The Placer herald., 1873-03-15
PLACER COUNTY.

EpITons Press If YOU have space in your
valuable Rural Press for few periods, these
IRE al your disposal.
There is no other county in the State that
has such variety of soil and climate as
Placer. 1t extends from the great Sacramento
valley on the west, to beyond the crest OF
the Sierras on the east. Throughout its
| whole length it is traversed by the Central
Pacific railroad, which affords quick and
ready means of transportation to market,
for the surplus of its varied products in agr-
culture. In less than days ride by rail +,
the traveller from the east on entering the
State, drops down from the region of eternal
snow under the shadow of Mount Lincoln,
through every class of vegetation, to the
Roseville Junction, where there is no Winter
but apremature Sprin., and no Autums but
IN ext ,nded Summer.
The melting SHOWS of the Summit start
The waters of the South Yuba and Bear
rivers, which are taken up into artificial
canals or bitches, and then brought along
down the mountains on the divides between
the Iuba and American. The Bear River
! Ditch has its main channel, and also lateral
branches which furnish water to nearly every
mining camp in the county.
The placer or surface mining having near
" come to an end by exhaustion, the
water of the ditch is used in extensive hv-
draulic digginss and also to propel quartz
machinery. But, in addition to serving the
last two classes Of mines, the lateral branches
of the ditch are now used to furnish water
for irrigaring gardens, berry plantations,
| fruit orchards, and grain and clover fields.
Indeed. it is everywhere apparent that agri-
culture and horticulture have taken the place
of surface mining. Only the stone chimney
lone and desoale, marks the place were
twenty years ago was the cabin of the
"honest miner" Now the sound of the pick
and shovel, and of the gurgng water
through the suice, is sedan or never heard +;
but the farmer has an Inheritance of weighty
heaps OF tangs in each raviug and gulch.
Nearly two miles below Auburn a mineral
bolt 'rosses the American and follows SER
pentine coarse in general nortNweserly di-
rection towards Bear river. This mineral
belt assumes the form of ridge in its line
of direction; which Is broken through il
places by ravines from the north and east
At different localities is called Bald Hill:
but, with more propriety, it should be called
Bald Hill Ridge. The geologist or scientific
miner cln easily trace the line of this min
eral belt, by the outcroppng rap-rock to-
gather with volcanic scoria and gold-bearine
quartz Wherever thorough prospecting
has been made along its course, the miner il
quartz has been invariably rewarded. There
are several quartz mills at work on rock that
has been quarred from lands which have
either trap and slate walls, or trap and gran
te. Within month two valuable leads
have been uneariLed, making their posses
sors rich after years Of prospecting and at
the present ti:ue there are probab y a hun
dred men travelling up and down the ridge
with pick aud hammer, pecking off bits of
quartz wherever they can find AN out-crop-
png that is untouched or an old prospec,
shaft OF halt dozen or more feet in depth.
But, in addition to quartz mining, this
tiaproc< belt has great signiticalion in al
agricultural point OF view. 1t is the divid-
ing line between the granite bedrock ON the
southwest and the slate bedrock ON tn,
northeast; and, consequently, it separate,
two classes of soils which are entirely un
ike and distinct in this analysis and com
position. The soil ON the granite bedrock
is dark sandy loan which has been formeo
from disintegrated particles Of granite unitec
with decomposed vegetable matter. Its depl
is from one to ten feet, varying from bill
10 valley. 1t is "A quick and warm soil
especially adapted to ;he cultivation of the
strawberry plant, the raspberry, the black
berry, and all the products of garden cul
ture.
From two to ten miles below Auburn along
the line of the G.. p. Railroad, there ar,
many wel-cultvatod gardens, vineyards arc
orchards, which supply the mining camp'
md mountain towns with fresh vegetable:
during every month of the year; and, at the
proper season they send to the State o
Nevada the most delicious mouetain fruit
which always sell at an advanced price owe
hat of its kind, which is cultivated in tn,
large valleys of the State. These plana
lions in the foothills, in the vicinity OF Ophir
Newcastle, Penryn and Pine, are suppliec
with water for irrigation from the latera
branches of the n River Ditch, at
c rtain price per ii = of miners measure.
YOU, I. S. MYRICK.
Auburn, Feb. Is, 1878.