New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-01
TOPICS IN CALIFORNIA.
pROUTH CONTINUES - CHURCH TRIAL :
GOLD AND SILVER PRODUCTION.

GOLD AND SILVER PRODUCTION.
10y TELEGRAPH THE TRIsUNE1
San Francisco Feb. 23.-Another week has
passed with practically no rain. Light showers
have fallen in this city and vicinity but there
has been no general rain to relieve the drouth'
The San joaquin Valley and the southern
counties are suffering the most severely, ana uii-
less rain comes very soon not only VIII the wheat
srd barley be ruined. but stock VIII nave 10 DE
killed or driven to other parts for pasturaee
The season is unprecedented for twenty years for
lightness of rainfall and for. high temperature
during February. Throughout the state fruit IS
as far advanced is usual in the latter part Vi
March, and should killing frosts come within the
next two weeks the almond. peach and apricot
crops will suffer severely.
The investigation Of the Rev. c. o. Brown by
a Congregational commission has continued ua'iS
during the week. The most remarkable s'o'y
was told by Miss Matte Overman, who frankly
admitted that she had engaged in consplrac!
10 blackma the preacher. but repented before
the scheme was perfected. She admitted she
was enamoured Of him. but declared that he never
encouraged her and that the relations OF the TWO
were purely platonic. She snilingly confessed
that she was blackmailer, perjurer ana mar
and seemed to derive enjoyment from the noto-
The trial will probably continue another week
II furnishes the strangest spectacle ever seen IN
this city,
Superintendent Vining. OF the Market Street
Railway Company, is devising means to prevent
the abuse Of the liberal transfer system AL
present a transfer Is good for one-haNf hour al
the connecting point and there Is nothing 10 pre-
vent a passenger from taking transfer and CIV
10 for
Newsboys have utilized this feature. They beg
transfers from people alighting at central points
and then give transfer and newspaper for b
cents. which Is the ordinary price Of the news
paper alone In this way they have given the
railway company much trouble, as they swarm
about the cars at the main transfer points and
worry the passengers. Under the new system AT
all central points an agent will give transfers IN
exchange for checks from conductors ana THESE
transfers must be used at once or they VIII Dc
void.
Everything was fiat at the theatres this week
Frederick Warde made great mistake In open
ing in The Mountebank." which was not well
received. He did better business afterward win
performances this week. and on Sunday night al
the Baldwin. PaderewsN and MarsicN' 'he N'o-
1inist. are TO appear in concert.
Southern California orange-growers are hav-
ing good market for their crop now Ealiei
in the season the Eastern cities were nLed win
unripe and frostbitten oranges so mat the ue
anand fell off but now II has revived ana some
OF the finest fruit in years is being shlppeu
The advance in the price of prunes has greatly
encouraged growers. Ninety per cent OF me
stock on hand Is in the hands OF four large hrihs
who have agreed TO maintain the price at cents.
This is simply following out the plan OF the Nihe
Growers Association. which has resulted IN stN-
ing fair profit TO the vineyardists this season io'
the first time in five years.
Men who are familiar with what California Is
now producing declare that the states output OIL
gold and silver ought to be larger this year imam
for thirty years This prediction is based on 'he
number Of old mines which have recently peeh
opened and worked by new electric and cyanide
processes In the Sierra Nevadas many good
mines were abandoned twenty years ago be
cause of the great cost Of power and the large
waste in reduction OF refractory ore. Now rich
sulphuret ores may be worked up TO "a per cent
of fre-assay value. A noteworthy recent incl
dent of this revival Of mining was the opening OF
the abandoned Meadow Lake camp
The horse-meat factory at Portland. Ore. which
was recently established with good prospects OF
supplying the large foreign demand has closed
The managers say the big Antwerp trade was
ruined by Chicago packers shipping hesh OF
diseased horses so that the Belgian Government
barred out American horse-meat. An EFFORT was
made 70 open a market in Japan. but unsuc-
cessfully.