There is another plant in high estimation with the Californians, called
_canchalagua_, which is held by them as an antidote for all the
diseases to which they are subject, but in particular for cases of
fever and ague. For purifying the blood, and regulating the system, I
think it surpasses all the medicinal herbs that have been brought into
notice, and it must become, in time, one of the most important articles
in the practice of medicine. In the season for flowers, which is
generally during the months of May and June, its pretty pink-coloured
blossoms form a conspicuous display in the great variety which adorn
the fields of California.
The water-power in California is ample for any required mill purposes.
Timber for lumber is not so convenient as is desirable. There is,
however, a sufficiency of it, which, when improvements are made, will
be more accessible. The timber on the Sierra Nevada, the most
magnificent in the world, cannot be, at present, available. The
evergreen oak, that grows generally in the valleys, is not valuable,
except for fuel. But in the _canadas_ of the hills, and at several
places on the coast, particularly at Santa Cruz and Bodega, there is an
amount of pine and fir, adapted for lumber, that will not be consumed
for a long time.
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