Arizona silver belt., 1889-05-04
WEALTH eF TME nISEs.

ha VT eAA et4sesf'.
 The statistlcs of the mining of pre- clous metals in Colorado during the year 1887, as published in the report of the Director of the Mint, furnishes Mining Industry the foundation for an instructive article. The number of mines (every claim which had passed beyond the condition of a prospect) in that State, in the year 1887, is given at 1 ,533 Oi these 753 were preduc- two and yielded during the year $27 ,335,9l2 in metal, CT an average gross yield of $36.5sl. If We include all the mrnes in the list, the average production would still be Sl7631 for each property.
 Carrying its deductions further, In dustry reckons (taklng the census of 1880 for basis that l4l per cent. ef the population of Colorado was en- gagged in mining fer preclous metals, ons-third of whom were employed in prospecting or developing prospects and, therefore, were non producers. Deducting these latter, its estimated that the number of producing miners in the State vas 37,334, each enc of whom contributed $732 to the produc- ton of the mines during the year.
 Passing from minlng to aguculture, Industry finds that in the year 1880, but 53 per cent. of the farming lands in the United States was productive. On thls basis, each farm of 134 acres, yielded Sl,044 as agalnst S36, 200 each for the productive mines. Or com pariug the total acreage of farming lands, productive and unproduchye, with the whole number of mines in Colorado, it IS found that while the farms produced crops to the value of $552 saeh, the average product of the mines was Sl7, $50 ! A comparison eff the wealth produced by each man en- ployed n agriculture and by each minor Is likewise instructive. While the farmer IS credited with $28S, the miners labor yielded S4SS. Or if we deduct oae'third from the total num- Der employed in each industry, who were engaged in preliminary work which was not r9muneratiye, 1t is shown that while the producing miner in Colorado added S732 to the wealth ot the nation, the producing farmer added only $44l
 Lest it should be thought that the experience of inning in Colorado is exceptional, or that circumstances ex- ist which render it unfar to compare the results of 1857 with.those of 1880, Industry presents the following; h 1850, the total value of gold, silver, lead and copper produced in Arizona, California, Colorado, Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Nsw Mexico, Ore. gen, Utah, Washington and Wyom- ing, was S77,232,5i2 and tue total number of people engaged in mining Of all kinds in these States and Terri tories during tue same year was 99,6l7, The average result therefore of esch miners labor during that year was S715, without making any dsdue tieas whatever for men engaged in preliminary work, and without taking into account the fact that these 99,6l7 miners include all engaged in oper- ating the cosl, irsa and quicksilver mines in tue terntery between Denver and the Pacific, which that year pro duced values aggregating nearly B ,000.000. It becomes evident there fore that as compared with agriculture tue labor of the precious mstal miner IS far more rsmuperatiye in point ei actual average value produced for men engaged