The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1870-04-12
Indiana Geology,
A Brief Review of the Forthcoming Re.
port of Professor Cox, State GeOloaist,

The forty-sixth General Assembly of Indiana pass
ed creating the office OF State biologist,
which, under the control and management of the
State Board of Agriculture, has collected and is
collecting information which will tend in no small
degree promote the interests of agriculture, arts
manufactures and mines in the State, and in few
DAYS Professor Cox, the learned gentleman who is
the head of the Bureau, ill issue his first annual
report to the Board aforesaid From the advance
sheets of this work. so far as printed at the time OF
writing, it may be perceived that Professor Cox,
aud his assistants, Professor Bradley, Dr. Hammond
and DR.. Levette, have given more special attention
in this report to the counties of Clay, Greene,
Pa Ike, Fountain Warren, Owen and Nermilllon, but
the survey progresses it Is the Professors lnten
ton to publish maps of each county which will
be marked the boundaries of geological formations,
and the location of coal mines, ore banks, stone
quarries, ETC., the county maps to be finally coated
into a geological map of the entire State. In the
present report will be found maps of Greene, Clay
and Vermillion counties. Referring generally to
the coal measures of Indiana the report says:
"They form portion of what is some times called
the Great Illinois Coal Field given TO Wes-
coal measu by the late DR.. D. Owen, one OF
the very earliest of our pioneers in geology. This
not only applies to the coal Of Hi nois and
Indiana, but likewise to that of western Kentucky,
Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa. Kansas and Nebraska,
from the fact that they were considered part OF
one great basin. The OF the coal measures in
Indiana, which, in advance OF computation to be
made from actual d tailed survey, may be stated
to approximate six thousand five hundred square
miles, fifth of the entire State. insignificant
this coal area may appear when compared to that
of the whole United States, which has been estma-
ted 100 0G0 square miles, it nevertheless, more
than half large the entire coal area of Great
Britain and Ireland
Concerning Clay county, and the coal fields there
of, the report says
The Terre Haute and Indianapolis and the Indian
apOlis and st. Louis railroads cross the block coal
field in the northern part OF the county, running
nearly parallel with each other, and only about five
miles apart Branch roa Is or switches have been
Guilt to the bias. furnaces and to the most impor-
tant coal mines now opened both to the north aud
south of the main line, making, in the aggregate.
about fifteen miles of additional railroad facilities.
Four passenger and six regular freight trains run
daily each way over this road, and when it is borne
in mind that nearly every regular freight train flags
another, and that fully onehal of this business is
derived from very small part OF the coal lands Of
this county, some idea may be formed of its vast
mineral resources which are jdst beginning to be
developed
value of block and bitumnous caking Goals mined
daily in Clay county.
Block coal shipped daily, 4l0 tons, valued
81 90 per ton Observation-Disclosures. 81 ,0Z5
Block coal used daily in bias; furnaces, 800
tons, at 81 so per ton ...-....-...... $50
Block coal mined daily, 72o tons, at 50 so
| per ton ....l, - D
Bituminous caking coal mined, so son,,at
Total coal LINED daily .o7 tons Total
Approximate weld Of coal for one year,
| 230, 900 tons. Value. Observation-Disclosures 6 900
| The diagrams showing the geological formation
oil Clay county exhibit at the depth OF 5Zz cet the
aggregate thickness of coal beds being % s-l2
feet and the entire coal of the county compri-
three hundred square miles.
! From the remainder of the economical geology
Of tn county set forth in the report the follow ing
| facts are CLEANED:
FIRE clay is found at the bottom of every coal bed
and also in places where there is coal, but it i.
not everywhere sufficiently refractory to admi. of
its being used in nufacturing of fire clay Much
Of is useful however, for that purpose, and from
As 900 to 900 brick male daily i. the county,
and dV ark he nfp ISn
abundantly supplied with variety of fire clay that
is admirably adapted for the of pottery.
Building Sone.-The sandstone of the county makes
excellent building stone, and is e1ten svely used
in azil for making foundations, lintes, steps, and
other parts of buildings, while the sub-carboniferous
Limestone is good for building purposes, nd makes
fine article of quck-lime.
Iron Ore.-There is no locality in the county
where iron has yet been found in a sufficient
quantity to supply a blast furnace, but it can be
used advantageously to mix with Lake Superior and
Missouri ores.
Aqricutre.- In nm agricultural point of view CLAY
county cannot be said to stand in the front rank.
The upland soil is principally derived from the dri
and Is Id wet. clay soil, varying in color from
ash-gray to yellowish-red. The senacty with which
It holds lenders undertaking indispensable
to good culture top-dres sing OF lime, wood ash,
the character OF this soil. The sandy loa soil of
the prairies is decidedly the best in the county and
is well adapted to the growth of the Serials clover
and grasses; orchards, also, do well this land
The upland, where attention has been paid to
dressing and cultivation and especially in favored
localities produces good crops OF wheat clover and
grass and here and there might be fine orchards
with variety "f choice fruits, such apples,
peaches, pears, cherries and plums.
7imber.-In the upland, the principal growth of
timber is white, red and black oaks, smooth she'll
bark and mr. cker NUT hickory, ash, sugar tree
and beach; on the bottom, white and bur oaks, gray
ash, dogwood and pawpaw; along the streams, syca-
more and cottonwood and along the higher banks
large black walnuts, three to Eve feet in diameter
and large burr-oaks. There at least five saw
mills on Eel river, in this county, cutting walnut
lumber.
Protesssr Cox's report treats very deliberately Of
every thing connected with the geology of the
ties mentioned, and by the aid o the maps and da-
grams accompanying it, persons interested will find
much food for information. Each county is treated
of sepa rately, and is economical geology summed up
at the latter part in most instances.
Twenty five Thousand copies of this report will be
published, Independent of the report of the Boa I'd of
Agriculture, and persons desiring copies can secure
them upon appiicat ion TO Professor Cox.
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