The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1880-04-28

toT grazing duQ produce blue grass
as soon as the timber dies, and q
large proportion Of this country is
highly productive and well adapted
to all farming purposes. It requires
only thestimilns Of a market TO in
crease greatly the general products.
In nmucii ofthis region no attempt is
now made TO raise more grain than
is sufficient for home consumption.
AT the headwaters Of Tygart's Val
ley river and the vicinity of the di-
vide which separate that stream from
Greenhrier river we Gnd ourselves in
geologically older roeks-the carbo-
3niferous conglomerdtes and the nm
derlying red shades Of the umbral and
also the lower carboniferols lime
.stQnesand shaless sRnd the vespertine
or lower carboniferous sandstones
and shales. These rocks extend for
some distance down the valley to-
wards Beverly. Deposits Of iron oc-
cur here not differing essentially
from those of the higher portions Of
the coal measures, and similar. to
those found at the same geological
horizon in Pennsylvania. When we
cross the divide into the valley Of the
Greenbrier we find ourselves in the
rich grain and farming lands of the
lower carboniferous lime stone and
the accompanying shales. These
extend along the river through
Greenbrier and Monroe to New River.
Following the Greenbrier river,
the road would cross near the White
Sulphur Springs, the Chesapeake &
Ohio Railway. Here we reach the
belt Of country celebrated for its me,
dicinal springs. This belt extends
to New River, and several sulphur
springs;of repute are found along
this stream. South Of New River is
a section Of country extending along
the "White Oak" and "Great Flat
Top" mountains, which would we'll
repay development. The mountains
are covered with enormous quanti-
ties of white oak and other hard
woods, and would furnish an mex
hanstible quantity of material for
crossties and other uses, while along
the foot Of "the Great Flat Top we
find outcropping the most easterly
extension Of the excellent coking
coal used at Quinnemont and other
points on New River. The Goals be.
long to the conglomerate series, and
they are almost always pure and
good coking coal. The coal coaked
at Quinnemont is said to make u
coke equal, if not superior to the
best Connelsville coke. A narrow
gauge road from the mouth of the
GreeLbrier, along the foot of. the
great Flat Top, would utilize all the
timber of that untouched region, and
cause the construction Of ovens to fur
nish fuel to the great mineral sec
tion which lies farther south, along
New River, and which in the near
future will become the seat of the
great mining and manufacturing in
dustry.
Along the Greenbrier River and
Beaver Creek, one Of its tributaries,
in Pocahontas county, and on An
thony's creek, another Of its tribu-
taries, in Greenbrier county, and
very near the line of the proposed
railrsad, are immense deposits Of iron
ore. ! am informed that in those To-
calities are found the brown hema-
tite, the fossil and block ores. The
outcrop Of the brown hematite is
very large, and while the thickness
of the vein is not definitely known,
it is said to range from twelve to one
hundred feet. The deposit of block
ore is said to be seventy feet thick and
the deposit Of fossil ore about forty
inches. Those ores extend over a
very large area.
From the mouth of the Greenbrier
to Peters mountain, on the eastern
edgeof Monroe county, the road would
pass through the same limestones
and shales that were found along the
Greenbrier. In Peters Mountain
the Allegheny system Of rocks would
be entered, and from that point to
the southeast corner of Montgomery
county the various ranges of noun
tains are composed of these rocks,
ranging from the base Of the upper
Silurian to the Vespertine or Lower
Carboniferous. Two principal iron
ore horizons occur in these rocks,
which furnish an abundance of ma.
terial, The lower horizon is compos-
ed Of the Clinton fossiliferous ore,
and the upper is of the ore deposit
at the base ofthe 0riskany Sandstone.
Both of these deposits extend
throughout the length of Alleghanies
and their character has been fully
tested, 1t is probable that they con-
tain too much phosphorus and sui
phur to be used successfully in the
manufacture Of steel by the Bcssem.
er process.
Prices mountain, two miles west
of Christiansburg, and Bushy noun.
tain, three miles further west, con-