STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 211 



cultivation also. The lower portions of tlie Colorado Desert especially, are so severely afflicted 

 witli alkali of a corrosive ciiaracter that, beins; incapable of drainage on account of being below 

 the sea-level, their reclamation seems hopeless. 



It is clear that Professor Hilgard believes the greater portion of the 

 State is avaihible for agricultural jmrsuits, and he is right. 



East of the Sierras and south of the middle of the State are several 

 valleys of considerable size, the largest of which are the East and 

 West" Walker, Mono, Owen, Armagosa, and Tehachapi. In some of 

 these valleys there is a little fertile land which will be made use of 

 some time in the future. The Owen X'alley is about three miles wide 

 by eighty long, and is four thousand five hundred feet above the sea. 

 It is sui)])lied with water for irrigation by numerous creeks that come 

 down from the mountains. There is only an occasional rainfall. 

 These valleys are adjacent to a great mining country. A narrow 

 gauge railroad extends south through Walker, Mono, and Owen Val- 

 leys, connecting with San Francisco from the north. It will shortly 

 be extended to Los Angeles. There will be a ready market for all 

 produce raised. Wheat, barley, alfalfa, and the hardier fruits will 

 grow here with irrigation. There is considerable alkali covering 

 large tracts of these lands.. 



North of the Central Pacific Railroad is a section of country more 

 fertile, having less alkali and more rain. There are numerous val- 

 leys here having considerable fertile land available without irriga- 

 tion. Among them may be named Long Valley, running north and 

 emptying into Honey Lake; Susan River Valley emptying into the 

 same lake; Pine Creek Valley, Surprise Valley, which is five miles 

 wide by forty long, having rich soil covered by a dense growth of 

 wild clover; Fall River, Big, and other valleys, some of them being 

 very rich, and productive without irrigation. The altitude is about 

 four thousand feet. There is a railroad built twenty-nine miles north 

 from Reno intending to touch some of these best valleys. About Mount 

 Shasta, north, east, and wxst, are some rich basins, with good soil. 

 In all this region the seasons are well defined. The Summers are 

 short. The country is good for stock or dairy, or raising wheat, corn, 

 and hay, including timothy and clover. The hardier fruits Avill do 

 reasonably well. This district of country east and north of the Sierras, 

 and north of Reno, wdll some day comfortably support a population 

 larger than that now in the State. The Klamath basin lies westward 

 of the Mount Shasta country, and has much fertile land. Scott and 

 Shasta tributaries have each valleys of bottom land five miles wide 

 and forty long. These lands lie two thousand feet or more above 

 the sea, and are exposed to severe Winters and late frosts in Spring 

 and Fall. 



Passing to westward and southward are the Eel, and Mad, Navarro, 

 Wahalla, and other river basins. These are in the redwood region, 

 and for twenty miles from the ocean are covered with dense forests. 

 There is a large population engaged in lumbering, and considerable 

 farming is done on the open spots and where the land has been cleared 

 by the lumbermen. Tlie land, as a rule, is very mountainous, but 

 the soil is exceedingly rich to the very summits. A large jiopulation 

 may settle here and make a living with ease at farming. _ The ready 

 communication with San Francisco by sea will cause this section to 

 be sought after. The rainfall is always ample to produce crops, run- 

 ning streams are plentiful, and building material cheap. The title 

 to the larger portion of these lands has passed into the hands of rich 



