240 TRANSACTIONS Or THE 



products for tliis 3'car are, I think, as near correct as can be ascertained. 

 In the liny croj), whicli is the principal ai^rieiiltni-al ])ro(luct of the town- 

 ship, there is a fallini; off tliis year of near two tliirds from the yield of 

 former years. This is owing, in a great measure, to the cold, dry winds 

 which prevailed durino- the greater part of the months of March and 

 i\pril; and in some instances ranchmen were unable to obtain seed, by 

 reason of the high price; consequently not so much was sown as usual. 

 But a small portion of the township is ada]5led to growing the grape, 

 which is ciiUivated ]irincipally by Italians, who seem to understand the 

 business better than Americans. The wine the}' produce is of an inferior 

 quality, such as is mostl}' used b}' the lower classes of ^working Italians. 

 The eiimate of a great portion of the township is well suited to growing 

 a]>))les, but the soil is of such an inferior quality that it requires a great 

 deal of labor 10 prepare it for the growth of trees; hence we have but 

 i'ew bearing orchards of any importance. Peaches, and the less hardy 

 fruits, cannot be relied on; the late frosts of spring generallj' blast them. 



Our quartz mines ai"e mostly worked by individuals. But few large 

 companies are at present o])crating in the township, and but few large 

 or yjermanent ledges have been "sti'uck." The ])rincipal quartz district 

 is West Point, where the ledg-es are small, and do not extend to a <i;reater 

 de])th than eighty or one hundred feet. The impression prevails among 

 pi'actical miners that our quartz ledges, if sunk on to the depth of two or 

 three hundred feet, would "come in" to hirge and permanent ledges, and 

 the yield from them be equal to any in the State. These ledges are 

 worked by individual enterprise, and the quartz from them obtained 

 crushed on the custom mills in the district. The old fashioned Mexican 

 arastra process seems to be preferi-ed b}' a majoritj- of the miners, and 

 in many instances the yield from the quartz is very great, frequently as 

 high as two hundred dollars per ton. However, this class of rock is not 

 usually found in lai-ge quantities. 



The number of live stock returned is what is actually kept in tlie 

 township for domestic puri)oses. Large numbers of cattle are, during 

 the summer months, grazed in our township, and returned to the coun- 

 ties below during the winter season. These I have not estimated, as 

 they are invariably assessed in the counties where their owners have 

 ranches and are permanently located. 



The principal phicer mining district in the township is in the vicinity 

 of El Dorado and Mountain Ranch, along the limestone or marble forma- 

 tion, but owing to the scarcity of water, miners are unable to do but 

 little, except during the winter months. 



Very respectfully, j-ours, 



S. W. BPIGGS, 



Assessor in and for the Seventh Township, Calaveras County. 



