brush, cactees and the crodium or storksbill, had been entirely swept away. The grass had gone completely, and saoh plants of the island flora as sheep would eat, it was with difficulty that I could get even a decent botanical specimen o£ In fact, pasture had become so thin that the sheep at the time of my visit mere wandering in very small bands that they might the more readily find food. Even the sage- brush was disappearing, as year after year the sheep had eaten away its leaves and younger shoots, until there was not left sufficient of the more green, succulent tissues to elaborate the sap. It is impossible to conceive a more dreary waste than was here produced as the result of over- pasturage. The question may come up further on as to the reciprocal relations existing between vegetation and rain- fall. It would seem more than probable that ever since the discovery of the continent this and the adjacent islands had a more abundant supply of water than at present. Tradition as well as historic documents prove that in no distant past they supported a population that must have reached into the thousands. Indeed the burial- grounds, that are so numerous and so rioh in articles of archteological interest, are often at points at which there is no water nearer than 3 or 4 miles, and there is abundant evidence that near the burial- places they had their permanent homes. What must have been the population that could cover, within a few centuries, an acre, to the depth of 10 or 20 feet, with the ordinary clam, muscle, and haliotus of the coast which were simply the refuse of their feasts. Yet, standing on one such shell- heap, I was able to count over twenty others within easy sight. This presupposes an immense population, and that, again, water in abundance at a point where none now exists. What has been the cause of this desiccation I am not able to say. The hypothesis has been advanced, that it is due to a greater elevation of the land. I have no evidence of this, as a met having taken place so late as would be required; besides, it would imply also that the pentral portions of the island alone were changed, leaving the shore- line as it was, for the mounds and burial- places of those who formerly had water are found near their habitations, on the shore- liner of to- day, a supposition which, though not impossible, is yet improbable. Supposing that a report on the results of exoavations will be given, I omit any statement or them here. It may not be out of place to call attention to the protecting influence the large sea- weeds have on shore- lines and on the harbors. Indeed to this alone, more than to anything else, is due the safety of the anohorage at Santa Barbara. It is a matter of regret that the authorities are willing to allow out- going and in- coming vessels, steamers particularly, to plough through and destroy, as they do. this the greatest protection to the harbor. I have stood on the hills to the north ana west and seen the heavy swell come in from the ocean, watched it become less and less as it penetrated deeper and deeper into the " kelp" until, emerging on the shore side, its force was spent and its size gone. Instances are not wanting to show how great this protective power is. The better way it would seem would be to have certain channels through which steamers might go out and in. From Santa Cruz Island we started to Los Angeles and temporarily joined the main party. While here I embraced the opportunity afforded by a letter of introduction from Lieutenant Wheeler to General Stoneman to visit the ranch of the latter. My time was exceedingly limited and another visit was contemplated. This I was, however, unable to make. I obtained the following facts relative to the productions of the region from General Stoneman, and they are, therefore, the result of a large and intelligent observation. In the neighborhood of Los Angeles from 40 to 60 bushels of corn ( shelled) to the acre is about a fair estimate. Oats may be regarded as indigenous, and in early times the most fabulous crops of wild oats were known to grow on the soil as a volunteer crop. Frequently it was so high that it could be tied on the back of a horse. The wild oats was then the pasture of the country, and on it the thousands'of " bronchos" lived without further attention from the owners. Of the oats produced under cultivation 32 pounds per bushel is regarded as the average weight. General Stoneman said that wheat could hardly be regarded as a reliable crop; it would fail, probably, four times out of five. I am led to think this is a mere local peculiarity, as certainly within 50 miles I saw abundant evidence as to the possibility of raising fine crops of this most important of all the cereals. It would be next to impossible to overrate the number and size of the pumpkins and squashes the soil of Southern California produces. Let the reader imagine the longest field he thinks possible and he will probably fall short of truth by 50 per cent. There are thousands of persons who have from the car- windows on the Central Pacific Bail-road seen the ground along the line of that road actually covered with them and of fabulous size, who will approve my statement and my failure to give figures to the incredulous. Apples are a sure crop and the trees bear in six years; peaches and plums |