LIST No. 1, Exhibiting the tracts of Public Land situated in the district, of lands subject to sale at Carson City, Nevada, which have been selected in lieu of lands entered by pre-emption on the Sixteenth and Thirty-Sixth Sections, for the State of Nevada, under the Seventh Section of the Act of Congress, approved 21st March, 1864, entitled "An Act to enable the people of Nevada to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equality with the original States." W. of S.W.. 20 14 N 20 E 80 S. W. of S. E. and S. E. of N. W.. 16 15 N 20 E 160 I hereby certify that the foregoing list was filed in this office on the 21st day of July, 1866, and that the selections are correct, and that no valid conflicting right is known to exist. (Signed) WARREN T. LOCKHART, Register. STATE OF NEVADA, July 21st, 1866. I hereby apply, in behalf of the State of Nevada, for the tracts described in this list as being selected for said State in lieu of lands entered on the 16th and 36th Sections. On the 10th instant I received "List No. 4" similar to the preceding, (List No. 1) and presumed to have come from the Superintendent of Public Instruction, containing the information that the Superintendent of Public Instruction had applied on the 7th instant, on behalf of the State, for the southeast onefourth of Section 14, Township 16 N. Range 21 E., containing 160 acres. Also for the southeast one-fourth of Section 34, Township 16 N. Range 19 E., for 160 acres, in lieu of lands entered by pre-emption on the 16th and 36th Sections, accompanied by the certificate of the Register and Receiver, that "no valid conflicting right is known to exist," bearing date December 7th, 1866. Warrants have been presented for location upon lands selected in lieu of lands entered by pre-emption on the 16th and 36th Sections, but finding no provisions either in the original Act or the amendment concerning the sale of the 16th and 36th Sections for the sale of lands selected in lieu thereof, the warrants were retained, notice of application filed, but the recording of the same delayed, in order that the opinion of the Attorney General might be obtained as to the propriety of recording the desired locations. The matter was immediately submitted to him, but his opinion has not yet been received (Dec. 18th, 1866). In case the Statutes do not authorize the sale of such lands, immediate provision for such sale is recommended, at a price not much in excess of that established by the General Government. STATE LAND OFFICE AND REGISTER. The establishment of a State Land Office, of which the Surveyor General should be the Register, as in California, is recommended; which office should be located at Carson. It is believed that the State Board of Education should constitute a Board of Land Commissioners, to which should be intrusted the selection and supervision of all lands to which the State may be entitled, and that the Surveyor General should be authorized to obtain from the United States Surveyor General, and the Register and Receiver, such plats, maps and information as may, in the opinion of the Board, be requisite for a judicious selection of lands for the State, which plats and maps would furnish valuable material for the compilation of a map of the State.* Should the foregoing suggestion not be adopted, it is recommended that measures be taken to abolish the office of Surveyor General. IRRIGATION AND RECLAMATION OF LANDS. In my former report attention was called to the fact that many millions of acres of land in this State now comparatively worthless would become valuable if irrigated, and that several hundred thousands of acres of swamp and overflowed land required drainage and protection from overflow. Attention was also called to the fact that there is upon our western border one of the finest natural reservoirs in the world-Lake Tahoe-the waters of which might be brought in an extensive canal, (which might serve to float timber and wood to within a moderate distance from our mills and mines) to be used as a motive power and for the purposes of irrigation; and the opinion was expressed * December 19th, 1866.-This day received Attorney General's opinion that the Statutes do not authorize the sale of lands other than the 16th and 36th sections. Should the foregoing suggestion be adopted it would be necessary to affix a salary to the State Register's office, which, with that of the Surveyor General, would justify the incumbent in devoting his whole time to the duties of those offices. His duties would then be the most laborious, and not the least responsible of any of the State Officers. that were the facts laid before Congress a grant of these now useless lands might be obtained on condition of reclamation by irrigation. This project may be regarded as one of the probabilities of the not very distant future; it may not, therefore, in this connection be improper to call attention to a project for the diversion of a portion of these waters from their natural channel, by which they are discharged into this State, (the Truckee River) for the benefit of California. There is a bill now before Congress for the authorization of this project, and if Congress has the right to authorize the same it certainly behooves Nevada to protest against the exercise of that right: for this State has, or will soon have use for every particle of water now possessed, or which can be obtained. FOREST AND TIMBER TREES. The great scarcity or entire absence of wood and timber in extensive portions of the State, and the fearful rapidity of their disappearance from portions where now abundant, would appear to suggest the necessity of making some provision for the encouragement of the cultivation of "Forests and Timber Trees." The great and beneficial effects upon the soil and climate resulting from an extensive cultivation of timber, it is believed, would alone repay the expenditure. I call attention to the subject, in the hope that those much better informed than myself may be induced to propose a practicable scheme for the accomplishment of so desirable a result. MAP OF THE STATE AND EASTERN BOUNDARY. An accurate map of the State has become a necessity: in view of which fact I respectfully submit the following remarks, most of which were presented in my former report, and would also call attention to important suggestions upon this subject made by the State Mineralogist in his report. The Act concerning the office of Surveyor General says: "When required by law, the Surveyor General shall make an accurate and complete survey, by astronomical observations and linear surveys of the boundaries of the State." It will soon be necessary to have the southern portion, at least, of the eastern boundary of the State established; and I am of the opinion that provision should be made for this object by the present session of the Legislature. The expense would not be great, the determination of longitude having become an easy matter since the construction of the telegraph; but the whole boundary should be established at an early day; and I would recommend that Congress be requested to make immediate provision for this object. The Act also provides that: "When required by law, he shall make an accurate map of the State, and shall survey and, when necessary, designate by plain visible marks or monuments, and shall describe on the map of the State, the boundary line of the several counties;" and, "When called upon by the County Commissioners, of any county," it requires him to run any county line, or portion of the same. It has been made the duty of the County Surveyors to transmit, when called upon, to the Surveyor General, copies of field notes and plats of their official surveys. It has also been made the "duty of all railroad and toll companies to file in the office of the Surveyor General complete topographical maps of the roads, and the county through which their roads may run.' Scarcely any attention has been paid to the above requirements by County Surveyors, or railroad or toll road companies, which is to be regretted, for they are admirable provisions, so far as they go; but something further is necessary: 1st. It is recommended that a law be passed requiring the construction of an accurate map of the State. 2d. A penalty should be attached to the failure of County Surveyors to comply with their duties prescribed by law; but a fair compensation should be allowed for every duty imposed. 3d. The present law does not define the time at which topographical maps of railroads and toll roads shall be filed in this office, nor does it affix a penalty for non-compliance with this requirement. It is therefore recommended that the law be so amended as to require topographical maps and profiles of all toll roads now in operation, also of all railroads and toll roads now surveyed, to be filed in this office within three months from the passage of this proposed amendment; also that railroad companies whose routes are not yet surveyed be required to file their maps and profiles within three months of the completion of the maps or profiles, or of the surveys; also that all toll road companies not now in operation be required to file the same within three months from the completion of maps and profiles, or surveys, and before they be entitled to collect toll. A severe penalty should be attached to a non-compliance with the law, sufficient to cover the expense of obtaining such maps and profiles. The adoption of the above suggestions would secure valuable material for a correct map of the State. The Surveyor General should be authorized to obtain copies of the United States township plats at an expense not to exceed dollars each, to be used in compiling the State map, and in the selection of land belonging to the State. This office ought to be furnished with a copy of maps and field notes of the State boundary surveys. It is believed that in case a further survey of the State boundary, or surveys of county boundaries, should be deemed necessary, that such surveys should be made under the supervision of the Surveyor General; and such surveys should always be made with the view of obtaining all the data practicable for the State map, every line surveyed being used trigonometrically to determine the position of and to locate upon the map the topographical features of the adjoining county. For the survey of county boundaries, an appropriation of eight thousand dollars ($8,000) is recommended. It is also recommended that in any county boundary survey, the counties interested be required to defray half the expense. An appropriation of two thousand dollars ($2,000) is recommended, to defray the expense of employing a draughtsman in compiling the State map. Any attempt at a geological survey of the State would be almost abortive, except so far as it might be based upon an accurate map, at least of those portions examined. COUNTY ROADS. For suggestions concerning county roads, reference is respectfully made to my former report, in which, it is believed, they have been presented at least one generation too early. LIST OF REPORTS FROM COUNTY SURVEYORS AND ASSESSORS. Valuable reports have been received from the following: William A. Jackson, County Surveyor of Churchill County. Robert Lyon, County Assessor of Douglas County. The reports of Mr. Bence and Mr. Lyon are valuable and interesting, particularly so, from being the first received from Ormsby and Douglas Counties. I regret the necessity of transmitting a clipping from the Reese River Reveille, in which several errors in Mr. Barker's report are pointed out. In view of the fact that in several counties the county commissioners have entirely failed to enforce a compliance with the law in regard to the collection and transmission of statistical reports by the county assessors and county surveyors, I would recommend that the law be so amended as to prevent the county commissioners auditing or paying any bills of the assessor or surveyor, unless accompanied by a certificate from the Surveyor General that the last-named officers have complied with the law defining their duties in relation to his office. Should the above suggestion be acted upon, I am certain we will see a vast improvement in the next report over the last, or the assessing and surveying for the counties for the present year will be done for nothing. STATISTICS. The following summary, tabular list, and notes of mills crushing ore from the Comstock Lode in 1866, have been compiled with a great deal of labor and care, and although incomplete, and in some respects erroneous, yet I believe them to be approximately correct, and by far the most complete exhibit of the mills of Storey, Lyon, Ormsby, and Washoe Counties yet compiled, and, I believe, will be found valuable and interesting. In compiling the tabular list, I have been greatly assisted by and have obtained a great deal of information from Mr. Buckman, Secretary of the Belcher Company, and I might say nearly the same concerning my professional partner, Geo. Hunt, C. E., who has at all times, when not necessarily otherwise engaged, willingly assisted in the collecting of statistics, and in copying, tabulating, etc. I have also used extensively in summary, table and notes, information furnished for my former report by D. A. Armstrong, Deputy Assessor of Lyon County, which was so erroneously printed as to be greatly depreciated in value; and last, but not least, I have availed myself of nearly all, if not the whole, information contained in a valuable article upon the "Quartz Mills about Virginia and Gold Hill Districts, Nevada," in the San Francisco Mining and Scientific Press of September 29th, 1866, from information furnished that journal by Mr. Thomas Starr. Much information has been obtained directly from parties owning or employed about the mills. In all cases I have given the information deemed most reliable. STOREY COUNTY. The table contains a list of 33 mills, all steam, estimated to have cost $2,000,000, with an assessed value for 32 of $953,705, say, for the 33, $970,000, containing 607 stamps, with a crushing capacity of 846 tons per day, nearly 1.4 tons per stamp, consuming 180 cords of wood per day, average cost about $14 per cord; total, $2,527, or nearly $3 per ton, and about $4.15 per stamp. 24 mills pay the Virginia & Gold Hill Water Company $5,280 per month for |