The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1878-01-02
5 THE. BIG MEADE VS.. y Az
AnaInfer esting History and Descvirs
ton of an Extensive Agricultural

tiOn of an Extensive Agricultural
Valley.
.T BIG MEADOWS. New, Dec. 26. :
EDITOR. SILVER STATE:--Perhapst the
majority OF your readers have but little
idea of the importance of this valley
and the extent Of its prospective wealth.
1t is situate around and above Hum
boldt Lake, and has an area of
fsiv ABOUT 300 soUARE NJ LES.
Of this, at least two-thirds is land ca.
pable Of producing agricultural crops
by being irrigated. and about $4,000
acres of the whole has no equal in this
State as agricultural land. 1t is the
bed or bottom of what has been an ex
teDsive swamp that has been drained,
partly BY nasare and partly by artificial
means. leaving it a bed of peat, nixed
with sediment, aud mostly overgrown
with = dense tbicket of-greasew God aud
rabbit brush. II is almost level, hav-
ing only.a slight fall III routhtrly and
south westerly direction, with an even
lakeliKe surface. Immigrants. settled
here as early as 1862, aud were engaged
chiefly in cutting for hay, the natural
blue joint grass that grew abnndantly
along the margin of the overlooked
land, and which, they sold alta good
price to passing emigrapts. La after
years they gave their attention princi-
pally to stock raising; but not until
lately was il ,thought that the land
could be cultivated with profit. In
1868; James Malone planted some
wheat near Loveloek's Station. which
produced 8s e8F $50 s4n4sD .saa"
80 BUSHELS TO THE ACRE.
1t was only small patch, irrigated by
moisture seeping from the overflow, but
it proved that the land could be made
to produce more than the patnral
grasses. that grew SO strongly wherever
it was sufficiently moist. In 1869.
Poker Brown and john O'Kane con.
slructed the first irrigatiog ditch from
the Humboldt river out to the grease
wood. wherssthsy broke OPP sonre land
aud planted, by way of experiment,
little wheat. barley end pats. AMI con
siderable potatoes and other vegetables.
All done 80 well that it proved to the
settlers that the Big, .Meado~s, won Id
one day become the first in Importance
as an agricultural settlement, of all the
many, rich and beautiful Little valleys
of Nevada. since that time, farming
has been carried on to some extent, but
itremained for a few new corners, par.
ticuiarly Messrs. Craig, Cooley. Marker
Brothers. Hazelton, Ryan and Fentou,
10 bring farming here down u sci.
ence, and to prove conclusiyely to
everybody, that the greater part of the
land was
MOST VALUABLE FOR AGRICULTURAL
= a2' PURPOSES.
Mostly all the Government land is oc-
cupied; some Of the railroad land is s,ilrI
unclaimed. Everywhere you go. you
meet with the houses OF settlers
humble. and some pretentious.. Barns
OF monstrous size begin to rear their
poIderous bnlk in various places
throughout i the valley, and you. will
frequently meet with lines of fencing
that extend awBy) in distant course
a. f4ras the, eye dan see. There are
some farms here containing from one
to three thousands acres; some are as.
suniingahe Appearance Of home beau.
stifni. comfortable and happy, and we're.
II net for tue linp ious habit of those
hay sng money enough. to- hiEs. hsla ,-of.
49, (. g. -