REPORT 



Office of Secretary of Agricultural Association No. 18, \ 

 Independence, Inyo County, November 23, 1887. j 



E. F. Smith, Esq., Secretary State Agricultural Society, Sacramento: 



Sir: As required by Section 9 of the Act to provide for the management 

 of the State Agricultural Society, passed April 15, 1880, I herewith submit 

 report of the transactions of Agricultural District Number Eighteen, com- 

 prising the counties of Alpine, Mono, and Inyo. Said district was created 

 by an Act of the Legislature, approved March 9, 1887. The Directors 

 appointed by the Governor met at Independence, on the thirty-first day of 

 March, 1887, and organized by the election of A. R. Conklin, as President; 

 O. I. Mavis, Treasurer; and C. Mulholland, Secretary. During the ensu- 

 ing months a tract of ground was secured one half mile southeast of limits 

 of Independence; here a race track was made, one mile in circumference; 

 judges' and grand stands were built, and the whole put in good condition. 

 Within the limits of Independence, five acres of ground were bought and 

 inclosed by a tight board fence seven feet high; within this inclosure stalls 

 were built for horses and cattle, and pens for sheep, swine, etc. On the 

 same ground a good, solid building was also erected for a pavilion; this is 

 sixty by forty feet. These improvements have cost over $6,000. 



A fair was held at Independence, October tenth till October fourteenth, 

 inclusive. Herewith please find a full report of stock and articles exhib- 

 ited; also of premiums paid. As all the premiums offered were paid, I 

 will presume it is not necessary to recapitulate; the list given containing 

 all that was "offered," and also all that was "paid." 



I am not possessed of the facts in relation to the " development and 

 extent of the industries, products, and resources" of Alpine and Mono 

 Counties. I can only say of Alpine that it is known to contain rich min- 

 eral resources, yet very slightly developed. It has also a good deal of 

 valuable timber land, and much fine pasturage for sheep and cattle. A 

 valuable dairy interest could also be established there, but very little in 

 that direction has yet been accomplished. 



Mono County is best known as containing the town of Bodie, and mines 

 in its vicinity. These mines have added millions of dollars to the wealth 

 of the State. Mono has thousands of acres of good farming land. During 

 the summer months great numbers of cattle, horses, and sheep find excel- 

 lent grazing in the higher mountain valleys. The better development of 

 the resources of the county would enable it to support four or five times 

 the present population. 



Of the three counties comprising the Eighteenth District, Inyo is by far 

 the largest in area. It contains about twelve thousand square miles. The 

 chief farming part of the county is Owens Valley. This is, in round num- 

 bers, one hundred miles long, with an average width of about seven miles. 

 The soil is rich, the climate excellent, and has no superior for health. 

 The valley contains at least three hundred thousand acres of arable land; 

 at present about one hundred and fifty thousand acres, or less than half, 

 is inclosed. The chief good of establishing the Eighteenth Agricultural 



