New, a province of Mexico, or New Spain, which extends from the isthmus of Old California, or the bay of Todos Santos, to Cape Mendocino in north lat. 40. 19. It is a narrow stripe of land, stretching to 600 miles in length by thirty in breadth. The climate is more mild than in the same latitude on the eastern coast. The California soil is as well watered and fertile as that of Old California; it is arid and stony. The aspect of the country is exceedingly picturesque and beautiful, and the inhabitants enjoy almost a perpetual spring. On every side are presented views of magnificent forests and verdant savannahs, whose numerous herds of deer, or elks of gigantic size, graze undisturbed in their sylvan retreats. The soil has easily admitted of different varieties of European vegetation; and the vine, the olive, and wheat are successfully cultivated. There are great varieties of land and water game, and few countries in the world abound more in fish of every description. There are eighteen missionary settlements formed by the Spaniards on the coast of New Carolina; and, of all the colonial establishments, these have made the most rapid progress in civilization. The object of these settlements is, by instructing the natives in agriculture and other branches of industry, to reclaim them from their wandering and unsettled habits, and gradually to bend them under the restraints of social life. To a certain extent they have succeeded. Some of the Indians are employed in spinning woollen stuffs; but their principal occupation is in dressing stag-skins. The hunting of these stags is also a favourite pursuit, in which the natives display singular dexterity and address. San Francisco, the most northern military post or presidio, is situated upon an extensive bay of the same name, into which a large river empties itself. Near the mission of Santa Clara wheat produces from twenty-five to thirty for one, and requires very little culture. The harvest is reaped in July. San Carlos de Monterrey is the seat of the governor of the two Californias. The port of Monterey is far from meriting the celebrity which it has received from the Spanish navigators; it is a bay with an indifferent anchorage. Santa Barbara, the principal town of a jurisdiction, is situated on a canal of the same name, formed by the continent and some small islands. The population of New California is estimated at about 15,000 souls, and its surface at 2125 square leagues.

Old, a province of Mexico, or New Spain, was first discovered to be a peninsula in 1541. It is united on the north to the continent of North America, from which it is separated on the east by a narrow sea called the Gulf of California; and it is bounded on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. It is nearly 900 miles in length, and varies from thirty to a hundred and twenty miles in breadth. The climate is in general hot, dry, and barren; but, in some spots where there are water and vegetable mould, fruit and corn multiply in an astonishing manner, and the vines afford a wine similar to that of the Canaries. The sky is of a deep blue colour, and seldom obscured by clouds; but when these are seen floating in the horizon towards sunset, they display the most brilliant tints of purple and emerald. The ground of this peninsula is rough and uneven, full of mountainous ridges and sandy and stony places. There runs through the centre a chain of mountains, of which the greatest elevation is from 4500 to 4900 feet above the level of the sea. A considerable number of wild quadrupeds, as well as a great variety of birds, are found here; and there is met with a variety of the sheep of a very large size, which affords an exceedingly delicate and excellent food, and a wool which is easily spun. Wood is very scarce; and it is only towards the Cape Sanducas that any trees are to be found. Gold mines were at one time supposed to abound in this province, but all that have been discovered are only a few scanty veins. At the distance of forty leagues from Loretto there are two silver mines, which are considered as tolerably productive; but, from the want of wood and mercury, it is found almost impossible to work them. In the interior of the country there are plains covered with a very beautiful crystalline salt. The coast of California supplies pearls of a beautiful water, and large, but of an irregular figure. Since the missions have been on the decline, the population has been reduced to less than 9000 inhabitants, who are dispersed over a tract of country as large as England. Loretto, a little town with a military post, is the chief place of California. The inhabitants, Spaniards, Mestizos, and Indians, are supposed to amount to about 1000 in number. This is the most populous place of all California.