New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-07-01

tAUHiO
THE HILL COUNTRY OF OHIO.


gentleman nv the name Of B,rber, sill r.sa-
irs st Newport, 9 few mles a'o'e A't'e''n' '.'
tie opor, a. it il said, Of beios tho ar'1 "A'e
child born north # the OHIO River after mo c'".
meuesmrut If the frs, settlement once n7a'u
Mr.. Barker, in an amusing political 'p-ec'' ae-
scribe hi. birth.p ace in th. vicinity ot'ns no'A'
hon.e" M Before, some dozen uice o"io"
M,retr,. Oh the Ohio. IL was rough log c'on'
AID at the time be referred 10 1t WAS go - .
abe. p-pea. Mr. Barker 10 cone e4ueoay sooa'0'
y.hrs old, and h. iiiesme embraces TIE m'r'eso~
transformations xoich have taken place 10 hso-
mcky. Ohio. Ipdiaps, I'rin'is. M'sodn. Iowa,
Wisconsin. Michigan and finally Nebraska and
Kansas These g ysars have been one oi 'ne
most remarkable periods in the histor! u emgl'
ton. Ii has not been an emigration forced Oh 0!
military power. as in some cases mentioned IN
history, but entirely voluntary, under the guidance
Of selfiDterest.
Tn l7s5 seven ranges of lands on the Ohio
River were sufveyed, in accordance with an act
of Congress; and either 10 that year or the sue
cee5pg, sales were made 10 the amount oil soout
$4,000 These lands were in the northeastern
part of the State. In October, 1767, the scheme
of Colonies Putnam and 1 ucker OF Massachusetts
pss carried into effect so far as TO secure the
purchase of large tract Of land on the OHIO, an1
on April Z l79S, the first colony anded at Ma
rietta. In October, l7So, Judge Symmes oi >us
sex County. ~ j., in which State be had been
cop,picuous actor in the Revolutionary war, pnr
chased a tract OF and said to contain bali ,nion
Of acres between the Great aud Little MAINS
All things considered, these lands compose one D
the most beautiful section. in the western country
aud alec at the present time one OF the most
valuable The valleys Of the Ohio and the MIaml'
ar. skirted with alluval plains, whose feruiIty
Christopher Gist had noticed several years before,
aid it's hill country is both rich, oeautiiui ana
be.lthy. Probably the farming lands in the Symmes
tract az this moment command as high an average
price, and produce as large average crops az any
equally large section IN ONO.
The purchase of the New-England Ohio Com
papy has not been regarded with much favor oy
the emirrants of past years lts bold hills re-
minded them perhaps too much OF the rough iarm-
ipp lands Of the New England and Middle states
from which they were escaping, and looking very
uuinviting in comparison with the rich Plaids VI
the interior. Very early in the history OF the Ma
ri,tta Colony We find those enterprsing people
lo,king With regret on the boat loads Of emigrsnts
passing b, them In their way to Kentucky aud
Southern ohio There is belt Of billy lapd bor-
herring ON the Ohio end ex ending into the interior
from sixty to eighty miles. This land is not SO
easily cultivated as the bottoms of the Scloto aud
Miami but is productive land. Il is the best wheat
lard in Ohio. Some years ago wa on the iarm
of Jude Linn, of Morgan county and he t'ld me
that his wheat in ordinary years averaged from
sixty Jour 70 sixty. pounds to the bushel, aud
that he and his nrighbors felt they had fallen be-
low par if their wheat happened to fall down
10 the legal weight Of sixty pounds to the bushel.
These lauds are free of stone, and when the sub
soil plow comes into general use they can De made
20 produce heavy crops Of the best wheat ss the
lsnos of Western kew-YOrk. In the culture OF
corn they can far turpats the Genetee country,
owing TO lon.er Seasons. have ae-n noble corn
grown On the Muskingum hills aud that without
any very special pains aud without any kind oil
manure.
ILi. whole region is famous for fruit. The ap-
| ples grown at Marietta, Warren, Belpre, Upper
| and Lower Newport have lOug been famous Ia all
the markets which could be reached by the ONO
The finest varieties Vi this noble fruit are here cnl-
tiys,ed in pei fertoD not surpassed in any region.
| The whole section is Of this character. h-se
bills produce the peach equal in flavor to the New
jersey fruit. BY planting on the north side OF
the bills the bude are sufficiently retarded to avoid
loss BY late frosts in the Spring, Ind he Winters
rarely are severe enough to destroy the buds The
| plum, cherry, and grape also grow in great per-
iec,iOr. q
| scenery are concerned. this hill c"untIy is sn.
perior to the dead levels of the interior There
are points on which have stood in the vicinity OF
Marietta, whence the views are as beautiful as
they can be n hill region which has no mountains.
There is one Hill, not far from Marietta, on the
| road to Barlow, whence the view is magnificent,
| reaching eastward, as l have been told, not les.
than thirty miles. For quiet, delightful kind Of
| see uery, as all know who have travelled the ma.
tiopal road from Wheeling TO GAINESVILLE. the hill
| country of Ohio from Weilsville to the GrcAt
| Bebd, is hardly 10 be surpassed. Some years
ago, in the month Of June, l passed along the
Ohio, When it was full enough to give us view OF
the valley, and to me it seemed like sailing
through q magnificent garden So beautiful was
the scenery aud 50 rich the fertility, everywhere
| manifest
This part of the State has suffered neglect, but
the advantages already alluded to will bring it into
notice. The followiDg facts, gathered from the
| GENIUS, tAow how this section has been under
valued. Washington County. 10 which is Marietta,
has some 96, $40 acres of improved lands sud
| ISL ,6s5 Of unipproved, worth on an average Sll
an acre. Morgan County, il the same region, has
not quite half its lands improved, aud worth On an
average 8 rs an acre. Athens County in the same
region out of lS5 600 acres, has SI,VV improved,
worth ON an average $lI per acre. But when We
| get into the region of symmes's purchase, we mud
that 10 Hamilton County, land is worth $50 an
acre and that two thirds OF the land is Improved;
| in Butler County considerably more than half the
land is improved, and is worth about $40 an acre.
In the center of the State in Franklin County more
than hall of the lsud is improved, and is worth
S24 sn acre and the same is true Of Cuyah"ga, in
| which IL Cleveland. Ashtabuls County has more
than half of its land improved, which is worth Sl9
al acre. In the comparatively new County of
Mercer in the western part of the State, larger
proportion OF the land 10 cultivated than ia the old
rounties of Washington, Morgan and Athens. and
The land, with its log cabins aud log barns, Is
worth almost much.
II We look at the facts in this light it 10 not diff