There are several mills, now in the course of erection, which are not included in the preceding list. Throughout the entire quartz region an increased activity is observed and the most lively interest manifested, and in many cases, by those persons who have heretofore regarded this description of mining as an unprofitable speculation.

In addition to those employed in the different quartz mills, there are a number of arastras in operation throughout the quartz region, which are yielding remunerative returns to their owners. In Mariposa County, alone, there are one hundred propelled by horse-power, nearly every one of which is profitably employed.

NEVADA COUNTY.-Grass Valley and the vicinity present the most convincing proof of the importance and permanence of the quartz interest of this State. The number of mills in operation is twenty-three, eighteen of which are propelled by steam, and five by water. The number of stamps contained in these mills is two hundred and seventy-four. The cost of machinery is estimated at two hundred and sixty thousand dollars.

In addition to the quartz veins immediately connected with the above mills, there are a number, probably one hundred, of valuable leads now being worked, and the rock taken therefrom is crushed by the mills in the vicinity

at a reasonable rate.

The Allison Ranch vein, so far, has proved to be the richest quartz lead in the State; but there are several others in the vicinity of Grass Valley which are considered fully as valuable, each having produced more gold, viz: Gold Hill, Massachusetts Hill, Ophir Hill, Osborn Hill, Houston Hill and Lafayette Hill. It should be borne in mind, that the veins of Grass Valley have, as yet, been but partially worked; the business, however, has been reduced to a system, and may be regarded as a permanency for the future. It is believed, that every mill here made money during the last year, and several of them large The future for the operator in quartz promises well; liberal rates for labor, a better understanding how to work and how to save the gold, have produced good results, and will, with the new and improved machinery now being introduced in the various mills, insure for this branch of mining hereafter, results which will reward those who are devoting their energies and capital to its development.

sums.

Allison Ranch.-This vein is, beyond question, the richest gold mine in California, if not in the world. It is situated on Wolf Creek, three miles from Grass Valley, and it is owned and worked by the original discoverers, Messrs. Daniels, Donahue & Co.; the firm consists of five persons.

This vein was first noticed in 1852, by Mr. Daniels, who was then engaged with his partners in working a claim on the creek. The gold was observed to crop out very distinctly from the side of the ledge; but its existence did not create much attention, from the fact that operations in quartz were then regarded by miners generally as an unprofitable employment. The company continued their labors upon the banks of the creek until the fall of 1855, when their attention was again attracted to the vein by the reports of . large yields in quartz in the neighborhood, and they at once decided upon testing its value; accordingly, they commenced operations, and had proceeded but a few feet into the rock when the richness of the quartz became apparent. The first sixty-three tons taken out were sent to a mill in the neighborhood and yielded the remarkable sum of twenty-two thousand dollars, or three hundred and fifty dollars per ton. They continued in this manner to work the vein until October last, when their own mill was completed.

The mill now in operation on the vein is small, compared with many others in the neighborhood. It is furnished with eight stamps and is capable of crushing ten tons of ore daily, which yields, on an average, three hundred dollars per ton. The richness of the quartz is very uniform, and the gold appears to exist throughout the entire claim, which is twelve hundred feet in length.

The yield of this mine since October last is estimated at over five hundred

"The Richest Gold Mine in California.-Yesterday morning our attention was called to a small leathern sack in the office of the Orleans Hotel. At the request of one of the owners, Mr. Daniels, we, with much difficulty, succeeded in lifting it from the floor. It was filled with gold, which was being taken to the United States Branch Mint, at San Francisco. Every two weeks two or three of the proprietors of what is known as the Allison Lead,' in Nevada County, pass through this city for the Mint with a similar pile. This time Mr. Daniels thought there was in the sack not much more than fifty thousand dollars. This is the richest gold lead yet discovered in California, and so far as we have any knowledge, in the world. The most remarkable feature is that it has been gradually increasing in richness with its development, and that from present indications it is inexhaustible." Sacramento Union.

·

thousand dollars, which has been obtained from less than two thousand tons of quartz. What the value of this mine is no one can estimate; from present appearances, millions of gold will be taken from it. The operations so far, have scarcely broken its crust, and years of labor will be required to exhaust the quartz, which appears to be almost inexhaustible.

AMADOR COUNTY.*-The number of mills in this district is twenty-four; of which twenty are propelled by water and four by steam. Aggregate number of stamps, two hundred and sixty-five. Cost of machinery, two hundred and eighty-three thousand dollars.

The aggregate capacity of these mills is about three hundred tons per day of each twenty-four hours, which is estimated to yield on an average, twenty dollars per ton. Total, six thousand dollars. The expenses do not exceed twenty-five hundred dollars, leaving a daily profit of thirty-five hundred dollars.

GOLD PRODUCT OF CALIFORNIA.

The amount of treasure manifested at the port of San Francisco, from 1849 to the close of 1856, is $322,393,856, which does not include the sums taken by private hands, the aggregate of which cannot be ascertained.

The yield of the gold mines of this State is estimated by careful and experienced persons of the Eastern States at an amount much greater than the above figures will apparently justify, but when it is considered that the means of information existing there are much more extensive and reliable than those which are here, their calculations may be regarded as a fair approximation to the actual sum.

The following table has been compiled from reliable sources, for the purpose of ascertaining the probable yield of the mines, from 1849 to the close of the year 1856:

TABLE

Exhibiting the Shipments of Treasure, the Receipts of Gold at the U. S. Mint and Branches, and the estimated Gold Products of the State, from 1849 to 1856, inclusive.

YEAR.

1848.

1849.

1850.

1851.

1852.

1853.

1854.

1855.

1856..

Totals......

$322,393,856 $365,505,454 $596,162,061

*There is a large amount of capital invested in the Counties of Calaveras, El Dorado and Mariposa,

and the mills generally in these localities are yielding fair returns.-[EDS.

+ Yield of 1855 and 1856 estimated.-[EDS.

In order to test the correctness of the above estimate, from Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, the following amounts of gold, which are known to have been received from this State, are presented:

United States Mint, and branches thereof, to June 30, 1856
Bank of England for the same period....

.$365,505,454

*95,000,000

Total amount known......

460,505,454

To which should be added estimated amount in California in

This amount does not include the shipments of gold to foreign countries other than to England, which is included in this amount, and the quantity manufactured throughout the United States since 1849.

A careful examination of these figures indicates a yield of gold from the mines of this State, from 1849 to the close of 1856, of nearly six hundred millions of dollars.

2. SILVER.

"This metal has been found in several of the mines that have been opened in this State, all of them, thus far, situated in the southern district. It was first met with in a distinct vein, running parallel with a vein of gold, in the South Carolina Mine, at Carson Hill. At this place I obtained a fine specimen. I was informed of its being found in the Old Dominion Mine, beside the above, and north of it, and also in the Relief Mine, south of it. The New York Mining Company, on the opposite side of the river at Eagle Hill, was the next in which it made its appearance. At the Chilean Mine, two miles north of Columbia, it occurs, associated with copper and gold in quartz in the form of sulphuret; also Frazer's Mine, twelve miles east of Sonora, with galena and zinc-blende in the same rock. At these localities it is generally disseminated through the quartz."-Dr. Trask, 1853.

"In the County of Monterey this metal occurs in the form of argentiferous galena (or lead and silver); this mineral is found in the primitive and transition limestone abounding in this section."-Dr. Trask, 1854.

"This metal is much more widely distributed than the silver, through the western flank of the range. Commencing on the extreme north, it is found on the North Fork of the Trinity, a short distance from its confluence with the main stream, in a metallic state, in crystals and masses. The vein cuts both sides of the river, but its entire extent is not known. Vitreous copper is found, and also malachite. It occurs on both the Middle and South Forks of Feather River, in the form of carbonate; also between Nevada and Grass Valley, near the Halfway House, and in many parts of the southern mines." "The ores of copper are found in the form of carbonate, sulphuret and silicate, among the Santa Cruz Mountains; in the vicinity of Rincon Point, south of San Francisco, it is found sparingly disseminated among the trap and metamorphosed rocks of that section. In the mountains, south of Monterey, it is also found over a limited area, and again in the lower hills on the east side of the Salinas Valley, near the Rancho Alisal. At this locality it occurs in an extensive quartz dike that has forced its way through all the * Shipments of a single house, at San Francisco, direct, since 1849, $30,000,000.