It was only after the first decline in the °diggings"— after the pursuit of gold became less a fortuitous scramble for surface nuggets, and mining had come to demand skill, patience, and business methods — that attention began to be paid to the soil. Though for 80 years the Franciscan missionaries had already proved, in little oases about their missions, the won derful fertility of California, the aridity of cli mate and the °look* of the land, so unlike in color and texture to soils recognized as fertile at home, led the adventurers to believe for years that California was worthless except for mining and stock-raising. It was only when the real of the soil be to be under stood that character of population underwent essential change. Immigration in the first decade was almost purely of male fortune hunters, with no thought of permanent resi dence. They came to get rich and go home. But when the slow comprehension dawned that in agricultural possibilities the State was incon ceivably richer than in mineral resources, and that here was not only the most hospitable of climates, but the most generous land for home building, an entirely different type of tion began — the migration of families. stream, small at first, has continued steadily since about 1870. In 1886 the completion of a competing railroad into southern California— to which its first transcontinental line had brought but slow increase of population or development — precipitated another migration numerically greater than the gold rush, almost as rapid, far longer continued and of entirely different category. It was characteristically of well-to-do and educated families, without the heroic qualities of the pioneers, but of much higher average in the civic and financial scale. came not to tame a wilderness, but to enjoy such a land as travelers seek along the Mediterranean. They came by Pullman cars instead of prairie schooner'; instead of felling forests they planted groves of tropical fruits; instead of building frontier cabins, they erected a class of homes such as probably cannot be found among an equal population. It is only by reference to the peculiar character of this migration that the development and progress of California in all social, educational and material lines during the last 25 years seems at all credible.
In 1880 the population was 864,694; in 1890, 1,208,130; in 1900, 1,485,053; in 1910, 2,377,549, an increase of 60.1 per cent since the census of 1900; in 1916 it was 2,938,654. The recent great increase in population, however, has been dis proportionately in the seven southern counties of the State. Much more than half of the State gain for 20 years has been in eight counties, in cluding in the northern half of the State only the city and county of San Francisco. Since 1880, Los Angeles had by 1910 outstripped in population 99 other American cities then numer ically larger. In 1900 it was the 36th city in the Union in population, and only 13 cities in the Union had gained as many people in the decade. There are 58 counties, with 116 incorporated cities and towns; 50 places exceeding 5,000 popu lation; 25 exceeding 10,000; and 12 exceeding 25,000. Of total population of 1,485,053 (1900), whites were colored, 11,045; Chinese, 45,753; Japanese, 10151; Indians, 15,377. The total males were 820,531; females, 664,522. Population has doubled in 1918; but these pro portions are practically maintained. While in most of the far Eastern States the excess of females to males is increasing, in California the growth is steadily toward a balance. Of the total population, 1,117,813 were native born and 367,240 foreign.
The 15,377 Indians in California, compris ing at least 14 different linguistic stocks, live principally on three reservations in the north, on 1 at Yuma, and 32 "mission° reservations, all on the edge of the desert in the south. They are mostly self-supporting, peaceful and fairly industrious farmers, with government day schools everywhere among them; besides which, 2,934 Indian children are in public schools. Their chief art is basket-making, in which some tribes lead the world for beauty and value of product. The record price for a basket is $2,000; but prices average from $5 to $50. The government is now encouraging this industry by teaching it in Indian schools.
Chief For more than 60 years San Francisco was the largest city west of Saint Louis (about 2,000 miles by rail), and by far the largest on the entire Pacific Coast of North, Central and South America. Within a decade it has been outstripped by Los Angeles, which has now (1918) some 60,000 more population. San Francisco is still the foremost city of the whole Far West in business, commerce,. bank dearings and shipping. From a population of 2,000 in February, 5,000 in July and 20,000 in December of 1849 (the first results of the gold rush), it had by the census of 1850 about 25,000; and has increased steadily since as shown by the appended table. The extraordinary growth of Los Angeles has come from New England and its pioneer migrations as northern New York, the 'Western Reserve° of Ohio, northern In diana, Illinois, Iowa, etc. At the annual picnic of the Iowa Societies (one for each county) held annually in Los Angeles County, there are more Iowa people present than the total population of any city in Iowa. The New Eng land "State 'Societies° are also very large. In 1880 Los Angeles was the 135th city of the Union in population; in 1910 it was 12th in population, fifth in number of buildings erected, and eighth in value of new buildings; and first in expenditure per capita for new buildings. In 1918 it was about the eighth city in the Union in population. The first Federal census of California was in 1850. The following figures will show sufficiently the proportionate growth of the State and its leading cities: 1850 1870 1890 1916 State 92,597 560,247 1,208,130 2,938,659 edriPmacisco 25.000 149,473 298,997 463,516
Los 1,610 5,728 50,395 503,812 Oakland 48,682 185,604 San Diego 16,159 90,330 Sacramento 26,386 75,000 Berkeley 5,101 60,000 Pumno 10,818 45,000 Amadeus 4,882 46,450 Stockton 4,124 42,000 L.omilkmch. 564 32252 Riverside 4,683 Smijc46 18,060 34,000 Alameda 11,165 30,000 San Bernardino 4,012 18,000 , = The first large aviation field-meet in the United States was held in Los Angeles County about 1911. Until recently surpassed by a field in Texas, the North Island Field, San Diego was the largest in the country. Up to date, 1918, it has had the fewest fatalities, the climatic conditions making this location particularly adaptable for the training of beginners in avia tion. Los Angeles is the world's chief centre of the °Moving Picture° industry; the expendi ture within the cit)r__by the film industries amounting to about T20,000,000 a year, and the actors including nearly all the famous stage favorites. The fact that weather conditions are favorable nearly all the year is no more im portant than the fact that almost every land scape from that of Palestine or the Sahara to that of the Alps, from perpetual summer and roses to snowbanks and glaciers and deserts and almost every other geographic range can be duplicated within easy reach of the various studios, of which there are a large number. Egypt and Babylon and Switzerland, France, England and New England, South America the pictures of these are almost entirely °lo cated° in southern California. As with Florida, Switzerland and parts of New England, the tourist must be reckoned by the economist among the assets of the State. This is over whelmingly the case in the southern counties, where the tourist influx amounts in value to from $75,000,000 to $100,000,000 per year. In 1915, over 250,000 tourists visited southern Cali fornia. Unlike the case of other summer or winter resorts the number of tourists who re main permanently or return soon to become residents causes the increase in population which has, no parallel in United States history. The climate, the scenery, the romance of the missions and other history, the educational and other advantages, the class of population al ready here, the growth of automobiling and the unrivalled facilities for this in southern Cali fornia have conspired with other causes to make it the most visited State in the Union. Its permanent immigration is small from foreign countries except by individuals. Its great growth comes from the better classes of the Eastern States. From Point Concepcion on to San Diego (nearly half the total coast-line of the State) the littoral is dotted with dozens of cities, towns and resorts largely depending upon their in terests of bathing, boating, fishing, yachting, etc. The most important of these, from north to south, are Santa Barbara, Ventura, Santa Monica, Venice, Ocean Park, Redondo, Long Beach, La Jolla and Coronado at San Diego. The important seaside towns have their en closed swimming tanks; but many people take surf baths every month in the year. For climatic reasons above stated, the seaside above Point Concepcion is not as popular nor as popu lous for marine diversions, the water and the weather being alike too cool. Perhaps the most famous of these seaside resorts is the island of Catalina, about 20 miles off coast from the harbor of Los Angeles, with its placid bay and its remarkable °Marine which are viewed through glass-bottom boats; and its fishing which is internationally famous. Cali fornia is the paradise of the automobilist, and has more auto-vehicles per capita than any other part of the world. Within 10 years (end ing with 1917) over $40,000,000 have been spent by State and counties on °good roads"— of native asphalt and gravel, largely founded on concrete, and generally smooth as a table. One can ride almost from end to end of the State on these luxurious roads—and over 1,000 miles in Los Angeles County alone. There are many extraordinary scenic drives — some over a mile above the sea. This has naturally led to the decimation of deer, duck, rabbits, quail and trout, as well as the multiplication of cars. There were in 1917 over 400,000 auto-vehicles in the State— about two-thirds in the southern half. Southern California has also the largest per capita number of telephones in the world. The automatic telephone was perfected here. The number of telephones in California, 1 Jan. 1918, was 669,470, being one telephone to every 4.38 persons; for San Francisco, 130,175, being one to every 3.56 persons; for Los Angeles, 132,662, being one telephone to every 3.79 per sons. Comparison is often more graphic and more instructive than mere figures. California has a total area practically equal to that of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachu setts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and Pennsylvania combined; or England, Ire land, Scotland, Wales, Barbados, Mauritius, Straits Settlements, Cyprus and Hongkong together; or our Philippines, Hawaii, Porto Rico, Samoa and Guam, with Massachusetts and Connecticut thrown in. California has in its 18 "National Forests* more acres of great trees than the total area of the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware—and nearly another Delaware thrown in; and the national reserves are less than half the forestation of the State. California has enough primal desert•to blanket most of New England. But in that same desert is more mineral production per annum (except coal and oil) than is recorded for all States east of the Alleghanies in all their history.