The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-06-26
ole G1teIliaentar.
WEST VIRGINIA.
Is Natural Resources Inducements
ImmIrrnnia.

It's Natural Resources q
Immigrants.
Boston Commercial BallCln.
The total acreage Of West Virginia Il
100000 acres, Of which IA, 900 are b!
the best authorizes said to be uninproyet
and 100000 are in the-oriStnal forest
In other words not sixteen per cent Of III
total area has yet been brought under cul
tiyation. This disCloses the remarkable
fact that the young State Of Kansas, set
tied only yesterday, has to-day more acres
Of producing soil than this old State which
a century ago was so populous that Danie
Boone, who then boiled salt at the "Kana
wha Licks, ""pulled up stakes" and NOV
ed further West in search oil wider elbow
room beyond the Big Sandy.
II discloseS, too, tho further fact that
here In the very. heart Of the Union, with
In an average distance OF only four hun
dred miles from the seaboard, and with
nOp unsurpassed facilities OF communtca.
ton with oil the great commercial centres,
are 100000 acres OF fertile soil, not yet
made acquainted with the plough and the
hoe, and lying as idle and useless as II 1t
were In the Desert Of Sahara. And II we
add that this soil contains inexhaustible
mines OF coal, iron and salt, and supports
forests Of oak, ash and blaCkwalnut, such
as the West never grew, and never will
grow, and that every acre oft can now be
bought for one half the cost OF the same
quantity Of good tillable land In most Of
the far Western States, the fact will ap-
pear only the more remarkable.
But distance lends enchantment to the
view," and westward the star Of empire
holds its way" Overlapping the sunny
slopes and fertile valleys OF West Virgin.
Ia, Kentucky and Tennessee, emigration
squats upon the bleak, arid, treeless prai.
ries Of the Far West, to have Its sweat
sprinkled products eaten up Of grasshop.
pers, or consumed In freight by the thou.
sand and more miles Of railway that
conveys them to the seaboard markets.
The statistics We have heretofore given
show that out OF q total acreage Of 1861
900 acres, West Virginia has only about
2,G40, 600 acres under cultivation. OF the
remainder 1t IL estimated that 1000, 900
acres are unfit for tillage,-inaCCessible
mountain slopes or submits, oil value only
for their mineral wealth-and that 10000.
600 acres are covered with original forests
OF oak, ash, poplar white wood, black
walnut and other hard woods growing to
the greatest size, and often standing 10000
leet upon an acre.
OF these forests we shall speak more
particularly when We come to consider the
timber resources OF the State; we now al.
Jude to them only to indicate the general.
" high character Of the soil; for only on
land Of the richest quality will this tim.
Der grow 10 the dimensions seen in West
Virginia,
1t will thus be seen that in the heart OF
the Union are 100000 acres OF rich
farming lands, unturned by the plough;
and II we add that this land can now be
bought for from one dollar 10 five dollars
an acre, and that the timber standing on
lieut. aud hauled To the nearest station on
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, will
bring in cash at least four times the cost
OF the land, we are making evident the
great inducements this State holds out to
industrious immigration.
No other virgin State offers such induce
ments; for, TO as great or greater advanta.
yes Of soil, climate, and forest and mineral
wealth as are possessed by the more West
ern States, itadds the still greater advan.
tage OF close proximity TO the seaboard,
aud consequent cheaper transportation to
all the great markets OF the world. It lies
directly at our doors, and ride Of a little
more than thirty hours will bring its cit
liens to any Of the principal cities Of the
Union.
And this, In another aspect, Is an i'm.
portant consideration to the emigrant
from the North. He may be dissatisfied
with his new home. II he goes to the Far
West he is, as it were, cut off from his
base OF supplies. Should his funds have
gwen out, he cannot return il he would.
But in West Virginia he can, in an emer-
gency, take to his legs, and be back to his
old home before he has half outworn a
stout pair Of brogans.
Though 1t was, until within few years
an integral part Of the old State Of Vir.
ginia, West Virginia is essentially new
State, and this should be borne In mind
in any estimate that Is made OF its possible
future progress. Its past is no criterion
by which TO judge Of what may be its
coming prosperity; for it has no past.
Before the opening Of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Railroad the largest part Of it was
completely shut out from intercourse with
the commercial world, and it has wanted
almost every condition requisite to full
and proper development, It's population
has been sparse, and not Of a character to
take advantage Of its resources.
1t has been poor, and ito people have
not given their attention to any special
branches Of production. In the great
majority Of cases the original settler was
man without means, who took up" and
cleared some small patch Of land, which,
under even his miserable cultivation,
yielded sufficient return for his very
moderate wants. EDMUND KIREr.