Show agriculture VS MINING r lri iri an editorial article which recently appeared in the sacramento union beaded our wheat vs our gold the writer sets forth the tho advantages of agriculture ri in california 3 and proves by statistics that agriculture is the solid I 1 interest of the tho state and mining merely a secondary one statistics not very closely gathered either show he says say that the tho wheat production for the year 1868 was fourteen millions of bushels the aggregate value of that cereal alone in california last year at the rate at which it was generally rene Kene rally raily sold was 12 ross roes brownes estimate of the gold bold product of or the state for the year 1866 was but the writer of the article in question asserts thatch is fears yeara wheat crop will reach rench in value abe abeshy z vy advance on last years crop the production of gold decrease decreases yearly he estimates about 40 per cent in view of this rapid In increase creaso in the production ro of wheat the writer indulges I 1 in n glowin glowing visions respecting the future of california as a grain producing state he thinks that if proper encourage men ment t be given to agriculture it is not extravagant to assume that within five years the wheat production of that state winy may be raised to thirty millions of bushels annually i or one eighth of the entire estimated yield of the united states for the year 1867 there may beeady be many more persons in california reflected upon this subject besides tho the writer of the above article but a few years yearb ngo ago sueh such views were unpopular then mining interests were deemed of paramount importance every encouragement was given to this branch and Cali fornias pros prosperity erity was thought to be entirely dependent upon tipon her mineral wealth tho the digging of gold does not enrich astete a state A man who raises a pound abound of wool or cotton or flax or hemp and con converts erts it article of clothing eloi cloi hing confers a benedit benefit on the world so alti alts also aiso with ath ith the man who produces an article d the world is enriched by his labor laor but the inan man who digs a pound of gold confers no benefit ou on his klud kind only so far as that gold is converted into some article of df use or ornament yet individuals communities and nati nations in ili our day have almost gone crazy in their anxiety to dig gold they have abandoned every useful pursuit in hi their eagerness to clutch gold because adif a different celent policy has been urged upon the dve eople people here by their leaders theluster the latter lutter have been derided and denounced in unmeasured terms mining for the tile precious metals las has not been encouraged hele here yet there are reputed statesmen who think we are unwise in neglecting this pursuit one oue of this clas class cla cia s visited this city in the summer of 1865 the ignorance he displayed im on this subject was most i citizens were neglecting their ante interests rens reas in not prospecting the mountains canons callons and valleys for gold if such men were to have the leadership idoa of a people it can readily be imagined what their fate fute would be in a country like ou ours rs esthey they could not hold together beyond a single season our territory bas haa steadily increased in wealth vinith from the fint days of its settlement until thle present but if mining had been encouraged we could not have maintained our footing mining is ilot riot a pursuit that can be counted upon to bring wealth and prosperity to a asi ari state rate tate binler the interest of mining california with all its wonderful advantages has been depleted aud and gradually depopulate ed but for the tho farming interest the writer from whom we quote ty says tho th people veople of if Calif california orida would today to day be among the least prosperous and pos poe possibly sibly the tile most wretched communities corn mini nied hied iu tiie the nv world id his closing remarks on the sub subject sect are worth reading hesayo he say pay jhb the ml apra labor profited nil all the world more thin that purl pull of it iu in which ho he obtained his wages nis his improve improvements merits were wre temporary and aud 1 gales wales ins int insignificant gi freant when the gulch or bar was exhausted the ibe town ori his creation went vent rapidly to geay decay and he himself in nine cases out of teu ten departed with lils bis nis gold dust to other regions ions tons A million dollars duz dug out by hab has not been worth as much to the states Sta teas a general rula as a thousand earned by the farmer because the miners million has gone abroad to improve other states or be wasted in dissipation while lethe the farmers thousand Is almost in variably laid out but in n solid improvements her here 0 which increase in value with time and furnish the sinews ol 01 government and public pros prot pertly |