28. SAN FRANCISCO. San Francisco, the principal city of California, has not at the present writing reached her fortieth birthday; therefore, certainly, not her prime. Her population is supposed to be about 300,000; perhaps over, not under, that figure. Her situation geographically and commercially is certainly a very proud one; looking west to the commerce of Asia and Oceania, north to the vast fisheries of Alaska and the illimitable resources of the Northwestern States, east and south over territories of enormous extent and capabilities. Practically she is without a rival. The growth of San Francisco, considering her former isolation, has been a steady and grand one. She has had some severe setbacks from one source and another, but is now on the certain and safe road to a great future. Her public buildings are, as a rule, creditable, lacking, it is true, the stone grandeur and solidity of other country towns, and her business houses and residences are, barring the color of the paint, attractive. The situation of the city is a commanding one, it having been apparently laid out as our forefathers did their highways,—from the top of one hill to the top of another, — which has led to the introduction of the most convenient system of street transportation in the world. San Francisco may well be proud of her cable cars. She cannot, however, boast of the condition of her streets, her system of sewerage, and a number of other points upon which great improvements will doubtless soon be made.