446 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



if a railroad should not be built, the distance by wagon to a shipping 

 point is not more than ten or twelve miles. El Dorado has a rail- 

 road from Shingle Springs to Sacramento, and as soon as sufficient 

 encouragement is offered doubtless the road will be extended to 

 Placerville. 



No portion of the State is better supplied with the means of trans- 

 portation than these three counties. 



Again, our soil is especially adapted to the culture of the grape. It 

 will bear comparison with the most noted of the soils of France. 

 While it may be very tedious to listen to the tables of comparison, I 

 am persuaded that they will be of interest to you when you come to 

 study the capacity of your soil, and determine the variety of grape to 

 which the soil will be most kindly. 



Mr. Haraszthy, in his work on grape culture, gives the following as 

 the analysis of the soil upon which is grown the claret of Margeaux: 



Oxide of iron 3.341 



Alumina 1.590 



Magnesia .263 



Soluble silicates .380 



Phosphoric acid .147 



Potash 1.241 



Carbonate of lime .891 



Organic matter 6.670 



Insoluble residue 85.427 



100.000 



The vine grown on the estate known as the Chateau Lafitte, in the 

 Bordeaux District of France, is conceded to be the best claret of the 

 world. The constituents of the soil of the estate are as follows: 



Silicous pebbles . 62.900 



Fine sand 28.300 



Fine silex 6.220 



Humus 1.280 



Alumina .750 



Lime 4.000 



Iron ■ - 8.600 



112.050 



The Burgundy soil has 12.72 per cent of oxide of iron and 12.95 of 

 carbonate of lime. 



Prof. E. W. Hilgard, of the University of California, in his report 

 for 1882 to the Regents of the University — a work which should be read 

 by every tiller of the soil — reports two analyses of the soils of Placer 

 County. One from about Auburn and one from Pino or Loomis. The 

 first I should judge was upon slate, the second is upon red rotten 

 granite. 



The analyses are as follows: 



