The San Francisco call., 1909-12-18
RAILWAY COMPLETES
IN VAST TERRITORY
Gould Line Will Serve Area in
State Equal to Massachu=
SettS and Connecticut


states Of Massachusetts and Connecti-
cut is represented in the eight Califor-
MIA. counties that the Western Pacific
railroad traverses on its direct line
from Nevada to san Francisco. These
eight counties have a combined area
OF 1887 square miles The area of
Massachusetts and Connecticut com
bined is 1905 square miles.
Railway competition viii therefore
he afforded in California for the first
time I'm a territory of more than 1900
square miles. with new facilities for
ooing business directly with san Fran
cisco.
Rapid development may be expected
I'm the counties of Lassen Plumas,
Butte. sutter. Yuba. Sacramento. san
Joaquin and Alameda. and its signif-
canoe TO san Francisco from a purely
local standpoint is so great that it must
not DE overlooked. In order to create
a correct conception of the resources
Of the region in California that the
new transcontinentaI line will help To
develop. a brief account of the leading
characteristics of the several counties
is given herewith
LAssEN COUNTY RECORDS
Lassen county has an area Of 1850
square miles. or 3ool,IO5 acres. There
are e75 farms in the county. and the
value OF country real estate is $4,000
ne0 in round figures. The number of
ceres assessed is 72l,S47 There
county. and more than 100 miles OF irri-
eating bitches.
Lassen county is traversed from
south To north By the Nevada Califor-
MIA and Oregon railway. narrow gauge.
which connects at Reno with the south
eTn Pacific system. The line Of the
Western Pacific runs through the
southern portion Of the county The
present population is only about 5000.
butt it would support many times that
number with - 81. The assessment roll
exceeds s5.5e0.e00.
Tile bank ar Susanville with a capi-
tal OF S50.09Q. has more Than 100000
"1 deposit. which shows q condition OF
easy finances The principal present in
dustries Of the county are farming and
stock raising. In the county area arc
included several paying mines and vast
tracts Of timber lands. held largely in
private ownership. In these forests
there Is large wealth and the promise
OF great NUMBERING industries
MANY FERTILE VALLEYS
There are many fertile and product
I'VE valleys. the most fertile and the
d largest of which are the Honey Lake
valley, Big valley and Long valley.
which are ar an altitude of . little
more than 1000 feet. Madeline plains.
Willow Creek valley and Secret valley
are 5000 feet above sea level.
The high valleys are not as well
adapted 70 general farming as the
lower ones..but they are quite product
ire and wen suited 70 stock raising
With irrigation. where the altitude is
not too great, any Of the ordinary
products Of the temperate zone can be
produced in abundance and of fine
quality Apples. pears. cherries, peaches,
apricots and berries of all kinds
grow spiendidly OF the farm products
alfalfa is probably the most important.
slthough native grasses-timothy and
red top-are raised extensively.
There are a number of creameries in
Lassen county. and their products de-
msnd the top prices in the city mar
kets. Good hay and grass and pure
cold water make the county an ideal
one for dairying.
MINES IN PLUMAS COUNTY
Plumas county is rich in mines and.
in lumber. One Of the greatest and
most valuable resources Of the county
has been and is its deposit Of quartz
gold. The mines never have been fully
developed. because of the lack Of trans
poriation facilities. There is an album
dance o. cheap electric power in the
county which can be devoted to mining.
One OF the quartz mines in Plumas.
the Plumss- Eureka, IS credited with
gross yield Of sl2,00o,0o0. There are
two distinct and prominent quartz belts
passing through the county.
The Western power company has es-
fablished q great electric power plant
Of more than 100000 horsepower to
transmit electricity to San Francisco.
The area Of Plumas is 2,5s7.Sl square
miles. or I.63s.fo0 acres of diversified
mountain and valley lands. all of
which are useful for grazing. agricul-
fure. mineral productions or timber
The NORTHEASTERN boundary is the main
summit Of the Sierra Nevada noun
tains
FEATHER RIVER WATERSHED
plunas county covers nearly all the
watershed of the upper Feather river.
in which are situated some OF the most
heautfful and fertile valleys in the
state. Chief among these are the In
dian. American. Big Meadows, Genesee,
Mohawk and Sierra valleys
ne county u Il lllitr liOlA east u
west. and 5S miles from north TO south.
Cereals, fruits and vegetables are
grown successfully in the Indian, Amer
ican and Genesee valleys. The higher
valleys are devoted mainly to the pro-
duction Of native or cultivated grasses,
or hay or pasture, and are, therefore.
deyote6 chiefly TO grazing and stock
raising. Apples. pears. plums, prunes,
nerta zines peaches and cherries are
grown. and Piumas seems to be the na-
tive home Of the apple.
The supply OF lumber is vast. There
arc tracts held in private ownership
running from $4,000 TO 10000 acres
each. and there are many tracts of
smaller dimensions Cold mining has
heen in progress since the early ifties.
huf il Is considered 70 be still in IT'S
infancy
BTFvTE COUNTY II WARM
Butte county has an area of Lie
soaiare miles. consisting Of three sec
tions-nountain.e focthiH and plain.
According to- an official report issued
bv the California agricultural society.
Notwithstanding its location-l50 miles
north from San Francisco and 800 miles