Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1857-03-12
GEGl 0GicAI SURVEY OF OHIO.
Remarks of Hon. NJ. Jewett,
In COMMITTEE Of the Whos House. on The Bill
providing for Geological Surrey.

bill nov unCer consiceFdiion-
10 what does the wealth Of a State con-
s;sti Where is the kiose-houss from whence
the wealth Of Ohio hss been and will CON-
;inue 10 be derived! Ii is found ir the soil
we tread, ard in the mineral treasures
" hich lie concealed in her bosom From
these sources tie me' hahic, the merchant,
the lawyer, the physician, and the politician,
eaual!y v iIh ;he hus5andmaB, derive their
mean. of .ehs hsis'ence. From these sources
your manufacturing Interest, your c"mme'-
rial intGresI. Eni our great transportation
Interest, all trrne their lie giving pr ncipie.
How important then, that the know ledge
necessary FOR the proper use END clements
o! the soil, End the means Of ascertaining
mineral wealth, should be spread before the
community: ihs; sn interest on this subject
should be produced, the attention OF the
rising generation directed TO il. All science
in any and every department has an intimate
connecticut; and no one science stands So
conspicuous 81 the head Of al, ss that OF
geology; ard ncne stands so intimate v con-
ne-ted with al others as this. IL has an in
innate connection with chemistry, miner
alo, y. msitortl gy-RiIh all the GifiereLt
scientific depar.ne nts Of Agricu .ure and
Hort iculiure.
In fact, knowledge Of Geology in all its
rami6cstions ard depending sciences, In
Plies knowledge of all physical science.
Since then the wealth and prosperity Of
our State is almost solely derived from the
soil and frum our mines, shall We leave
these without the aid o. science in their de-
yelopment; shall we leave them to- blind
chance or t1pe rimen;? Or shall We direct
the power ul cid of science to lend her hand
10 inform The r.an uho cu.tivates the soil,
how and Why it IS. that his soil v not pro-
puce the crop he has been in vain trying TO
force from II! Shall he not be informed
how his fields can be restored 10 their sccrs-
toned fertility if lost. or how they shall be
maintained in a condition to remunetste the
Gu itiyatori Or must our husbsndmen al
ways grope their way in uncertainty, uGd
depend upon the chance OF experiment, for
all their know edge.
AgriculIsrsl science is the most impor-
tan. OF adj sciences to :he prosperity Of a
Stale. Yel the least attention is given 10
/: as a science, of dny other. Not one far
mer in one hundred can give scientific
reason FOR the beneficial effect OF gy psum en-
his soil; or why clover enriches land more
than red-top or herds grass. Yet these and
o:her valuable facts have been dis scovered
by chance. and experience has made Them
established ideas, and the property of all
Nearly one fourth part of the State is un-
dt rlaid by an inexlaustible source OF wealth.
We have mure coal and iron than Great
Britain. We are in a situation geoeraphi.
cal!y to command the market for iron in the
great valley Of the Missssippi-in feet Of
all the States West of lis.
None OF them have the same facilities for
its manufacture that Es have. In fact, il
may be sa id that no State in the Union Can
excel US in the facilities for manufacturing
and marketing iron. Ie, our State is GIFTED
with iron rails brought four thousand miles,
aud made from material dug from the earth
often more than a thousand feet in depth,
at an expense OF labor far greater than is
required in our own Slate. With limited
knowledge of our own resources, what is
Ohio doing to call the attention or the capi-
tai OF the East, or our own ciiizens, TO this
immense source of national wealth. How
shall Ohio call the atlention Of the enter
prise and wealth o. the Eastern States and
Europe, to the development of our mineral
richest How shs III we advertise for the i'm
pruyement of our miresl We have ony
one correct way and that is, by thorough
scientific elucioation and publication of our
hidden resources. This would find its way
TO all portions Of our confederacy, uEd 10
every enlightened State in Europe. 1t
would be an advertisement tlat would be
read everywhere among the kind of men
Like ly to take advantage OF and reap rich
harvest from our hitherto comparatively un-
cultivcd and undeveluped mineral resources
IF we had full remuI erative development
of our coal and iron fields, our State, from
the shores Of Lake Erie to the Ohio. would
be dotted over with furnaces, and Ohio
wcu d be to the valley of the Mississippi
what Sheffield and Birmingham are 10 Great
Britain. We can command the manufac-
turing of the iron of Lake Superior. The
rich and inhqustible deposits of iron ore on
tie shores of Lake Superior, will lie worked
with Ohio coal. The shores of that lake
are now within few days steaming of our
lake ports.
The position thbt Ohio now occupies on
this subject is well calculated to cause the
blush o shame to mantle the cheek of every
lover of his adopted or native State. Oc-
cupyiug the position of the third State in
the Union in wealth and population, excel
ed by none in the fertility and varied adap-
raton of he, soil to produce all the neces-
saries and iLxnries Of life, excelled by no
State in the Uni in the necessity for the
aid of science in deye oping her hidden min
eral wealth, she yet occupies not the third
not even the twelfth position in attention
TO this subject. All the New Eng and
States, New York, New Jersey, Penhsyl-
vanis, Virgins, North end South Carolina
Georgia. Alabama, Tennessee, Kentu;ky
Illinois, Missouri. Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin
and Michigan, all are in advance of this
State in calling in the aid % science in de.
vcloping the resources Of their respective
States. On YOU. fellow Representative 8
devolv,s the honor OF suyirg that this state
OF things shall last no longer, but that Ohir
shall assume the position on this subject to
which she is justly entitled by the Lnund
less resources which nature has so lavish ly
bestowed upon her.
Not only is attention called to this in our
owH country, our sister States, but in every
nation in Europe Of any pretensiun tc
science, they have instituted minute surveys
The Great Survey of France engrossed The
time of two Geologists- in Chief, and nu
merous corps Of engineers for the term o
twelve years.
| Great Britain, sensible of the vital impor
tance to ell her industrial interests, OF ,
thorough examination Of her State, has beer
engaged in survey for the past invent!
years, which has been conducted Oh a scale