The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-09-27
DESERTED NEVADA.
Citizens Of the Silver State Now Till I
Arid Farming Lands.

Citizens of the Silver State Now Till Jts
Arid Farming Lands.
Nevada is the only state in the union
that has decreased in wealth and popu-
lation during the last decade, and.
considering her reputation as part of
the great American desert" few per-
sons would suspect that she could hope
to arrest the fading out process by be
coming, like California an agricultural
state. So long as Nevada was the great
silver-producing region in the world
few of her inhabitants troubled them
selves about the future of her arid soil.
She produced more than $40, 900, 600 of
gold and silver in 1875. BY 1850 her pro-
duction was reduced to 1890. 900, and
by 1889 to 1900 ooo The census of
1890 showed that she had lost more than
% per cent. OF her population in ten
years. Her assessed wealth had greatly
decreased, and in almost every material
respect she is poorer than when she en-
tered the union in 1869. Her population
of 46, 900 was $50, 600 below the popula-
ton of congress district.
So long as Nevada was regarded SIM
ply as great silver mine her arid soil
was esteemed useless for agricultural
purposes. A few river valleys were
productive, but enormous almost rain
less areas grew nothing bat sagebrush.
When the mines began to lessen their
output the Chinese, those Bedouins of
the west, began to emigrate to newer
mining districts along with miners,
prospectors and all sorts of loosely
attached persons. Some men who had
the instinct of local attachment advo-
Gated irriga ton of the arid soil, and for
years it was tried with success on small
areas Nevada has now about 1,40o
farms, and of these about 1,2eo are
irrigated in whole or in part
1t has been found that the pro-
duce per acre of corn, wheat, oats,
barley. potatoes and hay grown upon
irrigated lands in Nevada is much
above the average OF such products
throughout the country, as a whole,
and higher than in many states of
much reputea fertility. Nevada stands
among the ten or twelve highest states
in the production of potatoes per acre
planted and half dozen states east of
the Alleghenies are below her in the
average production of wheat per acre.
The cost Of irrigation in Nevada is
lower than in several other arid regions
of the west, and the variety of climate
in the state makes possible a remark
able variety of vegetable products.
Nevada's area of more than 100, 600
square miles extends from about the
parallel that runs through Spartans-
burg, s. c., to that which runs through
Hartford, CT. Oranges and other sub
tropical fruits flourish in the southern
triangle with the so-caled Mojave
desert on one side and the Colorado
river On the other
Nevada cuts little or no figure as yet
in the aggregate OF the countrys agri-
cultural products, but she has demon
strated her ability to grow crops wher-
ever the land can be irrigated. When
she shall really undertake to become
an agricultural state, she will have one
advantage over some new agricultural
regions in possessing railway system
an inheritance from the days when she
outstripped all the rest of the country
in her output of silver-N. Y. Sun.