Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-01-01


steadily in an open crate. This bed mas
? been traced by groupings for several miles
through the Puente Hills, where it can be
easily worked and can be reached by rail
on either side The further exploration OF
this promising coal field will be awaited
with interest.
Coal signs have been discovered in almost
every county in this State, but as yet but
few comparatively have been proSpected.-
An immense body fifteen feet in thickness
has been discovered on the Middle Fork OF
Eel river, in Mendocino county, eight miles
south of the village of Round Valley. The
locality is in the heart of the Coast Range,
and could only be reached by an expen-
sively constructed railroad.
CALIFORNIA LIME.
Lime is found in considerable quantities
in Oregon and Washington Territory, but
by fa1 the best and most extensive 1uarries
found on the Pacific coast are those of
California For a number of years after
the State was settled by the whites, especi-
ally throughout the mining districts, but
little lime or plaster was used, as the
buildings of those pioneer days were mostly
of pine lumber, the interiors of which
were cloth-lined and papered. There was
almost total absence of brick chimneys,
and but few buildings were erected upon
| STONE
ed were fimsy affairs, and mere finder
in a confiagration. Destructive fires oc-
Cured so frequently that it was found
necessary to erect more substantial
buildings, and this of course necessitated
the opening up of new industry
the burning of limestone. To supply the
demand the first kiln was erected by gen
tleman by the name of Shreeve in the
spring of 1851 at the Mt. Diablo quarries,
near the town of Pacheco, in Contra Costa
county. Lime had been manufactured
many years prior to that by the early Span
ish settlers That they made a good article
is attested by the durability of some of their
old mission churches, and the manner in
which the whitewash they applied to their
| walls has withstood the exposure to the
weather of a century. In June, 1851, kiln
was started by Mr. Davis in the hills back
of Mayfield in Santa Clara county. From
those small beginnings the industry, as the
article was required, spread throughout the
State. From 1S49 to 1853 nearly all the lime
used on the coast was brought here from the
East. Owing to the danger of spontaneous
combustion in transit the lime was slaked
before being shipped and arrived here III
condition similar TO putty.
THE PRINCIPAL DEPOSITS.
The principal deposit 6 the State consists
of belt of lime rock extending along the
westerly foothills of the Sierra Nevada
range, traversing the gold fields of the
State. 1t extends for distance of $50 miles
from Mariposa county to Butte. In many
places, notably Columbia, Indian Diggings
and Colfax, this deposit consists of an eX-
cellent quality of marble, is susceptible of
a very high polish, and is much used for
monument purposes. The " Alabaster Lime
| Works. in Ell Dorado county, is one of the
most important on the coast, and the prop
erty of the H. T. Holmes Co. They have
"mOnitor" kiln, having a capacity of 5000
barrels per month. AT this quarry, and
owned by the same company, is the famous
Alabaster Cave, q cavern of considerable
extent, wondrous beauty. and which has
front rank among the natural curiosites of
our State. The lime made at the Alabaster
works is noted for its purity and whiteness
is well suited for the publication of gas,
and for that purpose is largely used H. t.
Holmes & Co. also own several kilns near
Clipper Gap, in Placer county, but they have
not been operated during the past two years.
| A metamorphic limestone is found at in
tervals for hundreds of miles along the
coast range mountains The lime-works
in Santa Cruz county are the principal on
that belt. Several are located near the
town of Felton,. Three-fourths of all the
lime that goes to the San Francisco market
and one-third OF that produced in the State
is made near FELTON,, where the facilities
for manufacturing and shipping are quite
good. Wood and water is abundant, and
| shipments can be made either by rail or
| water About 300 men are employed in
the State as laborers in the business, and
their wages will average 81 30 per day For
a time lime sold in San Francisco at from
s. to so per barrel, but these rates did not
hold more than for few years. Lime is
now worth from 81 % to 81 80 per barrel.
The prospect for the coming year in the
business il quite good. The quantity made
in the United States last year was g ,000,0 900
barrels, of 300 pounds each, having total
value at the kilns of $2l, 100000.
DESCRIPTION OF a KILN.
The Monitor lime kiln is thus de-
scribed: " It consists of a cylinder of boiler
iron. lined with friedrich. 1t is usually
located on a hillside, so that the limestone
can be run from the quarry by means of an
elevated tramway to door in the upper
part of the kiln, ten to twenty feet above
the fire. Above the cylinder an iron smoke
stack rises twenty to thirty feet to insure a
draft below the cylinder are the fire-places,
consisting of number of fire doors open
ing into converging openings, in which
wood is burned over ashpits, into which
the ashes fall through CRATE bars. The
limestone is fed into the upper door and
drawn out, when properly burned, through
q lower opening below the fires, at which
point it is shoveled into barrels. The adj
vantage of the Monitor lime kiln over the
old-fashioned style consists in the fact that
the former can be run continuously,
whereas with the old kind, when batch of
stone has been burnt, the fires must be ex-
tinguished, and renewed after the kiln is
again filled with stone. This, besides the
trouble of putting out and relighting the
fires. causes considerable loss Of time. The
cost of the Monitor kilns varies from 5000
to $1,000 according to capacity.
Lime of different qualities is found in
the following-named counties: Amador,
Butte, Calaveras, Ell Dorado, Humboldt,
Inyo, Kern Los Angeles, Monterey, Ne
vada, Placer, Plumas San Bernardino, San
luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Shasta and
Tuolumne.
The daily product Of the State is about
800 barrels or eighty tons per day. Some
lime also finds its way into California from
Puget Sound. There are four prominent
companies in the State, viz: H. T. Holmes
Il Co., Davis Il Cowell, the |. y. L. Com
pany and the California Lime Company.
: The kilns in Placer and FL Dorado counties
produce about 200 barrels or twenty tons
per day. and is constantly increasing. The
!
coast assaying as high as 81 per cent. of
carbonate of lime.
One of the most promising quarries in
the State is that lately discovered near
Clipper Gap. 1t has been purchased by
company of San Francisco and Sacramento
capitalists, known as the California Lime
Company, of which J. r. Watson, of Sacra-
mento, is President, and H. c. Marks, of
San Francisco, Secretary They are devel-
, oping the ledge, which is said to be GOO feet
thick, half mile in length, and of supe-
ror quality. They have expended con-
siderable sum in facing the ledge and erect
ing kilns, and expect to be in active opera
ton early in the spring An extensive cave
has been discovered on the grounds. but
has not been explored, owing to the fact
that it is the habitation of hundreds of
large ratIesnakes and other venomous rep
tiles. The cavern is full of beautiful crys-
tai formations and stalactites The ledge
is located two miles southeast of Clipper
Gap, is two and half miles from the line
of the railway, and was discovered in Sep
TENDER last.
e1ss-rruSz-z.-..sz1.zuHa
The Lost Atlantis.
Those who hold to the theory of the lost
Atlantis will read with satisfaction of the