The Express.
London, England, 1849-11-06 00:00:00

VIE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, -NOVEMBER 6, 1849.

THE LONDON FARMERS' CLUB.

The members of this club resumed their monthly
discussion after the anal vocation, yesterday evening. at
their rooms, York Hotel, Bridge-street, Blackfriers ; Mr.
Paws, of Pelmenhata, weird*. Many of the leading and
most ntive members wen peanut, iacludiog Mr. W. Shaw,
Mr. R. Baer, Mr. Cheatham, Mr. Mini, the Hoe. Mr.
Wilson, Mr. Nesbit, its
The 'abject of disowns was the improvement and cult'.
nation of begs and pasty soils, introduced by Mr. W.
B. WOWS,, of Bonamisum, Southampton.
Mr. MINIUM observed that peat-moss in bog was
not properly a soil ; bat as aocumulation of
deed, d)fag, sad 'Wog pleats, growing to enter.
The extent of bog lands in the iamb of Mislead was not
very great, although few estates of may extant with retentive
61011416 scald be fossil wi.boat some ponies of low swampy
bottoms of a boggy Saws. In the north of England there
were large treats of mess Mad; is Ireland them were not
Jun than 2,800,000 saes of MOM' beg, not one sees of whin
null not be drained. The suatteges of oultintiag this hied
of end ware, that it was (Maisel at a low rent, that it could
be worked with very little strimelk sad tottke.hoss and simple
implements ; that it mold gesisestho ileasteest memo of
every daseriptin ; that potatoes were set Babbto Myr,
is that sod to the some Genet m ia others ; that the wire
worm was an generally fend ; and that clover and artificial
grew luminously. The &shame of stub ells was of thi
gramsrs ita but many person were seder the t noniron
im that drain,' would do all. By no way la which
drains timid be pat I. them was it risible to dry some bogs
*Mar us 4, ulna they wen broken up after, so as to separate
the paclsa of matter, and do away with the fens
of capillary attraction, width was proved tout so powerfully
in this kind of soil. In meat peat soils it was now found that
open main drain steed better if cut rrpradienlar. Ti. wet
sad the from did set then Dinnertime& an eifeet apse them
Alter the roads had bees teemed and she main drains marked
At, the mad dram said be nu moose frees ono silo to
the whir, from one to twe roods span, about three
fen deep; bat this man depend oa the aware
of the soil and subsoil. Another mule which had
been found soconsful and cheep was, atter hay
log made a proper outlet and male drams, to throw the peat
into large beds, two roods sash, wills an open dials between
them. Noddyg had buss found better for road making in
bogs than mad, at lent for the first formation. Th. n was
no ordinary denription of earth whop would an air Muni-
dilly ea a mom. If the bony material at hand wen only
e.ay, lime mast be added. The mode of morn no peas
soils ought to be regulated by the demand Si* the mops
which paid best.
Mr. F. Hobbs, Mr. Biker, the Hon. Kr. Wilsm, Mr.
Medd, Mr. Nesbit, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Bassett, and other Rea-
dmits', spoke upon V,* question, and ultimately the lodes.
ins resolution war Adopted
That the improvamaat mad rekindles of ban and peaty
soils may. in many mese when the amen is congenial, be
ben( fieially adopted.'
A vote of thanks was euto to Mr. Webster, as the is.
trodson of the imbjeet, and to the chairs's.

GALS AT LETKlLlPOOL.—Throagliout Sunday night
sad ysirarday Liverpool was visited with a trrnsodous bar-
Hesse, bat iso are happy to say no &map to 'hippies has
bus repotted.

• Cit23:7o. RIGA.
• .4.. '7ll t, • • t' '
nthneWilli in an extract dl a letter front ariA
damn tillitaccapenlitil Genial Penifor F. Smith
▪ pat le am relent beer le the gold placers sad
regions etealiforuia. The IMMT was hastily penned is the
emdades and intemptiew a a California hotel, Immo.
Manly= the return of the writer from his rapid journey.
It will be found, we think, to contain some interesting facts,
not the lees valuable for being of • more sober shade than
these related in ether saftweate•erbielt have reached tui by the
same meg :
• San Framisa, Aug. 19.
Ima only say about our tour, that the OISOOSI did not
take the route he first told me or, but we vein northwardly
from Beside into &deem valley, theses mousing Besse and
Cash creeks, owned to the Encramesto River, at the mouth
of Feather River, where two towns, Brnsont sad Vernon,
are laid oat, and half • dozen houses built ; themes following
Feather River to the Yerba, and up that area= to the gold
region, which, as I expected, appeared as soon as we
reached the Takes, Slane. We took a southeasterly
nurse through the gold region, crossing Bear creek and
the three forks, ea they are called, of the Asterisms river,
end descended the south fork and the main river to
Butter's Fort sad Sacramento city, near the mouth of
the latter. After welting in this neighbourhood three
dais for the man, which missed as, we pushed south-east-
'sadly into the ;old region, ea the COMMUN.. and Make.
lemma rivers. Hers some of the heroes becoming much
exhausted, and mine among the root, we divided, and I
returned with one party by crossing the valley and the San
'aqua, holding a courseabout due west tenthwe struck
the road from Ban Jose northward, which we followed to
braids. The entire distance travelled was about five
hunired miles.
To give the ranks of my observations fully would require
reference, which I cannot now make, to my notes. 1 will
only say here, that in my opinion, individual gold digging
will soon sad. Four oat of five of those engaged are com-
pletely tired ote many wsick, and not a few die for want
of proper attendance. I ass eatiad d, however, that if the
workings were condoned with the requisite care, skill, aid
capital, gold could be profitably produced. lbws few per
suns have had luck, and occasionally one gets a good haul,
but so many have quit in disgust, and so many more will
soon abandon the work, that the price of labour must fall
considerably, and I doubt not that the next year one may
command it readily, and do well even in digging ever the
spots already chequered by gold hunters.
The position of gold I will endeavour briefly to explain
to yon. Imagine an iri egul &fly inclined plane, so to speak,
extendieg from the Sierra Nevada to the toot of the hills on
the edge of the great valley. Within thirty miles of the
Barra I know not its ir.mpoeition—lor at that distant' were
we nearest to It—but from that point to within 10 or 20 miles
of the valley we have vast formations of talents: slater., coca-
deadly trap rocks and serpentine, the trap formation most
abounding nearest the valley. These talcon slits. contain
v- ins of quart, from one-eighth of an Inch to many yard, In
thickness, and la then TOMS the gold exists. The powerful
currents of water of former eras have produced the present
mountainous appearance of the region by cutting deep
chasms and ravines, some of which, as at the branches of
the American river, are at least two thousand five hundred
Get below what appear now as the summits of mountains.
Smaller ravines from all directions run into these larger ones.
At the early period referred to moat of the gold deposits now
found were formed, the gold from its weight being left be-
hind, while the lighter earthy matters were swept off ; but
that a portion is still liberated annually, though in very small
quantities, is shown by the feet that the deposits are mostly
o nand to some depth, say live or fifteen feet, by boul-
ders, gravel, tke , on the borders of the streams. The tinders
or fists, here called " ban" are mostly very narrow, and are
soon scratched over. The "dry diggings " are workings in
the dry ravines, and then are plenty of them, but colonel in
• hundred pays for working. When regular mining in the
veins of quartz Is commenced they may prove profitable,
though few have done so in other parts of the world.
Our rate of travel was too rapid for close observation, and
there were many places where I would have wished more
tier.. As it wan, I saw nothing valusb:e but gold, though
I believe rich iron cns, as well as chrome, exist in great
abundance. Roofing slate of great beauty is found In any
quantity ; limestone in but one place west of the " valley."
In the " valley " there are only oaks and a few sycamores
along the watercourses. Ascending the mountain region,
oaks bei,in to appear, dotted sparely over the more fertile
hilt., at an elevation of 600 to 700 Int above tide; at 1,000
to 1,200 feet pines appear, with wide spreading branches and
seed cones, about the sin and shape of a large pine apple ;
and at 2,000 feet the tall pine Is min reaching a height of
260 ILA, shaped like a Lombardy papier, with cones a foot
long aid four incttis in diameter. The large seeds of these
pines are eaten by the Indian.
We saw not more than a dozen springs in the moun-
tains, and were often in want of water, nearly all the
ravines being dry, except those heading in the Sierra,
among the snows. The scarcity of water will for ever pre-
vent agricultural operations within the range of our travels
east et the valley. In the great valley itself a vast area is
destitute of water, owing partly te its geological structure
below the diluent depodta which form its MAN,- lam
sure, however, nom reasons which I cannot here exll,in,
that oomph to SUOn I. would attend the sinking of Artesian
weds. In my opinion, the 'honors is such as would give
perpetual springs, fi mina/ above the anon from sued wella,
not axon ding say 100 to 300 feet in &gin.
I could fill a ream with details of the extraordinary etate
of things in this country; but you will see enough in the
pu..lio papers. Towns grow up all around like mushrooms.
Lots in some of thesis have been run up by speculators to an
enormous price; but pay-day will soon come' aid there
will be a terrible crash
before th. pe,ple hare think of it.
They are tilling up this town rapidly with framed houses,
boarded or covered with canvass only, and as • gale blows
very day here, if a fire should occur on the windward
side the whole town must be destroyed, and half the inhabi-
tants rained.

While moat articles that can be brought by sea are cheap
fresh vegetables, frui,s, butter, eggs, milk, ac , are about
sweaty than the ordinary prices of such articles at home.
fliers is, therifore, a great opsniog for farmers and gar-
denim, out fur few otbipi. There are, in fact, vast numbers
Mrs seeking employment, but only =tamales, agriculturiits,
and Lib Amen ars wanted.