Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1890-05-31
Resources al! Capabilities
LYON COUNTY, NEW.

acres, OF land, and has population Of about
$500. The land is divided into mining, ag
ricul,ural and grazing land, with a small
amount of timber land included. The coun-
ty is divided by ranges Of low mountains in
to three vallies, Wig: Carson Valley, Mason
Valley and Smith Valley. The principal
towns of the county are Dayton, the county
seat, Silver City, Sutro, Mound House, Wa
buska, Greenfield and Wellington. Dayton
is situated in the northwestern portion Of the
county and is surrounded mostly by mineral
country, although on the Carson river, which
flows by the town there are quite a number
of very fine farms. The town has popula-
ton of about 700. The principal business is
the working Of the tailings, and ore from the
Comstock mines. There are four tailings
mills, which run on an average OF eight
months out Of the year, this being the aver
age time that sufficient water can be obtain
ed from the river 10 run the mills. In the
year 1850 the total amount Of tailings worked
in these mills amounted to about IS, ,ooo tons,
giving gross yield or value OF about SI75,-
900. There are two large quartz mills on
the river in this end of the county. The
Eureka mill has sixty stamps and the Rock
Point 20 stamps. Both of these mills are
run on ore from the Comstock mines. Be-
sides these two mills there are three small
mills in Silver City which run on custom ores
The quantity of ore worked in 1859, as near
as can be estimated amounts to 4,346 tons,
and the gross yield OF value is set at $685.
ooI. This is a very low estimate, we con-
slider, but it is taken from the yearly assess
ment roll.
In regard to the output OF the mines in
Lyon county it is hard to estimate exactly
what it is, for the reason that considerable
mining is done in a small way, known as
"gouging," where parties prospect about the
hills and take out many small punches Of
good ore. This ore is generally gold bearing
nd is worked in the small mills along Gold
Canyon. In Silver City there are many little
mines that have produced thousands Of dol
lars worth Of bullion, both gold and silver,
and there are several bodies of low grade
silver ore known to exist there that have been
lying idle for many years on account of the
inability of the owners to make 1t pay to
work with the discount on silver so great as
it is at the present time. The mines in Como,
in the Indi an Springs and Palmyra Mining
District, although they have yet failed to be
bullion producers to any considerable extent,
show fine indications for low grade silver
proposition. Considerable money has been
expended in work in this district and parties
who have interests there are untiring in their
efforts to get capital to take hold of the mines
there.
A novel experiment is soon to be made in
the Carson river in the way OF mining. 1t
Is a well-known fact that the river-bed con-
tains many thousands Of dollars worth OF
sulphurets and quicksilver that has passed
through the mills. An Eastern company
has been formed which intends to dredge the
river with scoop dredge and sluce the
ground raised for the sulphurets and quick
silver. 1t has been ascertained that the river
bed and the dirt on the banks will assay
from So to 50 or S. ton. The enterprise
will be carried on on large scale when be-
gun and it is expected by the company that
the business will be very remunerative one.
In that part of Carson Valley which lies
in Lyon county there are about 1900 acres
OF land under cultivation. There are many
more acres that have been taken up that are
not under cultivation, and there are also some
thousands of acres Of ground that are vacant
which would be valuable for cultivation il
water could be obtained to irrigate it. The
land on this river is as fine bottom land as
can be found in any state in the Union. The
farms adjacent to Dayton are mostly owned
tivate their ground for all it is worth. The
farms are from 40 to 100 acres in extent,
while further down the river the land is
owned in very much larger tracts. The land
under high state OF cultivation on the river
will produce from fifteen to twenty tons Of
potatoes to the acre and they are conceded
by all to be the finest tubers grown in any
county in the world; in fact sack of pota-
toes sent from here to the Worlds Fair in
New Orleans took the first prize. Wheat can
be raised on this kind of land that will yield
from fifty to sixty bushels to the acre.
Tuberous plants of all kinds grow miracu-
lously large and are Of the finest quality, and
form the greater part Of the crops raised on
these small farms. Some wheat, barley and
alfalfa is grown, but hardly more than enough
for the farmers own use. Virginia City,
nine miles from Dayton, affords the farmers
market for their crops. Potatoes are sold
from $IS to $40 a ton. but on an average