Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1874-09-12

tion, enters the Cumberland betwee
the towns ofClarksville and New Pro-
) idence, which lie scarcely mile apar
with this river for their dividing lin
Before the days of railroads and steam
boats, many fat-boats were built {
Port Royal, and loaded with tobacc
and other produce, and foated dow
Red river into the Cumberland rive
| and thence to New Orleans. Chicken
and turkeys, in great droyes, were nc
unfrequently compelled to take com
pulsory voyages of thousand mile:
Big West Fork, Little West Fork
Sulphur Fork, Spring Greek and Pas
senger Creek are all conhuentsof Re,
river, and several fine mills are in op
Grafton upon their banks. Blooming
Grove creek, which passes, In a semi
circle through district number nine
empties into the Cumberland on tn,
north side, below the mouth of Rec
river, and Big Brush creek on the same
side above the mouth of Red river
South of the Cumberland, yellow
creek, fine stream, and the delight oi
all genuine fishermen, winds its way
through fertile bottoms, and discharges
itself into the Cumberland below Pal.
myra. Budd's creek, McAdoo and Hall
Pone are also good streams, with rich
and productive bottoms and are thick
ly settled along their banks. They
empty into the Cumberland above
Clarksville. The early settlers of the
country all hunted for springs and wa
ters courses, and hence the banks of
these streams bear evidences off much
older civilization than the country
back in the interior. The rich bar
rens, as theywere called, near the Ken
tucky line, were totally neglected until
there were no more springs for emil
grants to settle around, and then they
came into notice. The most fertile
and productive lands in the county
we're thus saved for the last corners.
Cisterns are now used almost exclu-
sively in the barren"
Observation-Disclosures is one of
the counties of the Highland rim, and
is geologically ON the upper or Lithos-
trotion bed ofthe Siliceous group of the
lower Carboniferous. This formation is
always characterized by unprecedented
sinkholes, which are produced by the
removal of the rocks and earth be-
meath the surface by subterranean
streams. The Lithostrotion bed, some
times called the st. Louis limestone,
is the prevailing rock. 1t affords val
liable building material. Some of this
limestone is oolitic, other layers are
interstratifed with finty masses. In
color it varies from a blue to a dingy
white. On the south side of the Cum
berland beds of sandstone occur of
yellowish cast. This rock is some
times used in repairing furnace
hearths. Caves are quite numerous.
One known as Dunbar's Cave, four
miles northeast of Clarksville, is a
tavorIte resort in summer. 1t is two
or three miles in length, and has mag
nitcent entrance overarched by lime
stone.
LANDS, Soils, TIMBER AND CROPS.
The soils of this county are strong and
durable. They produce we'll and are cas-
lily reclaimed after exhaustion. Resting
upon bed of red clay with layers of
interstratifed ebert, they have the Ca
pacity of retaining moisture without
suffering from a want of drainage.
Calcareous and siliceous, they combine
the strength of the one with the fria-
bleness of the other. Though not so
rich generally in the elements of plant
food as those in the Central basin, they
are more reliable for the production
of crops. The limestone lies at
great depth beneath the surface, as is
shown in the digging of wells and els
terms. Away from the river basins it
is rarely seen cropping out, and where
it does so, it is usually in isolated
blocks and not in continuous layers.
In the part of the county south OF the
Cumberland river the country is trav-
ersed by long hollows and ridges, much
broken, and the soil, though thin, is
fertile. 1t washes easily, and careful
cultivation is necessary to preserve it.
The northern slopes Of the ridges are
peculiarly fertile. All this portion of
the county was formerly covered with
magnificent timber, but much of it has
been used in the manufacture of iron.
Oaks predominate, hickory is plentiful,
and walnut is found on river slopes
and in the valleys. The supply of TIM
Der isstill ample for generations to come.
The soil is largely intermixed with
bastard flint and is suited for graz
ing purposes. for fruit, and especi-
ally for the grape. Good crops of corn,
oats and tobacco are made. The lands
are cheap, unimproved selling from
two to ten dollars, improved from five
to thirty. River and creek bottoms
are worth more, varying from twelve to
fifty dollars. Indeed, the Cumberland
river bottoms are unsurpassed in fer
tility. We have the statements of re-
liable farmers that they have produced
from fifty to ninety-five bushels of corn
per acre. Wheat and tobacco do not
grow SO we'll on these low lands, the
former taking the rust, and the latter
the spot. For grass, clover, oats and
pumpkins, however, they are among
the best lands in the State. The lands
lying south of Red river are not so
broken generally as those included
south of the arc made by the Cumber-
land. Near the Cheatham county line
they become fiat. The soils here are
unproductive, except in the creek bot
toms. They assume a whitish color,
and their sterile character is indicated
by the prevalence of the sweet gum.
Where the surface is elevated the soil
is better. These fiat areas produce
grass and oats in paying quantities,
though they will scarcely repay the
cost of tillage in corn or wheat. For
fruit trees, aud especially for the peach
and the cherry, they are highly COM
mended. Between this region and
Red river the country is heavily tim
bered, and large quantities of boards,
slaves and shingles are made annually
1t is the great lumber region of the
county. The soil is productive and
the region is thickly settled by small
farmers. Lands vary in price from
three to thirty dollars. The lands
north of Red river and the Cumber-
land, and bordering on the Kentucky
line, are comparatively level, becoming
more broken but not less fertile as one
approaches the rivers. The farms are
large and we'll improved, and were, be.
fore the war, in the best state of culti-
walton. Many of them are still well
kept. Three and four-horse plows are
in frequent use. Double shovels, cul-
tiyators, and the most approved imple-
Il ants are to be found on nearly all
me farms, but as the farmers rely upon
negro labor almost entirely, they have
not prOspered in the same degree that
The farmers have in those portions of
the State blessed with small farms.
Lands have greatly declined in price,
From fifty to seyenty-fve dollars per