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 NEVADA

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NEVADA

exact date of its foundation is unknown. Some attrib- ute the foundation to Fridigit, wife of Rosemund, the Marconian chief, in the middle of the fourth century, but without any more evidence than the alleged foun- dation by Archbishop Wolf of Lorch. Nor is the see a direct continuation of one which existed in Svato- pluk's time and was suffragan of Prag-Potesover; neither is it probable that the saintly King Stephen founded it. The see was probably founded in the time of King Coleman about 1105-07, although St. Ladislaus had it in contemplation, for a royal docu- ment still exists, in which he endows the church at Neutra with much property. The church, dedicated to St. Emmeram, was there in the lifetime of St. Stephen, and is supposed to have been endowed by Queen Gisela. Gervasius was the first bishop (110.5- 14), and was followed by Nicholas (1133). The suc- cessors of St. Ladislaus increased the revenues of the see to which the city of Neutra belonged from the mid- dle of the thirteenth century. The cathedral chap- ter was in all probability established at the same time as the see; but until the seventeenth century very little is known about it. There were only nine canons in the seventeenth century, but the number was in- creased to ten in 1780. The see shared the fate of the country, the invasion of the Turks, the Hussites, in- ternal quarrels, all of which wrought much mischief, especially the disastrous battle of Mohacs (1526). The see was in time deprived of its revenues which fell into the hands of the laity. Valentine Toorch first had possession of them, and then later Alexius Thurd6, after which the latter's brother. Bishop Franz Thurd6, acquired them, but later on became a Prot- estant. The Reformation found a foothold in Neutra, owing to the sympathy of certain noble families. Bishop Paul Bornemissos tried to restore the financial conditions of the see, but unsuccessfully; during the wars with the Turks the chapter was obliged to flee and only returned to Neutra in 1607. Bishop Franz Forzach was the first bishop to oppose the spread of the Reformation (1596-1607); his work was carried on by his successors, especially by the Jesuits, who since 1645 worked zealously for the re-establishment of the Catholic religion. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries religious orders settled in the diocese. The cathedral as it stands to-day was erected by Ladi.«laus Erdodyl (1796-36). Among the more famous bishops was August Roskovdny (1859-92), famed as a theo- logian and canonist. Bishop Emmerich Bende has been bishop since 1893; his coadjutor with right of succession is Count William Batthyany. The see in- cludes a part of the counties of Neutra and Trenescen, and is divided into 4 archdeaneries. There are 148 parishes, 237 priests, 194 of whom are parish priests; also 15 religious orders, numbering 14.5 members, of both sexes. In 1907 the Catholic population num- bered 350,398. The cathedral chapter is composed of ten canons, and there are six titular canons, also 3 titular abbots.

Die Komitats und Stadts Ungarns. Komitat Nyitra (Budapest, 8. d.) : Dns Katholische Ungarn (Budapest, 1901): Schematismus dirFcesis Nitriensis 1907; Pray, Specimen HierarckuE Hungarian, I (Posen, 1776); Memoria episcoporum Nitriensium (Posen, 1835).

A. ALD.iSY.

Nevada, a Western state of the United States, bounded on the North by Oregon and Idaho, on the East by Utah and Arizona, and on the South and We.st by California. It lies between the latitudes of 35° (in its extreme southern point) and 42° north, and be- tween the meridians of 114° and 120° longitude. The extreme length of the state from north to south is 483 miles, while its extreme breadth from east to west is 320 miles. The total area of the state of Nevada is 110,t590 square miles.

Climate. — The climate of Nevada is dry, pleasant, and healthful. Summers are, as a rule, very warm, except in the high mountainous districts, while the

winters are generally long and sometimes severe. In late spring and early autumn there prevails a warm westerly wind which has often disastrous effects, as it is generally accompanied by sand storm. The mean temperature in January is 28°, while that of summer is 71°. The average rainfall throughout the year is ten inches, and the greater part of this precipitation comes between the months from December to May.

Population. — The history of the population of Nevada since 1850 presents some of the most inter- esting figures in the United States Census records. From the time of the early settle- ments in 1850-60 to the years of the great mining de- velopments in 1860-1880, the population rapidly increased from a few hundred pio- neers to 60,000 people, while after 1885 (demonetiza- tion of silver) it de- clined until the end of the century, and from that time began to increase very rapidly. The figures showing the population of the state since 1860, according to U. S. Census Re- ports, are significant of these fluctuations: 1860, 6,857; 1870,42,491; 1880,62,226; 1890, 45,761; 1900,42,335; 1910, 81,875.

Mineral Production. — The mineral production of Nevada consists chiefly of gold and silver. For the year 1908 the entire mineral production, consisting chiefly of gold, silver, and a little lead, was valued at $19,043,820, while in 1909 the gold production alone was valued at .$15,908,400 and that of silver at $4,657,- 000, or a total production of .$20,565,400 in gold and silver alone.

Agriculture and Stock Raising. — The agricul- tural products of Nevada for 1909 were valued thus: wheat, 81,074,000; oats, 81,165,000; barley, $228,000; potatoes, $459,000; hay, $5,187,000. From these fig- ures it can be seen that the production of hay is an important one, being greater in 1909 than the entire production of silver. In stock raising the most imjjor- tant industry is that of sheep. In 1909 the entire number of sheep in the state was 1,585,000 and the wool chp amounted to 8,754,720 lbs. Cattle raising is also an important industry.

History. — The first European to \asit what is now the State of Nevada, was, in all probabiUty, the Franciscan Friar Francisco Gdrces. Father Girces started from Sonora, in northern Mexico, with Colonel Anza for California in 1775. In this famous journey, Gdrces stopped at the junction of the Gila and Colo- rado Rivers, in order to explore the surrounding coun- try and establish a mission. No settlements were made or mission founded, but from the account of Father Gdrces' journey as given by Father Pedro Font, who accompanied Gdrces and wrote a fairly complete history of their travels, it seems practically cert;iiii that they visited Nevada, which was then, and in f.ict until 18.50-60, a nameless desert. The next to visit Nevada were also Franciscan missionaries. These were Fr. Atana-sio Dominiquez and Fr. Silvestre Velez de Escalante, who on their journey to Monte- rey, California, turned to the East, crossed the Colo- rado River at the 37° parallel, crossed the extreme southern part of what is now Nevada, and proceeded to explore Utah. These friars also merely explored these regions and no settlements were made nor mis- sions established. After these visits of the p'rancis- cans it is very probable that the military expeditions