State Agricultural Society. 13 



detritus. If we bad this process in nature alone to contend against, the 

 Sacramento, enriched by the Feather and American .Rivers, could be 

 trusted to keep the ancient tenor of its way, and preserve a commodious 

 channel; and the latter streams would seldom escape from their hanks. 

 But these rivers have been ruined by mining operations. The great 

 auriferous area drained into the Sacramento contains scarcely a stream, 

 natural outlet or escape way, that has not been filled up nearly flush 

 with its banks through all the level places with tailings from mining 

 claims; and deposits of the same material, of astonishing depth, charac- 

 terize them all within their mountain environs We have no system of 

 drainage left, either natural or artificial, that is at all proportionate to 

 the large watershed. No system of levees, no works of reclamation can 

 be fairly effected, to withstand the force of waters practically driven 

 from natural wasteways. 



It may be suggested, for the purpose of showing the serious condition 

 of affairs, and without any intention to start a discussion that might 

 become a bitter one and fail to effect much good — work being needed 

 more than argument — that the continuous pouring of earth into our 

 streams by miners, whose operations are necessarily of a temporary 

 character, is causing the constant ruin of large bodies of agricultural 

 land that would else be valuable for ages to come; and that therefore a 

 sound political economy, valuing the permanent above the transient, 

 demands the protection of the latter at the expense of the former. 

 Deep gravel mining is said to have been scarcely begun in this State. 

 There seems no escape from the conclusion, that, in addition to ruin 

 already accomplished by tailings, farming and pasture lands that could 

 be otherwise converted into permanent homes, valuable to their owners 

 and to the commonwealth for all time to come, must remain abandoned 

 in order that miners may pursue their alwaj's temporary and often 

 merely experimental enterprises. We repeat, that this phase of a great 

 problem is here presented as a fact only — not for the purpose of arguing 

 from. Our desire is to attract discussion and elaborate consideration of 

 the situation, rather than to indulge in it. 



San Pablo Bay is necessarily shoaling with great rapidity; that of San 

 Francisco is receiving vast deposits. The drainage of the greater por- 

 tion of California, already nearly ruined by causes alluded to, is now 

 seriously checked at tide-water, and the whole subject is worthy to be 

 gravely examined by the General Government, and treated with the 

 best engineering skill that can be invoked. 



The problem of irrigation is of like magnitude. An able address on 

 the subject was delivered before our societ} 7 , last September, by Hon. 

 Morris M. Estee. It will be found in our report of transactions, and is 

 worthy of thoughtful attention. The subject has now been widely dis- 

 cussed by competent engineers; has been debated in our Legislature; 

 has attracted the notice of capitalists, the daily press, the State author- 

 ities, and the General Government. It yet remains true that nothing on 

 a large scale has been accomplished. The superabundant rains of 

 Winter create destroying floods and escape to the ocean, while the piti- 

 less Summer heat remains untempered in our inland valleys, because the 

 water has run to waste. This is owing, in a great degree, to the magni- 

 tude of the question, and the difficulties which beset its solution. It 

 would be inappropriate to discuss it at length in this connection, but we 

 desire to suggest that it ought to receive energetic notice, and, if possi- 

 ble, an unusual degree of attention from every member of this society, 

 and from every citizen having the true interests of the State at heart. 



