^v5 A GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY. YEOMAN OFFICE — E. H. PORTER, PUBLIC PRINTER. Book _^ii^ Ui\ CD \LTH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF KENTUCKY N. S. SHALER, Director. A GENKRAL ACCOUNT COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, PREPARED BY THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE COMMONWEALTH. YEOMAN OFFICE — E. H PORTER, PUBLIC PRINTER. By transfer FEB 11 1910 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THK COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY. Of GEOGRAPHY. Position. — The Commonwealth of Kentucky — situated between latitude 36^ 30' and 39° 06' north, and longitude 5° 00' and 12° 38' west, from Washington — includes about forty thousand square miles of area, extending for six hundred and forty-two and a half miles along the south bank of the Ohio River, from its junction with the Mississippi to the mouth of the Chatterawah or Big Sandy. This river forms the northern, north-western, and north-eastern borders of the State. A part of its north-eastern border, one hundred and twenty miles, is formed by the Chatterawah River; a south- eastern face of about one hundred and thirty miles has a natural boundary in the several ranges which receive the comnion name of Cumberland Mountains. The southern face alone is an arbitrary line of two hundred miles in length. The western boundary of about fifty miles is formed by the Missis- sippi River. A glance at the accompanying map will make it plain that the region occupied by this Commonwealth has a position of peculiar importance with reference to the great feature-lines of the continent. The Mississippi-River system is the key to the continent. Those parts which lie beyond its borders are, by their limited area or their severe conditions of climate, relatively of minor importance. In this system the State of Kentucky, all things being considered, occupies a most im- portant place. Its western border is only one thousand and » 365 2 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. seventy-five miles* from the mouth of the Mississippi, and its eastern boundary is within five hundred miles of the Atlantic ports. The special features of position to be considered in meas- uring the iniportance of this Commonwealth are its central place with reference to the Valley of the Mississippi, and the advantages it has from its extended contact with the river system of that valley. More than any other State in America it abounds in rivers. Including the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, where they bound its borders, the State has within its limits rather more than four thousand miles of rivers, which are more or less completely navigable. Improvements of small cost will give this amount of navigation with complete permanency, except for an average of about fifteen days per annum, when they are ice-bound. GENERAL GEOLOGY. Just as the State of Kentucky is geographically but a part of the Mississippi Valley, so it is geologically composed of a series of rocks which extend far and w4de over the same region. On the eastern line, between Cumberland Gap and Pound Gap, it is generally in sight of the old crystalline rocks of the Blue Ridge, or original axis of the Appalachian Chain, and is closely bordered by rocks of the middle Cambrian or Potsdam age ; but the lowest exposed rocks of the State are those found at a point on the Ohio River, about twenty miles above the Licking River, where we come upon Cambrian rocks answering to the base of the Trenton period in New^ York, and probably to the Bala or Carodoc beds of England. This series is about six hundred feet thick, and consists principally of the remains of organic life laid down in a continually shallowing sea, interrupted by occasional invasions of coarser sediment, derived from the northward. At the close of this Cincinnati section of the Cambrian, there came the invasion of a heavier, sand-flow, probably coming (rom the south-east, that arrested the life and formed some thick beds of rock, known in the reports * It is 528 miles from Columbus to New Orleans by railroad, and 472 miles to Mobile. 366 GENERAL GEOLOGY. 3 of the Kentucky survey as the Cumberland Sandstone. After this the floor of the sea was sparingly peopled with life, dur- ing the whole of the Clinton and Niagara epochs, when it was probably deep water. This deep sunken condition of the ocean floor continued in the Devonian time, when this section seems to ha'C^e been the seat of a deposition such as is now going on beneath the Sargassa Sea of the Atlantic of to-day. The de- caying sea-weed and other organic matter made a bed from three hundred feet thick along Lake Erie to forty feet thick in South- ern Kentucky, averaging about one hundred feet in Kentucky. This bed furnishes the rich lubricating oils of the Cumberland Valley. After this came again shallow water, and quick succes- sive sand-invasions moving from the north, which formed sev- eral hundred feet of beds. These beds probably represent but a fraction of the time required to form the Black Shale which lies below. This part of our section is called the Waverly, and is commonly regarded as being more nearly related to the Carbon- iferous than to the Devonian series of rocks. After this period came a repetition of subsidence, and a cessation of the sand- invasions. During this time there was such a development of sea-lilies or stemmed Echinoderms, that this time desei'\'es to be called the period of crinoids. This accumulation ranges in depth from a few feet along the Ohio River to five hundred or more feet under the Western Coal-field. It marks a period of tolerably deep still water, filled with lime-secreting animals. It is probably to the unbroken character of this succession of life, and especially to the crinoids with their upright stems, that we owe the uniformly massive character of many of the beds of this Subcarboniferous Limestone. Next in the ascendino- series we come on the coal-bearing ■rocks. Their deposition was begun by the sudden shallowing of the water over this region, bringing the old sea-floor near the surface of the water, and subjecting it to alternating invasions of sand borne by strong currents, and exposures in low-lying flats covered by a dense swamp vegetation. Each of these swamp-periods answers to a coal-bed ; each recurring subsi- dence, to the deposits of sands and shales that lie between 'the coals. 367 4 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. After the Carboniferous period, we are warranted in believ- ino; that this rejjion was but little below the sea, and with this change it became essentially subjected to land conditions alone. The wear incident to these conditions has swept away a large part of the exposed rocks, and reduced the Carboniferous series to less than half of its original thickness. Near to the present time there came a sudden subsidence of this whole region, that brought the low-lying western part of the State beneath the level of the sea, and retained it there while the Tertiary deposits were being formed out of the waste of the higher parts of the Mississippi Valley that still remained above the sea* The disturbances that have changed the position of the rocks in Kentucky have been few and far between, though they have materially affected the general structure of the State. From the mouth of the Licking south a little west- erly, through Monroe County, extends a ridge or axis of ele- vation, the beds dipping gently, rarely over ten feet in a mile, in either direction away from it. This was in part formed during the deposition of the Lower Cambrian, but probably was completed at a much later date. This has caused the limitation of the Carboniferous beds of this region. To it in fact we owe the abundant diversity of the rock out- crops within the State, In the south-east corner of Ken- tucky there is a region between Straight Creek and Clear Creek, tributaries of the Cumberland, and the Virginia border, where the Appalachian disturbance has thrown the rocks into mountain folds. Here are some fine exposures of the deeper rocks brought up by the great faults of the region. No glacial traces of the last period are known within the State, nor are the indications of the more ancient ice-periods at all distinct. This area has probably remained south of all those profound disturbances of temperature that have so greatly affected more northern regions.! * The appended generalized section on second page of cover will give a general idea of the successions of the Kentucky rocks. Further facts can be found in the Reports of the Survey, for which see hst at the end of this pamphlet. t For further information on this subject, see the Biennial Report of N. S. Shaler for 1874-5, Kentucky Geological Survey, now in press, 368 SURFACE. 5 Surface. — The whole of Kentucky Hes within the Missis- sippi Basin, and within the special division of the Ohio Valley. Its principal feature-lines have been given it by the river ex- cavations. A small area on the south-east, containing not more than four thousand square miles, lies within the disturbed region of the Alleghanies, and has a true mountain-folded structure. The remainder is essentially a plain or table-land, sloping from the south-east towards the north-west, and little broken, except by the deep-cutting river excavations. In the eastern half this table-land has an averaQ:e height of about one thousand feet above the sea; the ridges often reaching to fifteen hundred, and the valleys down to seven hundred feet. The greatest difference between the bottom of any one excava- tion valley and the borders of the divide does not exceed about seven hundred feet, and is usually about half this amount. Eight degrees west of Washington the countr}^ begins to sink down rapidly to the west. The cause of this change will be explained in the geological description of the State. Its effect is to carry the upper surface of this table-land gradually down- wards, until along the Mississippi its average height is not more than three hundred feet above the sea, and the average difference between the bottoms of the valleys and the tops of the ridges is not over fifty feet. This considerable height of the State above the sea is of great advantage in securing it against fevers, from which it may be said to be practically exempt, except in a narrow belt in the extreme western dis- trict, near the borders of the swamp regions. Although the general surface of the State is that of a table-land sloping towards the Ohio River, and consequently towards the north-west, it has many subordinate features which should be separately described. All that part of its surface indicated as Tertiary on the accompanying map is rather imperfectly drained, the rivers having low banks, and during the winter and early spring being subject to overflow from the floods. The re- mainder of the State, saving a strip a few hundred feet wide along some of the larger streams, is absolutely free from this danger. The remainder of the State, to the east of this line, has only the variety which comes from the difference in the VOL, II.— 24 369 6 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. wear of the streams in the rock. The nature of this difference will be discussed under the head of geology. It is only necessary to say here that the whole of the area described on the map as Cambrian is characterized by broad flat-topped ridges, with steep-banked rivers between ; the general character being that of a much cut up table-land. The part marked as Devonian has broad valleys and steep-sided, tower-like hills. That marked Subcarboniferous, especially in the region west of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, is characterized by having all its smaller streams underground, usually only the rivers over fifty feet wide at low water having their paths open to the sky. All this region wants the small valleys which we are accustomed to see in any country, but in their place the sur- face is covered by broad, shallow, cup-like depressions or sink- holes, in the centre of which is a tube leading down to the caverns below. All this region is completely honey-combed by caverns one level below the other from the surface to the plane of the streams below. In one sense, this set of under- ground passages may be regarded as a continuous cavern as extensive as the ordinary branches of a stream wdien it flows upon the surface. The sink-holes answer to the smallest ex- tremities of the branches. Some idea of the magnitude of these underground ways may be formed from the fact that the Mammoth Cave affords over two hundred miles of chambers large enough for the passage of man, while the county in which it occurs has over five hundred openings leading far into the earth, none being counted where it is not possible to penetrate beyond the light of day. The Carboniferous formation is characterized by being cut into very numerous valleys, mostly rather narrow and with steep-sloped, narrow-topped ridges on either side. The relatively narrow valleys, and the general absence of any large areas of flat land on the top of the ridges, cause this region to have less land well fitted for cultivation than any other part of the State. Every part of the surface of the State not permanently under water may be regarded as fitted by its surface for the uses of men, not one thousandth of it being so precipitous as to be unfit for cultivation in some fashion. The writer knows 370 RIVER SYSTEMS. ^ of no equal area in Europe that has as little waste on account of its contour. RIVER SYSTEMS. Reference has been made to the fact that the whole of this Commonwealth lies within the basin of the Mississippi, and over ninety per cent, of its area within the Ohio Valley, the remainder pouring its waters directly into the Mississippi. There are, however, a number of large streams which are the property of the State; and two, the greatest tributaries of the Ohio, gather a part of their waters in the State. Big Sandy. — Beginning at the eastern end of the State, we have the Big Sandy or Chatterawah River, which sepa- rates for forty miles, by its main stem and then by its eastern fork, the State of Kentucky from West Virginia. This stream is the only river of its size in America all the basin of which is in the coal-bearing rocks. It drains a valley of about four thousand square miles. Its name of Sandy is de- rived from the very large amount of moving sand in the bed, coming from the rapid w^ear of the sand rocks which compose the beds of all its tributaries. The valley consists of a narrow belt of level, arable land bordering the streams, and a great extent of hill land of a good quality of soil, but only fit for permanent cultivation on the more gradual slopes. The greatest value of soil-products in this valley is to be found in its timber resources, which will be found specially mentioned under the head of timber. It may be said here that the valley contains, next to the Upper-Kentucky and the Cumberland Valleys, the largest amount of original forest found in any pait of the State, and more than any other valley is especially fitted for the continued production of timber of varied quality. The forests throughout this region readily and rapidly reproduce themselves in the same species, after being cut away. The soil of this valley is very well fitted for the growth of fruits of all kinds. The season is rather later than that of the other river basins of the State, and the liability to frosts possibly rather less than in the central region. Owing to difficulties of transpor- tation, fruits have been as yet but little grown for exportation. 371 8 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. The whole of the cereals are produced in the valley. The soil is usually of a light sandy nature, with generally enough clay to give it a fairly lasting quality. The principal disadvantage arises from the steepness of the slope of the hills. Mineral Resources. — The coal resources of this valley are, in proportion to its total area, greater than any other in the State, scarcely an acre of its area but probably has some workable coal beneath it. These coals are mostly of the ordinary bitu- minous qualities ; some cannel coal occurs therein of workable thickness. A full account of these coals, with illustrative sec- tions, will be found in the general description of the eastern coal-field. Little effort has been made to find iron ores in this valley. The dense forests and the softness of the rocks pre- vent the occurrence of trustworthy surface indications. In the lower part of the valley very important ores have recently been discovered, of which the precise areas and character are yet to be determined. (See the reports of A. R. Crandall and N. S. Shaler for further details.) The Little Sandy Valley. — The general character of this small valley is much the same as that of the Big Sandy. The river is altosfether within the Carboniferous formation. The early utilization of the iron ores of this valley has led to a knowledge of its mineral resources superior to that yet ob- tained for any other equal area in the State. About thirty-five feet of workable coals are known in the several beds of the valley. (See p. 42.) Tygerfs Creek. — Here the coal resources are more deeply cut down by the stream, which in good part flows upon the Subcarboniferous Limestone. Though wanting some of the best coals, it has many of the best iron ores of the State. Some beautiful caverns are found along its banks in Carter County. The general surface is much as in the valleys before described. In its upper part, the Limestone rocks give occa- sional areas of more enduring soils than are furnished by the Sandstones of the country to the eastward. The timber and other soil products are much the same. The stream is not navigable, but can easily be made so by locks and dams, giving continuous navigation for about forty miles along the meanders of the stream. 372 RIVER SYSTEMS. 9 The streams from the mouth of Tygert's Creek to the mouth of the Licking or Ncpemiui are all quite small, and drain a region of limited mineral resources. Kinniconick Creek gives access to a region abounding in admirable Sandstone for build- ing purposes, and to some iron ores of undetermined richness, but of considerable promise. It can be made navigable at small expense. The whole of this valley abounds in excellent oak timber. The Lickmg. — This stream, the fourth in size of the rivers of the State, ranking next to the Big Sandy, passes over all the formations found in the State except the Tertiary. From its source to near the mouth of Blackwater Creek it runs on the Carboniferous rocks. As far as Duck Creek, it is still bor- dered by these beds containing excellent coals, both cannel and bituminous. On the Subcarboniferous Limestone, which crosses the river near Blackwater Creek, is an excellent iron ore. On Slate Creek, near Owingsville, is an admirable mass of ore, the richest of the State, having at places a depth of fifteen feet or more. Triplett and Salt-Lick Creeks afford excellent building- stones, and the same series -of rocks (the Waverly) furnish some stones which give great promise for lithographic pur- poses. From the mouth of Fox Creek to the end of the river the stream is entirely in the lower Blue Limestone or Upper Cam- brian rocks, which afford excellent building-stones, but no other marketable underground products. The soil of the valley varies greatly, — light sandy loam in the Carboniferous and Waverly series ; rather wet clays on the Black Shale and Silurian; rich, loamy clays giving soils of the first quality over the lower or Cambrian half of the stream. The Blue Limestone lands of the counties drained by the North Fork are noted for their large yield of a tobacco highly prized by the manufacturers of "fine cut," and well known in the markets under the name of " Mason County tobacco." The Ke7itucky. — Sixty miles below the Licking, the Ken- tucky discharges into the Ohio. This stream is the second of the Kentucky streams in volume, and the first in length. 2 ol6 lO GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. Its head-waters, from Sturgeon Creek east, lie altogether with the coal-bearing rocks. At least four hundred miles of water- front, open to vessels able to carry three hundred tons of coal, can be made on the three forks of this river. The coal holds along the hill-sides as far as Station-Camp Creek. The upper half of the Red-River branch contains also an abundance of coal. The entire drainage of the Kentucky River, above its forks in Lee County, is in the Carboniferous rocks. No portion of the State exceeds the Upper Kentucky region in number, thickness, or quality of coals. A preliminary section, made by Mr. P. N. Moore, of the Kentucky Geological Survey, from Red River in Wolfe County to the mouth of Trouble- some Creek in Breathitt County, establishes the fact that up to the latter point there are at least five workable coal-seams above the Conglomerate Sandstone. The following analyses, . from carefully averaged samples, will show the excellent qual- ity of these coals : — No. I. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Specific Gravity 1.300. 1.294 1.297 1.290 1.289 Moisture Volatile Combustible Matter . Fixed Carbon Ash 2.50 41.10 49.22 7.18 3-SO 35.20 56.70 4.60 3-56 33-56 58.38 4.50 2.76 36.60 56.50 4.06 2.10 36.20 58.20 3-50 Coke 56.40 0.818 61.30 1. 189 62.88 1-381 60.56 0.865 61.70 0.836 Sulphur No. I is a coal from Frozen Creek, Breathitt County. No. 2 is a coal 5' 7" thick, from Devil Creek, Wolfe County. No. 3 is a coal from Spencer's Bank, Breathitt County. No. 4 is a coal 6' thick, from Wolfe Creek, Breathitt County. No. 5, from near Hazard, Perry County. Analyses by Dr. Robert Pet6r and Mr. Jno. H. Talbutt, chemists for the Kentucky Geological Survey. The cannel coal of the Upper Kentucky is to be found over an extensive area, and is of a remarkably good quality, as will be seen from the following analyses by the chemists of the sur- vey, made from average samples : — 374 RIVER SYSTEMS. II No. I. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Specific Gravity 1.280 1.265 1.280 1. 180 • • • Moisture Volatile Combustible Matter . Fixed Carbon Ash 0.94 52.38 35-54 II. 14 1.30 47.00 44.40 7-30 3-40 34-40 46.96 6.24 1.20 58.80 35-30 4.70 1.20 40.86 46.44 9.50 Coke 46.68 1.423 51.70 1-574 53.20 0.630 40.00 not est. 57-94 0.634 Sulphur No. I. Georges' Branch Cannel Coal, Breathitt County. No. 2. Haddock's Cannel Coal, mouth of Troublesome Creek, Breathitt County. No. 3. Robert's Coal, Perry County. No. 4. Frozen Creek, Breathitt County. No. 5. Salt Creek, Perry County. Three of the best gas-coals in Scotland and England are : (No. i), Lesmahago Cannel ; (No. 2), Ramsay's Newcastle Coal ; (No. 3), Weym's Cannel Coal. Compare with the above the following analyses,. taken from Dr. Peter's Report, Vol. II. First Series Kentucky Geological Survey: — No. I. No. 2. No. 3. Specific Gravity 1.228 1.29 1-1831 Volatile Matter Fixed Carbon Ash 49.6 41-3 9.1 36.8 56.6 6.6 58.52 25.28 14.25 100. 1 00.0 98.45 Sulphur not determined. The indications are that the coal-measures thicken, and the number of workable coals increase south-easterly from th^ mouth of Troublesome Creek. This, however, can only be determined by detailed survey. In addition to the numerous workable coals above the Con- 375 12 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. glomerate Sandstone in this region, there are two workable coals below the Conglomerate. The excellent quality of these coals can be seen from the analysis, No. 1601, p. 81. Just below the coal the Carboniferous Limestone bears upon its top the ore known as the Red-River iron ore, which has long furnished a very celebrated cold-blast charcoal iron, well known as Red River car-wheel iron. There is probably about one hundred miles of outcrop of this ore within a short dis- tance of the tributaries of the river, and within twenty miles of the main stream. Salt, fire-clay, and hydraulic cement abound in the Black Shale and Upper Silurian rocks. From Burning Creek to the mouth the Kentucky Valley runs entirely within the Upper Cambrian or Blue Limestone. The soils in this valley have the same character as in the Licking, ranging from the light loamy s(!)ils of the Carbonifer- ous, through the clays of the Silurian and Devonian to the exceedingly rich blue-grass soils of the Cambrian and Cincin- nati Limestone rocks. The navigation of the Kentucky River has been improved by locks and dams as far up as a point about twenty-five miles above Frankfort. The stream is admirably adapted for the extension of this method of naviga- tion, until over six hundred miles of navigable water is secured. As in the case of the Licking and the Green, it has the pecu- liar advantage of having a very great variety of soil and natural products within a narrow comjDass. The timber resources of the part of this valley that lies within the coal-bearing area are very great ; all the important timber trees of Kentucky, except the cypress, are found within the valley. The black walnut is found in abundance on the hill-sides throughout this section, the finer qualities of oak, much yellow pine, some white pine, &c. Salt River. — This stream is the only considerable river in the State that has little in the way of mineral resources. It will be seen that it follows the line of the outcrop of the Sub- carboniferous Limestone throughout its whole extension, being the only river in the State that does not run across the general trend of the stratification. The valley abounds in good Lime- stone for building purposes, the whole of the Subcarboniferous 376 RIVER SYSTEMS. 13 Limestone being exposed along its banks. The underlying Sandstones of the Waverly also furnish excellent building materials. Iron ores occur in the Waverly Shales, and perhaps also in the Subcarboniferous. The salt-bearing rocks of the lower Waverly and the Black Shale are doubtless accessible from the line of the surface of the valley. The flow of water is rather more steady than in the other rivers to the east- ward, on account of the cavernous nature of the rocks along its banks. It will, therefore, furnish excellent water-powers alono: its whole course. The soil of this valley is of pretty even excellence through- out. The head-waters drain a region of Blue or Cambrian Limestone, and the main stream takes the soils of the Waverly which are rather sandy, and the Carboniferous Lime- stone which affords very good soil. The river has a more than usually rapid fall, descending about six hundred feet in its course of about one hundred miles from the head-waters, — probably the most rapid fall of any stream of its size in Kentucky. This will make the improvement of the stream more difficult than of other rivers of the State. The Green. — This, on many accounts the finest of the rivers that have their whole course within the State, differs in many striking regards from the other streams. It is at its lowest stage about one-third larger than the Kentucky. The Kentucky and Licking streams have their mineral belts at their head-waters, while the lower part of their course lies in districts having their greatest value in their agricultural resources. The Green, however, has its lower half within the western coal-field, and its upper waters in the older rocks. This western coal-field is described in another section of this pamphlet, to which the reader is referred for details. In a general way it may be said that it is exceeding rich in coals of varied quality, and abounds in iron ores of high grade. Muddy River, Bear Creek, and Nolin, are peculiarly rich in iron ores, the district between Bear Creek and Nolin being one of the richest in America in the ores of the Carboniferous period. Soils. — The soils of this valley have throughout a high order ■* 377 14 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. of merit when they lie on the Subcarboniferous Limestone. They are clay loams with a perfect underground cavern drain- age, excellent for all grains and for fruits. The coal-bearing rocks give soils of a much higher quality than is usual in such formations, nearly the whole of the area occupied by these rocks giving good grain crops and tobacco of a high quality and of a large yield to the acre. The whole of this valley is peculiarly fitted for furnishing water-power. Rough Creek, Pond River, Muddy River, Bear Creek, Nolin River, Big Barren River and its tributaries, and all the other streams heading in the Subcarboniferous or lower Limestone are singularly steady in their flow, owing to their underground reservoirs . of water. To these under- ground sources they owe as well their comparative immunity from freezing, the Green rarely freezing in the winter season. The whole of this valley is singularly well fitted for fruit culture, on account of its immunity from winter killing and destructive spring frosts, and its neighborhood to Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, and other great markets. Nearly the whole of this valley abounds in excellent timber, principally hard -wood. The upper waters have large quan- tities of valuable cedar timber ; the Carboniferous district abounds with the several species of oak, great quantities of valuable hickories, walnut, tulip-tree (or poplar), some holly of large size, sometimes over fifteen inches in diameter. There is also a good deal of hemlock along the cliff borders of the streams, and some cypress in the lower swamps in the Pond River district. Tradewater River. — This stream bears about the same relation to the western mineral field that the Little Sandy does to the eastern coal-field. Excepting a few of the less important head-waters, the whole of its basin lies within the coal-bearing rocks. Its soil is very fertile and well fitted for the growth of cereals and tobacco. An abundant growth of hard-wood timber of varied species compose its forests ; for its area it is one of the richest fields for the oaks, hickory, poplar, that exists within the State. The coals accessible in this valley are, in part, only above 378 RIVER SYSTEMS. 15 the drainage level They represent some of the best coals in the western district. Iron ores exist in abundance, but have never been worked. The Cumberland. — This river has the upper half and lower sixth of its course within Kentucky. The upper region lies within the coal-field and traverses some of its richest sections. The part above Cumberland Ford is in a great mountain valley between Cumberland Mountain and Pine Mountain. This valley is about twelve miles wide, and is a fertile region aboundino: in excellent timber, with the land, so far as arable on account of its steepness, of excellent quality. About one- third of the surface is fit for culture with the plow. Below Cumberland Ford the river bottom widens, and the mountains sink down. The land along the river is very rich indeed, and that back on the hills is of good quality. At about two hun- dred miles from its source, the stream cuts down into the lower rocks, and from near the Kentucky line throughout most of its current in Tennessee runs on the Upper Cambrian or Blue Limestone formation ; when it reenters Kentucky it is back to the rocks of the Subcarboniferous age, and the valley is an exceedingly fertile district. The line of this valley brings its southern edge near to the Tertiary formation of the western part of the State. Its proximity to the Tennessee on the west and to the Green on the east narrows the valley to small size ; all the tributaries on the lower waters are small, but the up- per confluents of this stream contain some of the finest rivers of the State. Martin's Fork, Clear Creek, Straight Creek, Rockcastle River, and Big South Fork are all considerable rivers, and afford excellent water-powers. They are all streams of great steadiness of flow, and all the conditions are favorable to the formation of valuable water-powers. They all traverse regions of very great resources in the way of iron and timber, and have soils of fair quality. It is probable that no other valley in the West possesses so great a body of valuable timber as the Cumberland and its^ tributaries. Poplar, the several varieties of oak, beech, maple, sweet and sour gum, walnut, and other deciduous trees abound. Red cedar, 3^ellow and white pine, are found in certain districts in considerable quantities. 379 I 6 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. The Cumberland is nearl}' equal to the Kentucky in the area and richness of its mineral districts. The coal section in the valley between Pine Mountain and the Cumberland Moun- tains has a depth of two thousand feet, and about twenty dis- tinct beds of coal * of which half-a-dozen are workable. The iron ores have not been examined or sought for. They may be expected to occur at several points in the coal-bearing rocks and on the top of the Subcarboniferous Limestone. The rich Clinton ores of the Cumberland-gap district,! though not in the drainage area of the Cumberland River, are in necessary commercial relations with it, inasmuch as they must be smelted by the charcoal and stone-coal of this valley. It is also most probable that these same ores are accessible along the hundred miles of the Pine-Mountain fault, by means of adits or galleries above the drainage, or by shafts of shallow depth. Detailed reports concerning this region may be ex- pected in the fifth and eighth volumes of the Reports of the Survey. Beneath a large part of the upper Cumberland region the formation, commonly called the " Black " or " Devonian " Shale, is filled with a lubricating oil of great value. Experience has shown that these wells are practically inex- haustible, and that the oil is of a very superior quality, espe- cially fitted for use in high latitudes, where other oils congeal. From one of these wells on Otter Creek, in Wayne County (see map), the oil is exported by wagon to Cumberland City, thence by rail to the river, thence by a precarious navigation to Nashville ; even with these hindrances the business is * Analysis of an average sample taken from a coal-bank forty-four inches thick, on Yellow Creek, Bell County : — Specific gravity 1.282 Moisture 1.36 Volatile combustible matter 3S-8o Fixed Carbon 59-54 Ash 3.30 Coke ...» 62.84 Sulphur 0-975 t See Report of P. N. Moore, in fourth volume, and the Biennial Report of N. S. Shaler, third volume, in second series. 380 RIVER SYSTEMS. 17 found to be profitable. With effective transportation a very large industry could be founded on this product ; for, unlike the light burning oils, those heavy lubricating petroleums are of rare occurrence, and find a market that is scarce supplied by the present production. This river is navigable for steamboats for a part of the year as far as the crossing of the Cincinnati Southern Railway. The great falls offer an obstacle to improvement of navigation into the upper waters, but not an insuperable barrier. Except this fall and the rapids immediately above it, the stream offers great facilities for improvement; it would be possible to make at least four hundred miles of slack-water navigation within the mineral belt on the upper waters of this stream. The Tennessee. — This river debouches into the Ohio, withiii Kentucky, and has the last sixty miles of its magnificent course within the State. This part of the valley is among the lowest lands of the State ; on the east side the river is bordered by the Subcarboniferous Limestone, rich in iron ores ; on the other, it extends into the low Tertiary lands which reach to the Mis- sissippi River. The land along this stream is very fertile. The limitations of this brief sketch make it impossible to speak of many lesser streams of great economic importance, some of them capable of being made navigable by simple canalization. Nor has reference been made to the resources of the main Ohio. The mineral resources available in this valley are only in part derived from Kentucky, so they will not be discussed here. The alluvial soils within the valley of the Ohio are of a high order of fertility throughout its course. From the mouth of the Chatterawah, or Big Sandy, downwards to the mouth, the valley is distinctly bounded by cliffs, which gradually diminish from about six hundred feet to less than thirty feet near its mouth ; no part of alluvial plains have any distinct swamp character until we come below the mouth of the Tennessee, though they, in part, are liable to winter overflows. This strip of arable land on either side oi the stream widens from an average of about one-half of a mile near the Big Sandy to about one and a half miles near the mouth of the Tennessee. Its fertility becomes the greater the further it is removed to the west. , 381 1 8 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. WATER-POWERS. The very numerous rivers of the State supply a large number of water-powers of great value. Although the soils want the retentive power which belongs to regions where they were formed by the glacial period, and extensive lakes are wanting, owing to the absence of the action of the same agent in this region, yet the freedom from closure by ice, and the excellent character of the foundations for dams and mills, goes far to balance the advantages. It is impossible to con- sider these mill powers in detail. The following points may be noted : — The main Ohio at the falls at Louisville offers a very great but unused water-power ; the flow at the lowest stage of water exceeds that of any water-power used in this country. A very valuable power exists at Cumberland Falls, in Pulaski County, where a stream as large as the one named falls about sixty feet. This point is near the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. The various slack-water dams now building and to be built in the State all afford admirable water-powers where the power itself and the transportation of the manufactured products are both well assured. As a general rule, the other water-powers are best where the waters drain from the Sub- carboniferous Limestone ; next in order of merit when their supply is from rocks of the Waverly or Subcarboniferous Sand- stones. Next in value are the streams in the Blue Limestones, or Upper Cambrian ; and, least of all, the streams from the coal-bearing rocks, which are generally largely composed of dense Sandstones and impervious Shales, having little in the way of water-storage spaces. The deficiency in the storage of water in the soil can be easily remedied by use of storage reservoirs, which, from the depth of the upper valleys and the generally good foundations, can be readily made. SOILS AND AGRICULTURE. All the Kentucky soils except the strip of alluvial land along the banks of the rivers have been derived from the decay of the underlying rocks. They may be called soils of 382 SOILS. 19 immediate derivation, as distinguished from the soils made up of materials that have been borne from a distance by water, or which deserve the name of soils of remote derivation. This feature of immediate derivation gives the Kentucky soils a more local character dependent on position than those of any State north of the Ohio. In that region the intermingling of materials due to the last ice period has reduced the soils to a more nearly equal character. Beginning with the lowest rocks, the soils of the Blue or Cambrian Limestone are those of the first quality, and are surpassed by no soils in any country for fertility and endurance. These soils are derived from a Lime- stone very rich in organic remains, which decays with great ra^ pidity, and continually furnishes its debris to the deeper-going roots. This soil varies considerably in different districts, and at some few points, where the underlying rocks are locally rather sandy, it falls from its usual high quality. The best soil may be known by the growth of blue ash, large black locust, and black walnut. Many other trees are found in its forests, but these are characteristic, and are never found together save on best soils. The most advantageous crops on this soil are grass, it being a natural grass land, all the grain crops, and on the richer parts hemp. Fruits of all kinds belonging in this climate do quite well on this soil. The steep slopes along the valleys are well suited for grape culture. . The peculiar features of the soil are its endurance under culture. This region having been the first settled in the State, the extraordinary capacity of this soil for withstanding bad methods of farming led to the gen- eral opinion that soils of less inexhaustible properties were not worthy of notice ; hence the comparative neglect of the soils of the lower rocks, which, though generally fertile, can be wasted by careless agriculture far more easily than those of the blue-grass region. The soils of the Silurian (commonly called Upper Silurian Limestone) are much less fertile than those of the underlying rocks. When not too cherty, they make good grain and grass lands. There is generally such a mixture of the decayed mat- ter of the underlying and overlying rocks that this thin forma- tion, which does not exceed about one hundred feet thick, gives 383 20 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. but little soil which can properly be called its own. As this formation ranges from forty to one hundred feet thick in the outcrop, there is only a small area, not exceeding eight hun- dred square miles, occupied by these soils. The soils of the Black or Devonian Shale have even less im- portance than those of the formation last mentioned ; not over four hundred miles of the area of the State is covered by them. When found, they are generally a tough clay which only needs drainage to have very valuable qualities. The Waverly or Subcarboniferous Sandstone has a thick- ness of several hundred feet, and furnishes an area of about five thousand square miles. Its soils are generally light clay loams, becoming more sandy as we go towards the north-east. They are throughout excellent fruit-soils, and yield fair crops of all the grains. Next higher in the geological succession we find the Sub- carboniferous Limestone, or Cavern Limestone, as it is com- monly called. This rock makes a larger area of soil than any other formation except the coal-measures and the Blue Limestone (Cambrian), and may slightly exceed the latter in area. These soils are generally excellent enduring soils, rank- ing hext to the best of the Blue Limestone soils. They are excellent grain and fruit lands, and in the western region are well suited for tobacco. Their drainage is generally excel- lent, on account of the cavernous character of the Limestone beneath. The soils of the Carboniferous belt occup)^ by far the largest single area in the State, covering not far from fourteen thou- sand miles of surface. The soils in it are exceedingly variable in character, but are generally a sandy loam. On the con- glomerate or lowermost part of the coal-measures, the soils are usually the poorest, — about the only really infertile soils of the State being the small strips of the soils formed on this rock. These strips are usually very narrow, and do not include alto- gether more than three Tiundred or four hundred square miles. The remainder of the Carboniferous area is composed of fairly fertile light lands, interspersed with areas of great fertility. 384 CLIMATE. 2 1 Some of the best lands of the State are upon the summits of the Carboniferous mountains of Eastern Kentucky; it is safe to say that, wherever the shape of the surface admits of cultivation, the Carboniferous rocks of Kentucky furnish fair soils adapted to a varied range of crops. The considerable part of its surface that is not fit for agriculture is admirably suited for the production of hard-wood timber of the most val- uable varieties, and will doubtless have in this fitness a source of wealth scarcely less than tillage of the best lands could give. As a whole, the surface of Kentucky includes a larger area of very fertile land and a less area of barren soil than any other equal area in a State so rich in mineral wealth. The prize of wealth hidden beneath the earth is generally bought by conditions that do not favor agriculture; but, despite -the fact that Kentucky has resources of coal and iron that ex- ceed those of Great Britain, she has scarcely a square mile, of surface that cannot give a constant return from its soil. The production of these soils includes the whole of the crops of the Mississippi Valley, except the sugar-cane. Indian corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, flax, flourish over its whole surface. Sorghum, for making molasses and sugar, is grown over its whole area. The conditions favor the making of sugar from beet-roots. All the ordinary fruits attain their perfection here. Cotton is raised as a crop in the south-western region of the State. Tobacco is more extensively cultivated here than in any other State in the Union. The best natural grass lands of the continent are found in the Cambrian or Blue Limestone district. Hemp is extensively grown in the sanie area. The blooded horses of the State are perhaps the most' famous of its exports. Its remarkable superiority in this regard is doubtless in part due to the care given thereto, but, in the opinion of the best judges, is in the main the result of the peculiarly favorable effects of a combination of conditions in which soil, climate, and water all have their place. Horned cattle and sheep also do well here. Climate. — That this State is peculiarly well fitted for the European races is shown by the fact that in no region is there a greater degree of physical vigor than in the population VOL. II.— 25 ^§5 22 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY, within its limits. The statistics of the United States Sanitary Commission distinctly show that this is the largest-bodied native population in this country or Europe, as in the table on the opposite page. The climatic conditions, as far as they can be described here, are as follows : * The average temperature is about 50° Fahr. As in all America, the range of temperature throughout the year is considerable ; it is, however, much less in Kentucky than in the States further to the north. It is rare to have the thermometer below the zero of Fahrenheit, and it never hap- pens that it remains for twenty-four hours below that point The summers, though warm, are less oppressive than along the lowlands near New York for instance, owing to the consider- able elevation above the sea and the relative dryness of the ain The summer heats do not at all interfere with the labor of northern-born people in the oj^en sun. There is much experi- ence to show that in this respect the climate is not more trying than that of New York State. Open-air work is generally possible during the whole winter, the ground rarely being so frozen as to impede construction-work or even ploughing. Cattle are not generally fed more than three to four months, and are often left in the pasture for the whole winter. The rainfall is about forty-five inches per annum along the Ohio River, increasing towards the south-east to about sixty inches at Cumberland Gap. This is distributed with fair reg- ularity throughout the year, — the summer droughts not being suflficient at any time to destroy crops well planted on well ploughed ground, and rarely sufficient in any way to embarrass * The following, compiled from the United States Census Reports for 1870, shows the healthfulness of Kentucky : — In population, Kentucky ranked as the eighth State in the Union. In percentage of deaths to population, Kentucky ranked as the twenty-eighth State ; that is, there were twenty-seven States having a greater death rate than Kentucky. Population, in 1870, 1,321,011. Deaths, from all causes, 14.345, — or 1.09 per cent, of the population. The health of the State has increased, since 1850, as follows : — Death to population was, in 1850, 1.53 per cent. " " " " " i860, 1.42 " " " » " " " 1870, 1.09 " " 386 CLIMATE. 23 Q W H ^ t3 W ffi H (IH :zi C/3 w H ^ 1^ n S J w W ^ H '-J (-7 :c < ^ i^ u; ^ W ^ S > < u t-H < >■ W P o w w o < _; o ,, p w * p ^ > ^ Ln M ro-O ■* N VO \0 "^VO >0 VO rOCO 1! ?; . go-: 8 > .2 ^ - Lo t^\0 vO OO 't t-» t--. rOOO '4-vO " t^ _Q ^ ^ rr« ONfOOO^ rtoD m r-^ 1^00 M ccS 52 (H M -^ -^vo 00 — rj-i — — -'(s a = _ ^ — " CJ * <£^H|| = 1-3 0) 13 = - B 2 NO'-'ON s 5 C-- r^ t~-> i~--vo r^ r^ r^ r^vo f^ f^ i^co c > g ^.S rocococorocncocococococococ^ rt 3 c H S (^■2 ■a c *-. rt JZ ^ CTNCOt-^CO ON u^ On*^"- »ooO t-^ ^ >^ tJO.- m coco CO t^ OnOO "^ coo 00 1-1 CO >-' ^ ^1 "S o\6"~i"6o\ co--t-~.f^ONOoo = D CO -sf ^ ^ -^ -^ Th -^ CO CO CO '^ '^ t2 •0 ■<4-OONM ioOsOOi-iOO"Of~ c COOOPI O"— OO-^io >J-i\0 C ^ "5 Zi <« OO^J^mOO "O'^loOJ^c^ 0\0 c^ 1 .5 j2^ tv. tC^oo t-^ 06 i^ t--- «^v6 >-^o v6 t^ a "5 c OvOvOvO voOOOvOOOOVO s- M c OvO'O'O -^H-ooot-. cooo •1 ^ W 4; t^PlOON CO— NOSCO'-'NC^OO 4; > S CO t^ — cooo coo CO i-i «^ "o r) CO '-I covo — t>~ CO ONVO (/) "%t^Clt>. 10 coco 0000 ill H- M r) i ^; _. 1- ol 2 _rt • • • • ^ -.2 • -oy ■ E c • .S • 'T. ., ' c s ^ • s <« ^ § • S -cS g « • CTJ -^ '^ c/3 t« ^ • • .2 \ ^ ^ .2 -6 -s c ji :5 S 'So 3 T> ^ ' 1 i 1 ) } 387 24 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. agriculture. The number of days of sunshine is relatively very large, considering the amount of rainfall. MEAN TEMPERATURE. 1 G 5 > E P >> 3 5 1— > a u Is < >> c 3 3 M 3 < J3 S « 3 C c < 1S70-71. . . „ , o , Louisville . . 59.08 46.4 33-4 36.7 39-5 so. 7 59.1 64. 75- 77.2 79- 6.67 57-3 1871-72. Louisville . . 60.5 44.0 38.0 30.8 36.0 38.7 59. 1 67.6 74-3 79.0 7S.2 69.8 56.3 1872-73. Lexington Louisville. . 56.6 38.2 39-5 27.9 29.4 30.4 31.1 35-6 36.8 40.9 43-3 53- 1 54.6 64.7 67. 73-7 78. 76.5 79- 73-7 78. 66.8 6^5 55-23 1873-74. Lexington Louisville. . 53-8 54- 40.7 4I-S 39-6 38.7 36.S 37-5 39- s 39- S 44-3 45-6 46.9 48.8 63.6 68.2 77-9 80.7 77-8 80.7 75-1 79-3 70.9 72.2 55-5 57-2 RAIN-FALL. - - Inches. 1S70-71. Louisville . . 3-89 2.40 2.20 3.05 $•74 7.29 20.6 S-97 3.86 2.22 3.06 1.23 42.95 .871-72. Louisville . . 1.85 2-5' 3-29 (*) (*) 1.41 8.40 4.49 6.19 3.67 2-45 4.41 38.67 t 1872-73. Le.\nigton Louisville . . 3-92 1. 21 0.56 3-53 2.58 2.53 2.93 405 5-42 3-73 3-39 2.88 30s 6.05 5-73 4-54 3.87 3-37 .3-43 2.94 304 1.60 2.56 40.42 1.873-74. Lexington Louisville. . 5-47 3-26 2.09 2.19 4.41 6.99 5-41 2.39 4.89 5.18 S.90 6.63 6.81 6.01 0.79 1.17 3-55 2-95 6.26 2.71 '•S7 3-23 2.89 0.62 50.04 43-33 Aver age An Dual M ean for thirty years, s * Rain-Guage not ii t Ten Months. 5.9* Rain-fa position. 1> SO-3C inches. The healthfulness of this region is not exceeded by any State in this country. Epidemic diseases have never been destructive outside of some of the towns. The experience of the city of Lexington has shown that even in the towns such diseases are curable by the use of pure drinking-water. Mias- matic diseases are not known on the table-lands, being limited to the low regions near the large rivers; at least seven-eighths of the State enjoy an absolute immunity from such diseases. Consumption is rare, compared with the northern and eastern States. Yellow fever never occurs. This region is remarka- ble for the number of persons in extreme old age, who retain their faculties quite unimpaired and a large share of bodily vigor. The writer, who has made this subject of longevity a 388 SCENERY. 25 matter of much inquiry, is satisfied that the region from the Big Sandy to the Cumberland, especially the higher parts of the table-land, and where Limestone soil is found, is peculiarly fitted by its conditions to retain the vigor of the body to an extreme old age, deserving, in this regard, to rank with the Canton de Vaud in Switzerland and the few other favored spots where longevity is a characteristic of the people. He is also satisfied that the proportion of bodily deformities and diseases of imperfect development, — such as curvature of the spine, rickets, &c., — is smaller within this area than among any equally large native population in this country or in Eu- rope. Of the whole population of whites and blacks, about eleven hundred thousand of the former and three hundred thousand of the latter have been on the soil for three genera- tions (these numbers are approximate). It needs only inspec- tion to show that there has been no degeneration during this time, and that the world-wide reputation for vigor which the State has acquired is not likely to be lessened in the time to come. Natural Beauties of Scenery . — In all those features of natural beauty which go to lend attractiveness to a fertile region, this State is much favored. Above any other State it is rich in rivers, and these have an incomparable variety of loveliness. Their head-waters lie around the stately mountains of the Cumberland range, their middle distances course through gorges often cut into deep canons, and their lower waters verge gently into the great valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi. The valley of the Upper Cumberland lies in a broad moun- tain trough, affording some of the finest scenery of the whole Appalachian chain. Big South Fork of the Cumberland, Rock- castle River, Red River, of the Kentucky the whole of the Upper Kentucky, Tygert's Creek, the upper part of the Big Sandy, — all present that mingling of clear stream, steep cliff, and beautiful vegetation, which is the great charm of a moun- tain country. The cafion of the Kentucky, between Frank- fort and Boonesburg, is perhaps the most charming scenery of its kind in the region east of the Mississippi. The deep gorges of Green River and its tributaries, Nolin and Barren 4 389 26 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. Rivers, abound in exquisite scenery ; cliffs, in the semblance of castles, towering hundreds of feet above the streams, their faces pierced by caverns, and hung with a foliage of almost tropical luxuriance. The cultivated district of Central Kentucky, commonly known as the Blue-grass District, is perhaps for its area the most beautiful rural district in America. The surface is un- dulating ; large areas of the original forests have been cleared of their undergrowth and produce a fine close sod, and in these wood-pastures are some of the finest flocks and herds in the world. It has happened to the writer to pass on sev- eral occasions from this region to the richest lands of Middle England, or vice versa, and he has always been struck by the singular likeness of the two countries. There is probably a closer resemblance between the surface of the country, the cattle, horses, the agriculture, and even the people of these two areas than any two equally remote regions in the world. The western part of the State abounds in natural beauties; the rich forests and the noble rivers, the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland, and the Green, give it a most attrac- tive surface. Even the deep swamps of the lowest regions have a sombre charm that deserves the attention of the tourist. No region ever visited by the writer exceeds in weird beauty the environs of Reel Foot Lake, where the great earthquakes of 1811-13 formed a lake some fifty miles in area. All over its surface stand the trunks of the cypresses that grew in the swamp before the convulsion. These are now reduced to tall columns blackened and whitened by decay. The surface of the lake is a mass of water-plants, in summer a perfect carpet of flowers ; Nymphaeas, a half-foot or over, and the Nelumbium, water-chenquepin, or American lotus, a golden flower often exceeding a foot in diameter, cover its surface with their blos- soms and fill the air with their perfume. Caverns. — The subterranean beauties of the State are al- ready famous. The Mammoth Cave is, however, only a noble specimen of a vast series of caverns, to be. numbered by the tens of hundreds, that occupy nearly all of the Subcarbonif- erous Limestone area of the State. This cavern-belt extends 390 MARKETS AND TRANSPORTATION. 27 in a great semicircle from Carter County, where there are several beautiful caves and two remarkable natural bridges, to the Ohio below Louisville. These caverns have as yet been but little explored, and their beauties are mostly undis- covered. There are probably many thousand miles of these cavern-ways accessible to man. The Indian tribes knew them better than our own race ; for it is rarely that we find any part of their area which does not show some evidence of the presence of ancient peoples. MARKETS AND TRANSPORTATION. As regards proximity to markets, this State has peculiar advantages, which only await the completion of transportation routes already begun to render its position unequalled among American States. Reference to a map will show that it is the most centrally placed in the group of States east of the Rocky Mountains. From the geographical centre of Kentucky it is about an equal distance to Central Maine, Southern Florida, Southern Texas, and Northern Minnesota. The State of Col- orado, the Great Lakes, and the mouth of the Mississippi fall in the sweep of the same line. The river system of the Mississippi has its centre within the borders of Kentucky, and her lands are penetrated by more navigable rivers than any other State in the Union. Her terri- tory includes about fifteen hundred miles of streams that are navigable at all stages of water, and about four thousand miles of other streams that can be made navigable by locks and dams. These streams give access to the whole Mississippi system of inland navigation, which includes about twenty-five thousand miles of streams now navigable, or readily rendered so by the usual methods of river improvement. The State has at pres- ent connection by water transportation with at least twenty millions of people, occupying an area that will probably con- tain near two hundred millions within a century from this date. There is a proposition now under discussion to use the con^ vict labor of the State on the improvement of the rivers, which if carried to success is likely to make their complete canalization an accomplished fact within twenty-five years. 391 25 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. The existing railways of the State form a system which wants but a few connecting hnks to give it an admirable relation to the rest of this country. The north and south lines consist of the following roads, beginning on the east: The Eastern Kentucky, from Riverton in Greenup County to Willard in Carter County; thirty-five miles of road built to develop the coal and iron district of this section, with the expectation of eventual continuation to Pound Gap, and connecting with the south-eastern system. The Maysville and Lexington Railway, running south as far as Lexington, and connecting there with the system of roads about to be described. Third in the series on the west we have the Ken- tucky Central Railway, now extending to Lexington along the banks of the Main Licking Valley and its South Fork. The continuation of this road, by either Pound Gap or Cumber- land Gap, to the railway system of Eastern Tennessee and the valley of Virginia, is likely to be accomplished at an early day. The Cincinnati Southern Railway, from the mouth of the Licking directly south to Chattanooga, will be completed during the present year, and afford an admirably built road traversing the State on its longest south and north line, and crossing the Blue-grass lands on their longest and best sec- tion. This road is likely to be of incalculable value to the State, forming as it does a main line to the South and South-east. The Lexington and Big Sandy Railway is completed, as far as Mount Sterling in Montgomery County. This road when finished will give Kentucky cheaper and more direct communication, by way of the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail- road, with the Atlantic ports. The Mount Sterling coal- road, now almost completed, extends from the latter place to the border of the eastern coal-field, in Menifee County. The extension of this road will greatly facilitate the development of the coal and iron region through which it is proposed to continue it. The Kentucky and Great Eastern Railway is a proposed road on which considerable work has been done ; extending up the south bank of the Ohio River from Newport, Kentucky, 39a MARKETS AND TRANSPORTATION. 29 to the Big Sandy River. The completion of this road will add greatly to the wealth of river line of counties, and will give the State a shorter road to the Atlantic ports than she now has. The Louisville, Frankfort, and Lexington Railroad extends through the Counties of Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Franklin, and Fayette. From Lagrange in Oldham County a branch extends from this road to Cincinnati, known as the Louisville and Cincinnati short line, — that line, passing through the counties of Oldham, Henry, Grant, Carroll, Gallatin, Boone, and Kenton. The Cumberland and Ohio Railroad, narrow-guage, now building, when completed, will pass through the counties of Henry, Shelby, Spencer, Nelson, Washington, Marion, Tay- lor, Green, Metcalf, Barren, and Allen. Its length in Ken- tucky will be 165 miles. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad extends, with its branches, a distance of 356.4 miles through Kentucky in different directions. The Main Stem, from Louisville to Nashville, has a length within the limits of the State of 139.6 miles, running through the counties of Jefferson, Bullitt, Nel- son, Hardin, Larue, Hart, Edmonson, Barren, Warren, and Simpson. The Memphis Branch runs through the counties of Warren, Logan, and Todd, having a length in the State of 46 miles. The Lebanon Branch extends into South- eastern Kentucky, running through the counties of Nelson, Marion, Boyle, Lincoln, and Rockcastle ; it has a completed length within the State of 109.9 i"niles, and its extension to the State line is projected, and its completion only a matter of time ; it will then connect with a road leading to Knoxville in the State of Tennessee. The Richmond Branch runs throuo^h the counties of Lincoln, Garrard, and Madison for 33.4 miles, to within a short distance of the rich iron region of Ken- tucky. The Bardstown Branch runs through the county of Nelson, a distance of 17.3 miles. The Glasgow Branch, 10.2 miles long, runs to Glasgow, the county-seat of Barren County, The Louisville and Nashville Railroad is undeniably one of the most important thoroughfares of this continent ; it is second only to the Mississippi River as a way for the com- 393 30 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. merce between the Northern and Southern States. By means of the magnificent railway bridge over the Ohio River at Louisville it connects with all the great northern roads, and at Nashville and Memphis, its southern termini, it connects with all the important roads of the South. The Louisville, Paducah, and South-western Railroad ex- tends from Louisville to Paducah, a flourishing city situated on the banks of the Ohio River, fifty miles from its junction with the Mississippi, and is the principal market-town of West- ern Kentucky. This railroad penetrates Western Kentucky in such a manner, therefore, as to afford easy access to a large portion of that section. It runs through the counties of Hardin, Grayson, Ohio, Muhlenberg, Hopkins, Caldwell, Lyons, Livingstone, Marshall, and McCracken, It passes directly through that section of the valuable coal-fields of Western Kentucky which lies within the area of the counties of Ohio, Muhlenberg, Hopkins, and Grayson. The entire length of the Louisville, Paducah, and South-western Rail- road is 225 miles, all of which is within the territory of Kentucky. The Paducah and Memphis Railroad runs through the counties of McCracken and Graves, connecting at Memphis all of the south-western railroads. The Owensboro, Russelville, and Nashville Railroad is completed from Owensboro, on the Ohio River, to Owens- boro Junction on the Louisville, Paducah, and South-western Railroad, passing through the counties of Daviess, McLean, and Muhlenburg. The Evansville, Henderson, and Nashville Railroad, from Henderson on the Ohio River to Nashville, Tenn., passes through the counties of Henderson, Webster, Hopkins, Chris- tian, and Todd. At Henderson a ferry takes cars to the north- ern system of roads. It forms the most important link in a great trunk line known as the St. Louis and South-eastern Railway. The New Orleans, St. Louis, and Cairo Railroad passes through the counties of Ballard and Hickman. The Mobile and Ohio Railroad, connecting the city of Mobile on the Gulf of Mexico with the Ohio River, penetrates Kentucky through the counties of Hickman and Fulton. 394 MARKETS AND TRANSPORTATION. 3 1 At Columbus, in Hickman County, a ferry fitted for the carriage of trains gives passage to cars from St. Louis directly through to the south-eastera cities. Of the ten before de- scribed north and south railways, four have northern con- nections ; two (the Cumberland and Ohio and the Cincinnati Southern), now under construction, will have southern con- nections. The others all look to the same end, but have not yet succeeded in accomplishing it. It is in roads with eastern connections that the State lacks most. There is not yet a single railway crossing the eastern line of the State. It is to this difficulty of access from the seaward that the State owes the small share it has had in the immigration of capital and labor that has filled the lands of less attractive regions. Three routes have been begun, which, when complete, will fully remedy this grave defect; namely, a road from Louisville to the south-east via Cumberland Gap, completed to Livingston, and requiring a continuation of about one hundred miles to connect with roads leading from Morristown, Tenn., to Charleston, S. C. ; a road from Mount Sterling to Abingdon, Va., via Pound Gap, requir- ing about one hundred and sixty miles of road to complete the connection ; a road from Lexington to connect with the Chesapeake and Ohio, requiring about eighty miles to bring it to completion. The northernmost and southernmost of these roads are likely to be carried forward to completion within a few years. There is a project for building up, east and west, a road along the northern range of counties of the State, giving a continuous route from Henderson, and the roads connecting at that point, to the connections with Charleston and Savannah from Morristown, Tenn. ; also a project for a road from Chicago to Charleston, crossing Ken- tucky from Gallatin County to Cumberland Gap. It will be seen from this brief sketch that the railway sys- tem of Kentucky is on the whole good, and wants but little to make it, as a system of trunk lines, exceedingly well adapted to the development of her resources. Taken in connection with the river system, it is clear that, within a generation, we may expect here a transportation system excelled by no State on the continent. .wj 32 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. With reference to markets, it will be seen, by consulting the census tables, that the State has at present access to a larger number of markets than any other Western State : although there is but one large city within her limits, the cities of Cincinnati, St. Louis, Nashville, and Indianapolis lie upon her borders. Her principal export products have a special value that makes them sought on her own soil by purchasers enough to take any product that can be furnished ; on the borders of the State, a host of manufacturino^ towns are rising that will certainly make a market for all the food, fuel, and raw products from her soil, quarries, and mines. PRICE OF LANDS. In no other State having any thing like the same advan- tages can lands be bought at so low a price. The best agricultural lands, or those commanding the highest price, are found in the Limestone regions and along the principal rivers ; these, when cleared and not worn, bring from thirty to one hundred dollars per acre. The same, uncleared, will be about half these rates. The second-rate lands in the same regions bring from ten to forty dollars per acre. The lands on the coal-bearing beds, though often exceedingly fertile, are generally very cheap. When contiguous to transportation they may generally be estimated at about ten dollars per acre, but the tracts of good tobacco lands, with excellent timbering and great mineral resources, can often be purchased for two to four dollars per acre in tracts suitable for ordinary farming, within ready access of permanent transportation. Vast tracts of timber land, suitable for grazing, with much excellent land in the coves, or other level places, can be bought for from fifty cents to one dollar and a half per acre. As a general thing, it may be said that the lands in this State are much cheaper than in any State north of the Ohio River. This is owing to the fact that, destitute of eastern communication, the State has hitherto had but a small share of the tide of immigration of capital and labor that has poured past her borders to fill the favored fields of the far West. Nearly all the products of Kentucky have their prices 396 PRICE OF LANDS. 33 determined by the cost of transportation to the great centres of population along the Atlantic seaboard or beyond the sea. Its tobacco, pork, grain, and some of the costlier na- tive woods, and some other products find their principal markets in Europe ; cattle, and to a certain extent the other agricultural products of the State, have their values deter- mined by the cost of transportation to the American At- lantic markets. Hitherto, this access to, the domestic and foreign markets of the Atlantic shores has been had by way of the railway systems which traverse the region north of Kentucky, and from which the State has been divided by op- posing interests and the physical barrier of the Ohio River. All the development of the State has taken place under these disadvantages. A comparison of the tables of cost given below will show that the complete opening of the mouth of the Mis- sissippi to ocean ships will result in the enfranchisement of the productions of Kentucky in an extraordinary way.* At the present time, the freight-rates from the lower Ohio to Liver- pool would permit the profitable shipment of the cannel coal * " The following are taken from published freight-rates, and give time and cost of transit from St. Paul's, two thousand miles above New Orleans, to Liverpool by the two routes : — Cost per bushel. Time. Cents. Days. From St. Paul's to Chicago i8 4 Lake from Chicago to Buffalo 8 6 Canal from Buffalo to New York 14 24 New York to Liverpool 16 12 Elevator or trans-shipment charges, Chicago • . 2 2 „ „ „ Buffalo . . 2 2 „ „ „ New York , 4 2 Total 64 52 Cost per bushel. Time. Cents. Days. From St. Paul's to New Orleans (via river) . . 18 10 New Orleans to Liverpool 20 20 Elevator charges, New Orleans 2 I Total 40 31 ^ Here is a saving by direct trade of twenty-four cents per bushel, or eight shil- lings per quarter, and a saving of twenty-one days in lime. To be fair, I have taken the extreme point : but the nearer the grain is to t e Gulf, the cheaper the transportation.'''' 5 .'397 34 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. and native woods of many different species to Europe with one trans-shipment at New Orleans. It is impossible, on account of limited space, to give a detailed statement on this point ; but evidence can be furnished to those desiring it. It is to be no- ticed that it is possible for several months each year to bring ships of large draught of water to the loading points on the Ohio River, and load them for direct trade with Europe. The tonnage of such vessels both ways from New Orleans would be at the lowest rates for such work current in any region. It will be seen that the State of Kentucky has the most exten- sive shore on the navigable waters of the Mississippi Valley, and that even in the present incomplete development of her navigation system she will have over fifteen hundred miles of frontage on continuously navigable waters. There can be no doubt that the market expenses of the products of the State will be reduced nearly one-half when the far-reaching conse- quences of the development of water-transportation are at- tained. It will not be amiss to notice that the costs of trans- portation by water, far lower than by rail in most countries, is peculiarly cheap on the Mississippi and its principal tributa- ries ; coal is lower than in any other country, as is also timber for boat-building ; there are no tolls on the streams, and the currents are generally slow near the shores, admitting of toler- ably easy ascent FITNESS FOR INVESTMENTS OF CAPITAL AND LABOR. For all the important branches of agriculture and manufact- ure, so far as they depend on cheap and fertile soils, good climate, and a great abundance and low price of coal, iron, and hard-wood timber, and last, but not least, low taxation, — Kentucky offers unsurpassed advantages for the creation of industries. It will be impossible to name these opportunities in detail, but some of the most important may be suggested. The growing in- dustries of the Ohio-River Valley and the neighboring regions offer continued opportujiities for the increase in the export of the raw products of the State, Coal, iron, salt, timber^ cements, building-stones, can all be produced at great profits, even in the present depressed state of the industries of the 398 INVESTMENTS OF CAPITAL AND LABOR. 35 world. The Ohio Valley probably gains in population at an average rate of not less than five per cent, per annum. This great elasticity of demand insures a successful result in any discreet industrial venture. Besides the coal and iron mines, the attention of capitalists is requested to the production of other articles of equally steady demand. Salt can be produced over a large area at the cheapest possible rate, — the water hardly requiring pumping from the shallow wells, and the gas furnish- ing fuel. The great amount of fire-clays should be considered. The tile-clays are admirable in quantity and quality. An area of several thousand square miles in the State is rich in marls, containing large quantities of potash and soda, fitted for the production of fertilizers. The western section of the State is admirably fitted for ship-building; excellent ship-timber can be had cheaper than in any other country, and there is ample water to take ships drawing twenty feet to the sea for half the year. Besides the enormous possibilities of business derived from the working of raw products, finding their market in the great and growing States of the Mississippi Valley, there are most important opportunities derived from its relation to the regions beyond the sea. The natural outlet to the Atlantic ports for these products is by way of the Mississippi to the sea. The freights from Western Kentucky to New Orleans are less than one-half of the rate from the same region directly to New York. Until the success of the Eades-Jetty project, this method of carriage to the sea was practically impossible. At present it is practicable to load timber-ships and colliers at the ports from the western coal-field, and send them directly to the Atlantic ports, or to any markets beyond the sea. Al- ready a large trade in wine-cask staves exists between this region and Europe. These staves pass through six hands be- fore coming to the consumer. These exchanges could be readily reduced to three by direct shipment. The demand seems to be practically inexhaustible, and the timber exists in very great quantities. To this industry there could be readily added a business in the manufacture and shipment of spokes, felloes, and other carriage-parts, the parts of railway-carriages, agricul- tural implements, &c. Building-stones of admirable quality 399 36 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY exist all along the tributaries of the Ohio, and their export to the Atlantic ports is already a considerable commerce. As will be seen from the accompanying map, the State of Kentucky lies, as a region of peculiar mineral resources, in the centre of the region now holding, and destined always to hold, the mass of American population. The present centre of population is adjacent to the northern border of Kentucky, and it is practically certain that in centuries to come it must re- main within or on the borders of Kentucky. This makes it sure that manufactures will from this region always command the widest markets with the least carriage. The advantages of this district to the agriculturist are known by the cheap land, good climate, and abundant variety of crops. These crops are near to a great and growing set of markets. Among the new ventures in agriculture must be placed fruit-culture for the northern markets, — a business that is now taking a very important place in the industries of the State. The poorer lands of the southern part of the State have a peculiar fitness for this purpose. The following table, compiled from the United States cen- sus report, proves that Kentucky is susceptible of a greater variety of production than any other State. It will be ob- served that it is in each census the first State in the production of some one or more staple articles : — Wheat Swine Mules Indian Corn Tobacco Flax Rye Hemp Cotton Value of Home Manufactures 1840. 1850. i860. First. . Ninth. Ninth. Second. Second. Fourth. Second. Second. Second. First. Second. Second'. Second. Third. First. Third. Fourth. Fifth. First. First. Eleventh. Third. Second. 1870. Eicrhth. Fifth. Third. Sixth. First.* Eighth. Fifth. First. Twelfth. Third. * In 1870 Kentucky produced tfear one-half of all the tobacco produced in the United States, and more than half of all the Hemp. The production of Tobacco increased from 105,305,869 poimds in 1870, to 158,184,929 pounds in 1873. The high rank of Kentucky as an agricultural State can best be appreciated when it is remembered that more than one- 400 INVESTMENTS OF CAPITAL AND LABOR. ■}^'] half of the State is in forest, and that the State is only exceeded in area of woodland by three States. Yet, with less than half the land in cultivation, the State ranks eighth in the value of agricultural products. Building and other Economic Stones. — The building-stones of this State are limited to Limestones and Sandstones. Within these limits, however, there is a most abundant variety of color, hardness, and other qualities. The Limestones of the Upper Cambrian, or so-called Lower Silurian, are excellent stones of exceedingly varied qualities. Usually they afford a gra}' mar- ble of admirable resisting powers against wear, especially fitted for buildings when their courses of rocks are suitable. Along the Kentucky River this series of rocks affords a beau- tiful buff and cream-colored marble, admirably fitted for detailed sculpture work, the Clay Monument at Lexington being made of this stone. This stone can be quarried on the banks of the river in any quantity and at small expense, and transported by boat to the Ohio River. Next above this level we have the equiv- alent of a part of the cliff-limestone of Ohio, which has received the local name of Cumberland Sandstone in the Kentucky re- ports. This Sandstone is thin, and passes into a cherty Lime- stone in the northern part of the State ; but in the basin of the Cumberland it is of a peculiar greenish color, affording a very handsome and durable building-stone, resembling in many re- gards the Buena Vista Sandstone of Ohio. This stone will doubtless have considerable value in the time to come, as it is peculiar in its color among all the building-stones of the Ohio Valley. No other good building-stones occur until, after pass- ing above the Black Shale, we come to the beds of Sandstone of the Waverly period. The beds of this section afford the only Sandstones of the State that have been extensively worked for building purposes. These beds, commonly known as Buena Vista stone, are the only source of the Sandstones used in Cin- cinnati and Louisville, and in most of the other western cities. At present they are worked along the Ohio and south-east of Mount Sterling in Montgomery County ; but they can be had where the Licking, Kentucky, Salt, and Green Rivers cross the Waverly, and at the points where the railroads of the State pass over the same formation. 401 VOL. II. — 26 38 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. It is, however, in the Subcarboniferous or Mountain Lime- stone that the greatest variety and area of economic stones occur. Here we have Limestones (carbonates) which are the finest known in this country ; OoHtes which, for beauty of grain and endurance of time and other forms of wear, are un- surpassed ; Dolomites that have all the fine qualities belonging to those Magnesian l^imestones ; and, finally, a series of more or less Argillaceous Limestones, some of which are already in use as lithographic stones, and promise good results. These Oolites have been in use for forty years in the town of Bowling Green, and retain all their tool-marks as when dressed, having hardened very much since their working. Stones for furnace- hearths abound throughout the whole mineral district. Some millstones have been worked for local purjDOses, but have had no extensive test. Grindstones are made from the Waverly Sandstone, which is admirably fitted for this use. Some good grindstones have been made from the Carboniferous Sand- stones of Western Kentucky. GOVERNMENT, POPULATION, TAXES, EDUCATION, FUTURE. The government of Kentucky is at present modelled in part on that of New York, and in part on that of Virginia, — the legal framework being essentially that of the former State. The legislative machinery differs somewhat from that of the other States, in that the senate is re-elected one-half each two years, while the lower house is simply renewed each two years by election. There is no actual State debt, — the school-fund debt being such only in appearance, in fact only an obligation to pay a certain sum for the support of schools. No State debt can constitutionally be contracted, and during the last ten years, while other States have been steadily increasing their obligations, Kentucky has paid off the debt which was left by the war, and now is debtless, and with considerable assets. The last legislature (1876) reduced the 'taxes by one-eighth, after a careful inquiry going to show that it could be done with safety. The following statement summarizes the condi- tion of the State in 1875 : — 402 EDUCATION. 39 ** It will thus be seen, that in the last two years we have redeemed and paid off $347,000 of the public debt, and there now only remains of bonds outstanding and unredeemed $184,394. The residue of these bonds are not due and redeemable until 1894-5-6." To meet this indebtedness we had, on the loth of October, 1875, ^^^^ end of the fiscal year,* — To the credit of the Sinking Fund $i53)559-07 230 United States 5-20 gold-bearing interest bonds, worth not less than 20 per cent, premium . , . 246,000.00 Making $399>559-07 The whole traditions of the State are strongly in favor of economy and honesty in every branch of public affairs. No loss by defalcation has ever occurred to the State. Debts cannot be incurred by counties, cities, or towns without special authority from the legislature. This permission is now given only in rather rare cases, and is subject to great limitations from the organic law. The result of these conditions is an immunity from the danger of destructive taxation, such as does not exist in any other State in this country. Education. — The State now gives from the general treas- ury the sum of one million dollars to the purpose of common school education ; this is, per capita^ as large a contribution from the general fund as is given in any State ; as yet, this has been inadequately supplemented by local aid, but much progress is now making towards the creation of graded schools in every village where the population admits of it. The laws allow the imposition of a considerable local tax for schools. There is no State with an equally scattered population where so much has been done for the elementary education. Universities and colleges do not now receive the aid of the State. There are, however, a number of excellent institutions of this grade in the State. The first collegiate institution west of the AUeghanies was Transylvania University, at Lexington. Kentucky University, Georgetown College, Centre College, and a number of other similar schools of newer date, many of * In a report made by the State Treasurer, January, 1876, the State debt \Yas shown to have been much less than the above, and the surplus in the Treasury had increased to near one million of dollars. This report will appear in next edition of this pamphlet. 403 40 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENTUCKY. them excellent in their methods, and provided with considera- ble endowments, furnish the higher education of the State. The charitable institutions, nominally so called, are suffi- ciently furnished by the State. A very high place is held by the asylums for the deaf and dumb and for the feeble-minded, in both of which recognized advances have been made in the methods of dealing with these forms of human infirmity. It remains to speak of the most important element in the State, its population.* Probably no other State in this Union contains a people as purely English in descent as this. At this date (1876) the population numbers 1,600,000; of these only 200,000 are of African descent, or about one-eighth of the total. There is a steady decrease in the black population, and an equally steady increase of the white, so that the negro now makes but an inconsiderable fraction of the State ; by far the greater part of the blacks are gathered about the towns in light labor of the domestic class. The relations be- tween the two races are those of entire harmony. Separate schools are founded for the two races. In 1870, the foreign-born population in Kentucky amounted to 63,398 (is probably at the present time less than 100,000); of these 31,767 were Germans, and the remainder from various other European countries. The greater part of this foreign population is settled along the Ohio River, but it exists in almost every county. The honest and self-supporting citizen of every country has always received a warm welcome in Kentucky; no jealousy has ever shown itself towards the foreigner. The government of the State has for years always had a number of conspicuous members from beyond the sea ; one of the United States senators and several of the members of the legislature are also from other countries. Without indulgence in excessive claims, which would be quite foreign to the sober tone of this Commonwealth, we may reasonably expect for Kentucky, in the time to come, a substantial growth proportioned to her natural advantages. As at the present moment,^when the country generally is under * In 1790, Kentucky was the fourteenth State in population, having a population of 72),^77. In 1870, Kentucky was the eighth State in population, having 1,321,011 ; 404 FUTURE. 41 a heavy burden, the result of its commercial extravagances, the State of Kentucky is actually prosperous in a fair degree, so we may expect in the future a consistent and conservative progress that will not be attended by those periods of commercial depres- sion that so generally accompany a growth of an excessive kind. The unequalled blessings of the Ohio Valley, its wealth of mineral stores, fertility of soil, goodness of climate, and fa- cilities for transportation, are all shared in large measure by Kentucky. Another century will doubtless see this Valley the greatest seat of those productions that require cheap power and cheap food for their making, bringing a population equal to that of the equal areas in the great European States ; when this comes, this Commonwealth will contain within her borders probably not less than eight millions of people, and sources of wealth and power unsurpassed on this continent. 405 "Plate TSTo.l. TTOK. G-HEEig-XJJP, BOYD, C^VRTlSIi, ^ Eart of X.A W RB3NCB3 ^. ,^ COUISTTIES, \ SANDSTONE SERIES ^fi" \ I UPPEK SERIES^ ^ Kidaej Ore ' FROM 250'u) SSO^^^I^^bB ■_^j^ Block Ore 10(5 ^y r SHALE SERIES] ABOVE THE 1 CONGL. S.S. VARYING FROM 60' to lOO' J ^^^S^^ 53-"^-- ^ s Kiduey Ore / SHALK Coarse S.S. j CONQI/OMERATeI Of y Formation VARYING FEOM 6'to 100!| Congl. 3.3-1 Fire Clay 1 guB- VconglomerateI rOAi, ( SHALES. Sob.Oo.,.) I L .Ore '^^ j SOB /cARBOxnmous| ( LIMBSTONE Limestone \ VARYING ( PROM o'tolOOl y T ICidney Ore y P.C. .'Ore Limestone I SANDSTONE ^^S^^^= Imp.Li ^ I^S^^C TOP OF "WAVERLY. 3^0' jo6 COAL No,3 I Greenish S.S.& S. [0PPER .SERIES CONTINUED ROCKS VARYING S.S. with / FEOM SHALE Bauds of Rough Kidney Ore. COARSB S.S. AND Imp.L.S. 1 CONGL. S.S. S.orS.S. Bogart * Polger Cii BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF THE BIG-SANDY VALLEY. The valley of the Chatterawah or Big-Sandy River is entirely within the limit of the coal-measures, and, with perhaps one or two exceptions, where the Subcarboniferous Limestone is brought to the surface, the rocks exposed on the waters of the Big Sandy are those of the coal-measures proper. The number of distinct beds of coal known to be present in this valley is twelve. Iron ores are found at about an equal number of levels. The accompanying general section, from report of A. R. Crandall on the geology of Greenup, Carter, Boyd, and Lawrence Counties, shows the order of the beds, both of coal and of iron ore, near the Ohio River. Further southward changes occur in the general character of the rocks above coal No. 3, so changing the general section as to render any identification of beds from the little that is now known of them quite untrustworthy. Fuller investigation will doubtless discover most of the coals as found near the Ohio, and the thickening of beds as found southward gives promise of richer fields than those already developed. The following table shows the thickness of the beds that have been fully identified as seen in the locaHties where mined : — Minimum. Maximum. Coal, No. I. 3 ft. in. 5 ft. in. „ „ 2. 2 „ „ 3 » 8 „ „ 3- 2 „ 6 „ 6 „ 6 „ „ 4- 2 „ „ 4 » 6 „ » 5- 3 » 6 „ 9 „ „* » „ 6. 3 „ „ 4 „ „ „ 7- 3 „ „ 6 „ „ „ 8- 2 ,, 6 „ 8 » „ » 9- 2 „ „ 2 » 6 „ » V 10- 3 „ 6 „ » j» II- 2 ,, „ 2 ,, 6 „ „ „ 12. t * Coal 5 is generally slat y in part where found in great thickness. t Not opened. 407 44 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF BIG-SANDY VALLEY. The following table of analyses of samples, taken from the whole thickness of beds as mined, will serve to indicate the character of the beds included, and of the coals of this field generally : — . Specific Gravity . Moisture . . Volatile Com. Mat Fixed Carbon . Ash Sulphur No. I. O 1.267 2.50 36.00 57-30 2.90 1. 148 No. i^a 1.289 4.10 34.60 55-25 4-77 1.414 No. 3. No. 4. U ° No. 5. m> 1-317 1.306 3.26 1.50' 54.22 ?2.20 ■5-36 40.60 7.16 5-70 0.901 0.782 1.360 3.20 32-30 53.00 11.50 1.999 1.279 2.94 32.50 56.76 7-74 1.972 No. 7. 1.320 5.00 34-50 55.40 5.10 1.285 No. 8. 1.367 3-50 31.90 52.06 12.50 0.873 Coal No. 8, as represented in this table, is from the head of Nat's Creek, in the north-eastern corner of Johnson County, where it is fully eight feet in thickness, with slight partings. The only average sample from this locality was necessarily taken from near the outcrop, giving too large a percentage of ash, and probably too small a percentage of sulphur. - The thickness of the measures, which include the coals of this table, is about four hundred feet in the regions best known. Coal No. i is exposed along the Big Sandy, south- ward from Peach Orchard and Warfield, at a level which is in general slightly above high-water mark. The hills along the river and the main creeks rise to the height of six and seven hundred feet, including the equivalents of the accompanying general section from coal No. i upward. What beds are pres- ent in these hills is yet to be ascertained. 408 GENERAL RESOURCES OF THE WESTERN COAL-FIELD AND BORDERING TERRITORY. I. SUBCARBONIFEROUS BEDS. The coal-field is bordered by Subcarboniferous beds, which are, in succession, those forming the Chester group, and those included in the St. Louis group. The Chester series are rich in stores of potash-marls, while the St. Louis group yields a number of beds of very admirable building-material. It is also in the region underlaid by the Subcarboniferous beds that the excellent Limonite iron-ore, so highly esteemed by iron-manufacturers, is found. As the group is of especial interest, the following typical section of the Chester group, as it occurs on the eastern out- skirts of the coal-field, is given : * — No. I. Shale, with thin beds of Limestone 15 feet. 2. Heavy-bedded, cherty Limestone 13 » 3. Red and green Shale 5 »> 4. Rhomboidally-jointed Sandstone, frequently charged with Brachiopoda o to 10 „ 5. Limestone 2 „ 6. Shale 10 „ 7. Limestone and Shale 20 „ 8. Green, red, purple, and blue, marly Shales ; the Leitchfield marls ' 25 to 60 „ 9. Shale and thin-bedded Limestone S >' 10. Shaley Sandstone .• o to 20 „v 11. Heavy-bedded, dark-gray, and blue Limestone . . 15 to 45 „ 12. Massive Sandstone; the "big-clifty" Sandstone . 60 to 130 „ * Described in detail in Part VL, Vol. L, Second Series Kentucky Geological Reports. N. S. Shaler, Director. . 4°? 46 GENERAL RESOURCES OF WESTERN COAL-FIELD. This section is frequently modified. The economic values of the different beds are dependent, in a measure, on their per- sistency. Space forbids any detailed discussion of the ques- tion here. It may be remarked, however, that none of the beds are found to be trustworthy over large areas, unless it be the marls. The persistency of the marls, however, as indi- vidual beds, is not a settled question. The strata are ex- ceedingly variable in their lithological features, and lateral changes are very frequent, both in their composition and thickness. It is not uncommon for Limestone or Sandstone- beds to be, either in whole or in part, replaced by Shales. Hence beds occurring at some certain locality that would, from their color and composition, be referred to the horizon of the Leitchfield marls, may really belong at a lower or higher level, having replaced some more solid bed. This, however, does not militate against the fact that the Leitchfield marls proper extend over a great area. The St. Louis group is distinctly separated by the physical characters of its strata into two divisions. The upper or gray Limestone division is formed of a series of gray and drab •beds, among which are included two well-marked varieties. One variety, a white Oolite, is quite characteristic of the divi- sion. Usually associated with the Oolite are beds of dense drab to cream-colored stone, which breaks with a smooth, conchoidal fracture, and resembles lithographic stone. The upper division furnishes some of the best building- stones and materials for lime that are to be found in the State. The lower division includes beds of dark -blue to bluish-gray Limestone. The rock is frequently fetid from carbonaceous matter, such as bitumen, held in it, and nests of massive ^ calcite and fluor spar are not infrequent in it. The study of this group is especially interesting on account of its being: the repository of the lead deposits of Western Kentucky. * A section of the beds forming the group, and other matters concerning it, will be found in Part VL, Vol. L, Second Series Kentucky Geological Reports. N. S. Shaler, Director. 410 THE COAL-FIELD. 47 II. THE COAL-FIELD. In studying the resources of the area occupied by the Carboniferous beds in Western Kentucky, the greatest inter- est naturally belongs to that section underlaid by the coal- measures. In form the coal-field is somewhat basin-like ; that is, the beds incline from the margins towards the centre. The border of the field has never been completely traced with accuracy; but its course may be approximately delineated as follows : * — Commencing at the Ohio River, in Crittenden County, it follows up the valley of the Tradewater River into Caldwell County ; thence' crossing into Christian County at a point about five or six miles above Tradewater station (on the Louisville, Pacudah, and South-western Railroad), it keeps in a south of easterly course towards the head-waters of the Pond River. From a point about two and a half or three miles south of Petersburg, Christian County, the southern boundary makes a south-eastwardly curve, passing by the head-waters of the Pond River to the Muddy River, which stream it crosses somewhere near its forks. Thence it passes through the southern part of Butler County, crossing Barren River below the mouth of Gasper River, thence eastwardly along the divide between those rivers, crossing Green River above the mouth of Nolin River, and extending north-eastward to the head-waters of Casey Creek in Hart County. Thence it curves to the north-west, crossing Nolin River near the mouth of Dog Creek ; passing a point between Millwood and Leitch- field in Grayson County, — an outlier or tongue extending north-eastwardly, on the north side of Nolin River to the * These outlines have been mainly obtained from Vol. I. Kentucky Geological Reports, First Series ; D. D. Owen, Director. They are quite imperfect, so far as regards details, but are sufficiently accurate for present general purposes. The faithful delineation of the outline of the coal-field has been made part of the work of the present survey. 4" 48 GENERAL RESOURCES OF WESTERN COAL-FIELD. head-waters of Hunting Fork, of Rock Creek, — and thence on to the Ohio River, to a point not far below Cloverport in Breckenridge County. In the space thus included lie the whole of nine counties, and parts of five more, making an approximate total of nearly four thousand square miles for the area of the coal-field. The Number of Coal-beds, &c. — Twelve coal-beds have been identified in the space between the Conglomerate (the base of the coal-measures) and the summit of the series. It is believed as not improbable, however, for reasons un- necessary to discuss here, that, when sufhcient data have been gathered to warrant a generalization concerning the number of beds, it will be found expedient to designate a less number of coals in the general section for the coal-field. For the present, therefore, a letter is used to designate each bed. The results of the work of the Survey, so far, point to eight as the number of beds that may prove sufficiently trust- worthy to receive final numbers. The total thickness of the coal-measures is as yet only approximately known. The thickness is variable, as is the number of coal-beds, and is greater at some localities than at others. It does not seem probable, however, that it will anywhere exceed one thousand (1,000) feet, and there are districts in which it is less than eight hundred (800) feet. On the m^ap of Kentucky will be found a section showing the position and number of these coals as determined by Dr. Owen's Survey, as well as some modifications made by the present Survey. The thickness indicated for each bed, and the included space, are strictly in accordance with Dr. Owen's statement. 1. Anvil Rock Sandstone 20 feet. 2. Coal, No. 12 (Coal A) 3 „ 3. Space 21 „ 4. Coal, No. 1 1 (Coal B) 5 >» 5. Space • • •, 46 „ 6. Coal No. 10 (Coal C) 3 „ 7. Space 68 „ 8. Coal No. 9 (Coal D) 5 „ 9. Space 50 „ 412 NUMBER OF COAL-BEDS. 49 10. Coal No. 8 (Coal E) 2yi feet. 11. Space 43 „ 12. Coal No. 7 (Coal F?) 2 „ 13. Space 84 „ 14. Coal No. 6 (Coal G?) 3 „ 15. Space 65 „ 16. Coal No. 5 (Coal H?) 4 „ 17- Space 95 „ 18. Coal No. 4 (Coal I) 4 „ 19- Space 154 20. Coal No. 3 (Coal J) ^yi » 21. Space 71 „ 22. Coal No. 2 (Coal K ?) No thickness given. 23. Space 82 „ 24. Coal No. I B (Coal L) 5 „ The preliminary arrangement adopted in the present sur- vey differs in some particulars from the foregoing. In some instances the distances between the coals are increased, and in others diminished ; and several of the beds are represented at a greater or smaller thickness than they are in Dr. Owen's Section. The irregular distribution of the coal necessitated the separation of that part of the coal-field thus far examined into three divisions. The first extends from the eastern border of the field to the Green River; the second is approximately bounded by the Green and Pond Rivers ; and the third ex- tends from the Pond River to the western margin of the field.* In the first division are found coals A, B, C, D, E, H, K, and L ; proving eight of the twelve beds to be present. In the second division are found coals A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H ; the number here also being eight. This, how- ever, does not represent all of the coals that may be found, as the base of the coal-measures was not reached; it repre- sents only those coals that come to the surface, or that have been reached in pits ; no doubt, most of the lower beds are present. * The region in question is that which is traversed by the Louisville, Paducah, and South-western railroad : none of the country bordering the Ohio River is in- cluded ; nor yet that lying near the southern margin of the field. None of that region has yet been sufficiently studied to report on the number of beds. See Part VL VoL L, Second Series Kentucky Geological Reports, page 374. 7 4T3 50 GENERAL RESOURCES OF WESTERN COAL-FIELD. In the third division most of the coals are found, the absent ones probably being C, F, G, and K (?). Generalizing from the results obtained in each of these divisions, it is found that the average distances between the coals from A to H inclusive, in the region examined, are about as follows : — 1. Coal A 5 feet. 2. Space 5 3- Coal B 6 „ 4- Space 15 „ 5. Coal C . . Nothing to 2 „ 6- Space 75 „ ^ 7- Coal D 5 „ 8- Space 75 „ 9. Coal E i>^ » ID. Space 20 „ 11. Coal F iK » 12. Space 50 „ 13. Coal G • . . . . i^ „ 14. Space 100 „ 15. Coal H 4^ „ From coal H to coal L the spaces between the beds are very variable, and sufficient data have not been obtained to warrant the making of an average. As an instance of the changes, it may be mentioned that the distance from coal I to coal J varies from fifty to eighty-three feet. Were all of the coals united in one bed, the deposit would be about thirty-five feet thick. As far as our examinations now show, coals K, G, F, E, and C may prove to be only local beds. Quality of the Coals. — As a consequence of the very imperfect knowledge hitherto had concerning the coals of this field, the percentage of sulphur in the coals of Western Kentucky has been rated by many not only as inordinately high, but greater than in the coals of neighboring regions. This has been an error. It is true that in some of the beds the percentage of sulphur is large ; but as a class the coals will compare favorably with those in any section of the Western coal-field. The matter of sampling coals for a rep- resentative analysis has not always received the attention that should be given it; what may be termed "hand" or 414 QUALITY OF COALS. 51 picked specimens have in the largest number of cases been used for analysis, and analyses made under such conditions cannot be fairly compared with ours, that were in every case made from samples mechanically taken and faithfully averaged. It has been known for some years that the coals of the Western coal-field carry, as a class, more sulphur than do those in the Appalachian field ; and less than do those in the Missouri and Iowa coal-field. It is not, therefore, with the coals of the States in the Appalachian coal-field that the Western Kentucky beds are to be compared as a class, but with those in the West; and when such comparison is im- partially made, the Kentucky coals, as a class, are not excelled by those in Other sections of the Western coal-field. In Indiana and Illinois there are certain beds that have won a high reputation, a better one indeed than has hitherto been accorded the Kentucky coals ; but later investigations have developed the fact that here, too, are exceptionally good beds, unexcelled, perhaps, by the most famous of those States. They have hitherto escaped general notice, from the fact that they do not lie in what has been the district of active mining operations, although within convenient reach of trans- portation facilities. Following are averaged analyses of those beds which so far have been deemed the most important : — * Number of Coal. A. B. D. J. L.» L?t ?* Moisture .... Volatile Comb. Mat. Fixed Carbon . . Ash .... Sulphur .... Specific Gravity . 3-43 39.26 50.23 7.08 3-2/ 38.80 51-23 6.70 3-37 36.66 51-97 8.00 3-70 32.56 50.04 13.70 4-85 '32. 22 55-03 7.90 3-30 36.00 57-88 2.82 1.30 59.60 27.00 12.10 100.00 2-753 1-383 100.00 2,548 1.309 100.00 2.806 1-354 100.00 3.716 1.398 100.00 1-373 1-319 100.00 1.024 1. 241 100.00 1.896 1. 213 * From the Coaltown Banks, Christian County. t From near Wrightsburg, McLean County. _ j i The " Breckenndge " Cannel Coal, from near Cloverport, Breckenridge County. * Some of the beds as yet insufficiently studied for judgment to be passed on them may prove fully as important, so far as regards quality, as those now wrought. 415 52 GENERAL RESOURCES OF WESTERN GOAL-FIELD: For comparison with the analyses of coal L, the following analyses of the Indiana " block " coal, and the " Big Muddy " coal of Illinois are given. These coals are considered to be among the best in the Western coal-field; — Moistrrre Volatile Combustible Matter Fixed Carbon Ash Sulphar Specific Gravity .... Number of Analysis. No. I.JO 36.38 55.64 5.28 r.664 1-3^3 No. 2. 2.68 36-32 53-58 7.42 r.8o2 not est. No. 3. No. 4. 2.62 32.04 58.58 6.76 2.472 1. 310 3-44 31.86 59-54 5.r6 1.376 1. 310 Numbers i and 2 are analyses of the Indiana "block" coal; numbers 3 and 4, of the " Big Muddy " coal of Illinois. The analyses were made in the laboratory of the Kentucky Geological Survey of carefully averaged samples collected in the same manner that the Kentucky coals are sampled.*" Special attention is directed to the analyses of the Coaltown and Wrightsburg coals. These are what are known as "blocking" coals, and withstand weathering remarkably well. The Wrightsburg coal is remarkably good, containing less than three per cent, of ash, a small proportion of water, and but little more than one per cent, of sulphur. Th^re is rea- son to hope that the Wrightsburg and Coaltown coal may prove serviceable as an iron-making fueL The Breckenridge Cannel is already well known for its remarkable properties. Coal D seems to be the most trustworthy of all of the beds, and is the one most generally wrought throughout the coal- field. It is most useful as a household fuel. Coal B is usually divided about the middle by a clay part- ing. The upper sixteen inches serves admirably for gas- making; several analyses show it to contain very little sulphur, and a large proportion of volatile combustible mat- ters. At some points the coal yields an admirable coke. * See page 177 of the Chemical Report of the Kentucky Geological Survey j Vol. I. Second Series. N. S. Shaler, Director. 416 WATER-WAYS AND RAILWAYS. 53 III. WATER-WAYS AND RAILWAYS. The coal-field is crossed by three railroads, and is so drained by several streams that, were they all prepared for navigation (a work of no very serious difficulty), no part of it would suffer for means of transportation. All of the streams drain towards the Ohio River, which offers cheap transportation to the sea. The streams that have already been made navigable for part of their extent are the Green, the Tennessee, and the Cumber- land Rivers ; those streams whose partial improvement is both feasible and desirable are the Tradewater and Pond Rivers, Rough Creek, Nolin River, Muddy River, and Bear Creek. The Green River and its tributaries is navigable by locks and dams for two hundred and sixty-eight miles. The Ten- nessee is navigable from its mouth to Florence, Alabama, a distance of about two hundred and fifty miles ; and the Cum- berland River is navigable from its mouth to a point about one hundred miles above Nashville. Regular lines of steamers ply on these rivers. Large ship- ments of coal are sent south by the Tennessee River. The Pond River flows into the Green River, and during high stages of water is navigable for about fifteen miles ; it may be rendered navigable by a system of locks and dams, as far up as Bakersport, a distance of about thirty miles. The Tradewater River is ascended by light-draught boats during the spring freshets as far up as Belleville ; it is quite practicable for it to be rendered navigable for forty miles, or more. Prior to the building of the Louisville, Paducah, and South- western Railroad, Rough Creek (which empties into Greep River), was regularly plied by light-draught steamers as far up as Hartford, Ohio County, having been rendered navigable by locks and dams. It will be seen that it is a mere question VOL. II. — 27 417 54 GENERAL RESOURCES OF WESTERN COAL-FIELD. of enterprise whether or not the streams may be used as roads for carrying out produce, &c. The railways are the St. Louis and South-eastern Railway (connecting St. Louis, Mo., and Nashville, Tenn.), which passes north and south through Henderson, Webster, Hop- kins, and Christian Counties; the Evansville, Owensboro', and Nashville railroad (not yet completed), which (so far as built) passes north and south through Daviess and McLean Counties into Muhlenburg County ; and the Louisville, Padu- cah, and South-western railroad which passes westwardly through Gmyson, Ohio, Muhlenburg, Hopkins, and Caldwell Counties intersecting the north and south running railroads ; one at Owensboro' Junction, and the other at Nortonville. The total number of miles of railroads in the coal-field is about one hundred and eighty-five. Thus it will be seen that transportation is, or can easily be, furnished to nearly all of the workable coal-beds. The Green, Pond, and Tradewater Rivers and their tributaries (some of them of considerable size), and Rough Creek drain a large portion of the coal-field ; while other portions are reached by the several railroads. Some of the best coals are found on the Green and Tradewater Rivers ; but as yet comparatively little mining has been done in them. So far nearly all of the important mines have been opened along the paths of the railroads, a plan which has resulted in giving them a more rapid, although more costly, transportation than was offered by the rivers. IV. NUMBER OF COAL MINES, &c. In all there are about thirty collieries of importance in the coal-field. The mines are worked on a general plan modelled on the post and stall-system. *About fifteen of them are located along the Louisville, Paducah, and South-western Railroad ; six along the St. Louis and South-eastern Railway; and two 418 THE COAL TRADE. 55 on the Evansville, Owensboro', and Nashville Railroad. Others are located in the neighborhood of Owensboro', bordering the Ohio River ; at Airdrie on the Green River ; and several in Crittenden and Union Counties, in the vicinity of Caseyville. The Coal' Trade, — It is difficult to determine the precise amount of coal raised in this field, as the records are very imperfect. The product of the Kentucky collieries, however, has operated greatly in regulating the amount of foreign coal brouoht into the State and into the Southern markets. Louisville, of the home markets, has especially been bene- fitted by these mines, as the following will show : — In the winter of 1871-72, on account of low water, the Pittsburgh coal reached the price of $7.00 per load of twenty- five bushels, while the Kentucky coal sold at $5.00 and $5.50 per load.* In the succeeding winter (1872-73), the Ohio River was again at a low stage ; but the highest price paid for Pitts- burgh coal was ^5.00, the average being $4.50 ; the Kentucky article selling at ^4.50 and ^4.00 per load. In the winter of 1873-74, there was a good stage of water in the Ohio River, and at the same time plenty of Kentucky coal, and the Pitts- burgh coal sold at ^3.50 and ^4.00 per load. In 1874-75, there was a still greater reduction in prices, the Pennsylvania coal seUing at ^3.00, and that from Kentucky at $2.75 per load. This season, the Kentucky collieries have suffered in com- mon with those of other regions, and also from internal com- plications ; hence their product may fall behind that of former seasons, or at most not go beyond it. According to the census reports of 1870, when few collieries were in operation in this field, the production of the mines amounted to about 115,094 tons of coal; of which 67,466 tons were raised in Union County, and 23,600 tons in Crit- tenden County. The product of the mines on the Louisville, Paducah, and South-western Railroad alone, from October 1872 to October 1874, amounted to 270,000 tons,t and at least half as much * A ton of coal contains about twenty-five bushels. t A number of the largest collieries were not in operation until 1873, hence for some of them the statement does not represent a business of two years. Scarcely any of the niines had been opened longer than two years when the statistics were obtained. 4^9 56 GENERAL RESOURCES OF WESTERN COAL-FIELD. more may be estimated for the product of the other mines for that time, placing the probable product at 405,000 tons. V. BUILDING MATERIALS. Wood. — The larger portion of the region west of Salt River, especially that lying within the limits of the coal-field, is supplied with forests of valuable timber. In different sections of the region bordering the Green River fine white oak, chestnut, oak, yellow .poplar, and black- walnut trees are found. In Daviess, and some other Counties, large-sized chestnut trees are not infrequent. The forests of Hopkins County and neighboring regions are noted for their growth of large-sized oaks and poplars. Stone. — The St. Louis group furnishes admirable building- stone and material for lime. Some important quarries have been opened in its beds. At Bowling Green the Oolite is quarried very extensively, and the exportation of the stone in dressed blocks has grown into an important industry. At Glasgow Junction, in Barren County, the "lithographic " beds have also been largely quarried and dressing- works erected. The Oolite and " lithographic " stone are both very valuable as building material, being unexcelled, perhaps, for nice work by any of the Subcarboniferous beds. The Oolite is especially esteemed by builders for its durability and beautiful appear- ance after dressing. Large quantities of it are sent to St. Louis and other western cities and to the south, and even to the Atlantic States. The dark blue beds of the St. Louis group, and a few of the Chester group, serve very well for heavy work. Few of the Sandstones in the coal-measures are of much value as building material. They are, as a class, too soft and incoherent ; hence liable to disintegrate when set in a wall. They are occasionally found suitable for ordinary purposes. The great sand-rock at the base of the Chester group is in a number of places a fairly good building stone. 420 MARL BEDS. 57 Gravel Beds. — Between the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers are large deposits of gravel, the shipment of which to cities in which gravelled streets are used may prove a source of profit. The gravel covers a considerable area, and in many places seems to have formed into ridges. The beds seem to be practically almost inexhaustible, and may be accounted among the valuable deposits stored in Western Kentuck}'. The material is largely used on the streets of Paducah, and has also been tried in Louisville. Paint Materials. — It is possible that some of the red earths found associated with the St. Louis beds may prove useful as materials for paint ; their merit, however, is as yet only conjectural. The Chester group, however, furnishes deposits of un- doubted value for paint material. Southwardly from Leitch- field, Grayson County, beds are found of two colors, — red and light blue. The material has been locally used, and with very favorable results. The Shales overlying Coal A frequently furnish an abundance of ochre. VI. OTHER MATERIALS. Marl Beds. — One of the most interesting results of the geological survey was the discovery of potash and soda in some of the marls of the Chester group, in such quantities as to prove them valuable as fertilizers. Attention was first directed to the deposits near Leitchfield, Grayson County, and now they are searched for with interest wherever the Chester group is known to occur. They have been found in Grayson, Edmonson, Breckenridge, Cald- well (?), Christian (?), and Livingston Counties. Their entire extent is unknown, but it is not improbable that further ex- plorations may prove their existence wherever the Chester group is fully developed. Scarcely too high an estimate can be placed on these marls in Kentucky, as we have therein a ready and cheap fertilizer 8 421 58 GENERAL RESOURCES OF WESTERN COAL-FIELD. for tobacco lands, — the properties of the marl being to renew the vigor of the soil as it is impoverished by the tobacco. The infertility of much of the land is largely due, not to origi- nal poorness, but to the exhaustion produced by tobacco ; these potash marls are expected to serve in placing the lands once more in a fertile condition. Following, is the analysis of a sample of the marl collected from Haycraft's Lick, Grayson County : — Composition, dried at 212'' Fahrenheit : — Alumina, iron, &c., oxides 27.811 Lime carbonate 880 Magnesia .824 Phosphoric acid .109 Potash 5.554 Soda .657 Water and loss 4-245 Silica and insoluble silicates 59-92° 100.000 Lead. — In nearly all of the regions where the St. Louis group is fully developed more or less lead has been found. The only mining that has been done for the metal, however, has been in Livingston, Crittenden, and Caldwell Counties. In Livingston and Crittenden Counties a number of pits and excavations of various sorts have been dug for the purpose of working the deposits ; with possibly one exception, however, the work has so far proven unprofitable. In Crittenden County considerable lead has been found at a point known as the Columbia mines, leading to the supposition that, eco- nomically managed, they may be wrought at a small profit. So far these lead-mines have had to contend with the produc- tion from the mines in the Rocky Mountains, where a large quantity of this metal has been produced, almost without cost, in the reduction of ores for their silver. Should this compe- tition be in time removed, they would become more important sources of profit. Zhic. — Zinc is frequeiltly found in the form of the sulphide (Black-jack) accompanying the lead ; it has never been found in sufficient quantities for working. 422 MINERAL SPRINGS. 59 Iron Ore. — As hitherto mentioned, some of the regions underlaid by the Subcarboniferous beds furnish admirable Limonite ore. Towards the base of the coal-measures the Shales frequently carry good beds of the Carbonate ore ; in general, however, the beds of the coal-measures are unproductive, save near their base, where some of the best ores of the Ohio Valley are found. Fluor Spar. — Fluor spar is found in more or less quanti- ties throughout the lead region. In Crittenden County, north- wardly from the Columbia mines, fluor spar is found in great abundance. Considerable deposits of the massive variety, very white and apparently free from impurities, are found at the Memphis mines and vicinity. It is not unlikely that other important deposits may be found. Mineral Springs. — Springs of sulphur and chalybeate water are not uncommon in regions where the Subcarbonif- erous series come to the surface. The ones most frequented are the Grayson and Rough Creek Springs in Grayson County, the Ohio Springs in Ohio County, and the Sebree Springs in Webster County. The Grayson and Rough Creek Springs are watering-places of considerable popularity in Kentucky and the South ; the Grayson Springs being, perhaps, the most generally known. There are a number of other springs resorted to, and whose waters are esteemed by many ; they have, however, more of a local reputation. The Sebree Springs have many visitors from the western part of the State and contiguous regions during the summer.* The coal-measures also furnish mineral waters in some regions. The most interesting are in Daviess County, and are known as Hickman's Springs. Several of the waters are re- markable for the amount of alum they contain. * Analyses of the waters from the various springs will be found in the Chem- ical Report, Vol. I., Second Series, Kentucky Geological Reports. »- 423 6o GENERAL RESOURCES OF WESTERN COAL-FIELD. VII. GENERAL REMARKS ON AGRICULTURE. Soil. — There are three general varieties of soil found in the region of the Carboniferous rocks. The soil of the coal-measures, originating as it does from Sandstones and Shales, is a light, sandy mixture, usually yellow- isli in color ; or a rather dense, dark-colored material becoming waxy and unmanageable after rains, — according to localities. The soil resulting from the beds of the coal-measures seems especially adapted for the growth of tobacco. This ma}' be due to the fact that nearly all of the Sandstones are micaceous, and that upon disintegration the mica furnishes the mixture with the potash required by the plant. In the Chester group we get a mingling of sandy, calcareous, and aluminous materials, producing in some regions a fairly good soil. In general, however, Shale predominates largely, and produces, when unmingled with other materials, a poor and stubborn soil. The finest soil for general purposes is furnished, perhaps, by the St. Louis group. It is a deep-red earth, rich in iron and other desirable matters. This soil is very characteristic of the St. Louis group, and is almost invariably found where the limestones are the first beds below the surface. Crops. — Tobacco is the staple agricultural product of Western Kentucky ; the other crops, such as wheat, oats, corn, and hay, are raised more for home consumption than as an article for exportation. The following are the yields per acre of the several products, so far as past observation would indicate : — Lowest Yield. Highest Yield. Average Yield. Corn * . . . Wheat * . . . Hay, (Timothy) f „ (Red Top) t Tobacco X . . . 10 8 I 300 60 35 2 2 1500 30 10 ^% 800 * Yield in Bushels. t Yield in Tons. % Yield in Pounds. 424 TOBACCO CROP. 6i In her tobacco yield, Kentucky now stands first among the States, and the western part of the Stat