154 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
sprouts, which grow up to trees. Much of the prairie-land is 
fertile and suitable for cultivation, but it is remote from the 
market. Klamath and Trinity counties are almost destitute 
of valley-land. Both, however, have numerous small spots of 
tich soil in their mountains, and both have a mining popula- 
tion who must, be fed, and have the means and disposition to 
pay well for the necessaries and delicacies of life. The farms 
must be small, but the farmers are protected by the rugged 
mountains from the competition of those in the large valleys. 
Hay-Fork valley, one of the best little tracts of tillable land in 
Trinity county, is three thousand six hundred feet above the 
sea-level. 
The largest tract of level land in the plateau of the Sierra 
Nevada is the valley of Suisun River and Honey Lake, about 
sixty miles long and ten wide. The elevation is about four 
thousand five hundred feet above the sea; much of the soil is 
sandy and alkaline, with no indigenous vegetation save the 
worthless wild sage. Portions of the soil, however, are fertile, 
and there are a number of farms under cultivation. Honey 
Lake valley has the advantage of proximity to Washoe, and 
good roads for communication. There are 115,000 acres ia 
the valley, of which 20,000 are swampy, at least in wet sea- 
sons. Eagle Lake valley is about one-third the size of Honey 
Lake valley, and of similar soil. 
All along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada there are 
little spots of fertile soil, well suited for cultivation; but with 
the exception of a few, they are too small to deserve special 
mention. The soil is usually a red clay or a black loam. The 
largest tillable spots on the western descent of the Sierra Ne- 
vada are in Plumas county. Sierra valley is forty-five miles 
long by six wide, and is drained by a tributary of Feather 
River. Much of the land is barren sand; much is tule-swamp, 
and only a small portion is fit for tillage. No water flows from 
the valley after July. The Big Meadows contain 100,000 
acres; Beckworth’s valley, 90,000; Indian valley, 20,000; 
Mountain Meadows, Red Clover valley, and Mohawk valley, 
