silver is to be seen in the waving corn-fields, blooming orchards, and vineyards now so successfully cultivated upon the abandoned fields of the pioneer gold-hunter. El Dorado is second only to the county of Nevada in quartz-mining in the State, and is sixth in the counties of the State in the growth of the grape. Coloma, situated thirty-five miles northeast from the city of Sacramento, and the place where Marshall, in 1848, discovered gold, and in the vicinity of which, for so many years, were enacted the wild scenes of early California life, is surrounded with blooming orchards and clustering vines. Fruit-growing is conducted successfully in this county, and almost every variety grows well. In the western parts of the county the mulberry grows to perfection, and the lemon, olive, fig, and orange are cultivated; but these latter do not grow so well as they do in the southern section of the State.

There are a number of towns in this county: Placerville, the county-seat, with a population of 1,562, Coloma, Georgetown, Diamond Springs, El Dorado, and Shingle Springs are the principal ones. Many of the early mining towns in this county are abandoned, and substantial buildings, costing from $5,000 to $20,000 in their erection in early days, are inhabited only by cattle and hogs; but the corn-field, the vine, and the fig tree march steadily toward and overshadow their ruins.

PLACER.-North of El Dorado, and extending in a range of eighty miles in length from the crest of the Sierras to within eight miles of the Sacramento, having an average width of eighteen miles and an area of 1,386 square miles, and a population of 11,357, made up of 6,167 Americans and 5,199 foreigners, is the county of

Placer, famous for its rich mines of gold, and partaking of the general features of all the counties in this mountain range. A portion of the eastern end of the county is occupied by the beautiful Lake Tahoe, and the dashing Truckee river passes through a portion of it. Jagged mountain peaks, deep gulches, cañons, and dense forests occupy a great portion of the eastern end of the county, and snow falls to considerable depth. Toward the Sacramento are a succession of rolling hills and rich valleys, and the climate in this section is summer perpetually. Here nearly every branch of agriculture is successfully prosecuted. The grape and nearly all the semi-tropical fruits, including the lemon, fig, and orange, grow. Summer in the mountain ranges is charming, and the green herbage and native grasses afford wide pasture-ranges. In portions of the western side of the county the heat of summer is great, but never oppressive. Cattle and sheep graze at large during the whole year, and altogether the climate is delightful. The great overland railroad passes through this county a distance of ninety miles.

Placer is bounded north by Nevada, east by the State of Nevada, south by El Dorado and Sacramento, and west and northwest by Sutter, Yuba, and Nevada.

The chief resources of the county are mining, agriculture, lumber, and dairying. It is surpassed only by two counties in the State in the growing of peaches, and is the fourth county in the State in the production of wine. Auburn, the county-seat, and Colfax, Cisco, Dutch Flat, Iowa Hill, and Forest Hill, are the principal towns.

NEVADA. Directly north of Placer, and extending in a direct line from the State line of Nevada on the east

to within seventeen miles of the Feather river, at Marysville, a distance of about seventy miles, and having an average width of fifteen miles, and an area of 1,026 square miles, is the county of Nevada, celebrated in the history of California as the greatest gold-producing county in the State. Placer and bank mines of great richness have long been worked in this section; but the quartz mines of the county seem inexhaustible, and still yield beyond comparison with any gold region in the world. The surface of the country is mountainous in the extreme in the region of the Sierras; here, too, vast forests of great beauty and value are found, and dashing streams and beautiful lakes lend a charm to the delightful scenery of this section. The Truckee river, pouring its flood from Lake Tahoe, passes through the eastern extremity of the county. In this quarter snow falls to considerable depth in winter, and for a brief period frost is severe; but summer is delightful, and the native grasses upon the side-hills and valleys of the Sierras afford wide and excellent pastureranges. In the western end of the county, toward the Sacramento river, the surface is a series of rolling hills and small valleys. Winter never reaches this section, and here cattle and sheep graze at large throughout the whole year, and fruits of almost every variety, including many of the semi-tropical, grow. The grape, fig, and orange are cultivated, and gardening and dairying are carried on to considerable extent. Like the great interior of California, this section has a long, dry, and hot summer; but the cool nights keep it from being oppressive, and altogether the climate is delightful.

Taken altogether-the inexhaustible gold-mines, the vast forests, and diversified agriculture of Nevada—it is

one of the most prosperous counties in the State. The great overland railroad in its course passes for a distance of thirteen miles through the eastern end of the county over the crest of the Sierras; and other roads building will add greatly to the development of this

section.

Nevada county is bounded north by Yuba and Sierra counties, east by the State of Nevada, south by Placer, and west by Yuba. The population is 19,134: of whom 10,479 are native American and 8,655 are of foreign birth. There are several growing and prosperous towns in the county. Nevada City is the countyseat, and is a place of considerable population and importance. Grass valley, in the heart of the richest mining region in the world, is an incorporated city, with a population of 7,066. Little York, French Corral, and North San Juan are towns of some importance, all surrounded by rich mining districts.

SIERRA.-Adjoining Nevada county on the north, and perched high in the Sierras, bounded north by Plumas and Lassen, east by the State of Nevada, south by Nevada county, and west by Yuba and Plumas, and embracing an area of 830 square miles, and with a population of 5,619, of whom 2,816 are of native American and 2,803 are of foreign birth, is the county of Sierra.

The surface of the county is a succession of abrupt mountains and jagged peaks, some of which stand almost nine thousand feet above the sea. Numerous deep cañons and gulches, with dashing streams and deep forests, lend a wild but picturesque aspect to the country. Small valleys of great beauty and fertility are

found, and grazing, dairying, lumbering, fruit-growing, farming, and mining are all carried on successfully.

Great quantities of gold have been extracted from the gravel beds and rich quartz veins of this county, and fortunes have been suddenly realized from rich deposits of gold. Sierra is still only second to Nevada. county in her yield of gold, and mines of permanent value are being worked with great profit, and new and rich discoveries made almost daily.

Snow falls to considerable depth throughout the eastern end of the county in winter, and frost is felt sometimes to a great extent; but toward the western part of the county but little snow falls, and cattle and sheep graze in the valleys throughout the entire year. Almost every variety of the hardier fruits grow well, and even the fig and orange have been grown, but none of the semi-tropical fruits do well.

There are no towns of magnitude in Sierra county. The principal ones are Downieville, the county-seat, Forest City, Brandy City, Howland Flat, and Goodyear's Bar.

PLUMAS.-North of Sierra county, and with its whole area in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and at an elevation of from 4,000 to 7,000 feet above the level of the sea, is the county of Plumas: bounded north and east by Lassen, south by Sierra, and west by Butte and Tehama. The area of this alpine county is 2,736 square miles-equal to two States of the size of Rhode Island and 124 square miles to spare. Plumas has a population of 4,490, divided between 2,414 native Americans and 2,075 foreigners, and several growing towns. Quincy, the county-seat, has a population of 640. La