Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-12-14

L lCluN, Sbiuc lnTee OF lOur IulleS DcloW
this place, are said to have been in cultiva-
ton by the Indians when the white settlers
came to this valley, and that they have
been cultivated continuously since that
time. This will give one an idea of the
wonderful fertility of the South Branch
valley. Ii is verify the
Egypt Of West Virginia.
and the South Branch river is its Nile. For,
like that famous country of the East, its
fertility may be attributed to the frequent
overtOwS of the river. Just below the
"Old Fields" the river ridges come close to-
gcthcr, leaving but n narrow paSsway for
the waters. This is called the Trough" ="
Here. in times of floods, the waters are
checked up, and cbbing backward, spread
ont over the bottom, dcpOSiting heavy
sediment OF rich soil gathered from the
limestone country at the head of the river.
Year after year this sediment is deposited,
until the land OF this valley is well nigh
ineXhauStiblc, and thus We find here one
OF the finest agricultural sections in the
United States Indian corn is the principal
product, which finds Il market by being fed
10 cattle and hogs.
The UpIands.
the hills and mountains lying east and west
of the main valley are thin and will not
compare in fertility To the highlands west
of the Allegheny. Still, many of them
produce fair grain crops and afford mod
crate supply of gra 5. They are well adapt
ed tO sheep grazing, and II Is gratifying To
see the attention paid to sheep huSbandry
in many of these localities. In the matter
of breeding good sheep. an example is set
worthy of imitation by the owners Of more
productive hill lands on the other side of
the mountains. 1t costs no more to keep IL
good sheep than an indifferent one. and
why so many Of our livestock breeders in
>ist upon keeping low grade OF stock, Is
one OF the cnigmaS | cant solve. Grant,
Hardy ahd PcndlctOn counties deserve
,ommendation lor making progress in the
right direction in improving the grade OF
livestock.
Fruit Raising
could he made wonderfully remuncrativc
in this valley, if the people only had a
market for their fruits. Both soil and eli
mote are finely adapted TO it, and it seems
to me that Craps culture, especially. could
be made to pUy. Ii the cellars OF Mr.. Nc
Meclen afford fair samples of what could
be accomplished in this line, then it is safe
to assume that here is Il section that Will
some day outrival thc far-tamed hills and
valleys of the Rhine in the production of
tine wines. But while corn, cattle and
fruits possess solid value to the agriCul-
tural world, this region has still greater
possibilities of wealth III the future dcvcl-
upmcut Of its
Mineral Resources.
Geologically. Grant, Hardy, Hampshire
and PcndletUn counties belong To- the Clinton
and Oris Kany cpoChS. both OF which are
ore hearing formations. My observation is
that the grades of the various iron ores are
not so high, or rich in quality, as those
found farther southwark, in the same
ranges, about the hCalwutcrS of the James
river, but they are very extensive, inClud-
ing pretty much all the upland country be-
tween the North mountain ON the east and
the Allegheny on the west. Their lcanncSS
would he somewhat compensated for by
their close proximity to the Eastern market.
That is, they would do 50 if there was any
market But alas. like so many other sec
tions of our State there is no railroad, and
all this natural wealth will lie here until
doOmSday, unless capital can be induced
to come in and develop il for
us Sufficient developments have
been made to show the existence of red
and brown hcmatilc, fossil and magnetic
ores. The exact extent of this iron deposit
will only Ice determined by thorough geo.
logical cxpl ration, but il is safe to assume
that iron is abundant. What we need
above everything else in this State is
careful
Geological Survey.
No ruhlic money could be expended
with more rcmuncratiye return than
survey uf this kind under the management
0f competent man. Our people are apt
to make the mistake Oi Ovcr-eStimating
our resources. | find an example of this
right here. The Resources of West Nir-
ginia," book published under the aus
pccs of our Centennial Commissioners,
states that the ores taken from certain
banks in Hardy county show, under analy-
sis, SiHty-twO per cent Uf metallic iron.
Doubtless there are hand specimens TO be
found which will do this but il is far
above the average. Without seeing Il cor
rect analysis would place the average at
from ~ to - per cent. That is good enough.
The trouble is that when we advertise
such high per cent ores and iron manufac-
rerS or others, are induced To come down
and look at them, they are disappointed
and go off in disgust, probably undertaking
our minerals aS much rs We have Ovcrratcd
ihem. Thus we sometimes lose the advan-
tagcs We do possess. We have enough in the
way OF mineral wealth to attract Cnpital, if
We can once get it properly advertised.
will here take the liberty to suggest to the
owners OF iron lands q fair way to secure
samples for analysis. brill through the
ledge, ur at least ; Ur feet into it, save the
drilling dust, mix and dry it, then forward
for analysis. In this way analysis can be
obtained possessing some value.
The Hugh Miller ofthc MOuntains.
feel that any reference L. my cVplana-
tiuls in this section would be incomplete
without mention of my guide through the
south Fork Mountain. Adam Wolf is an
illitcratc man. but hc is Il born geOl-
gist. He is second Hugh Miller. He
doesn't know letter. in the books, but he can
rypain to YOU all about the StratitiCatiOn
of the rocks, and in his own crude way can
tell YOU where each rock in the mountain
belongs Hrdoc> not understand anything
about technical tcrmS-wOuld not under
stand YOU if YOU talked to him about the
ArChaCan time, or the DeyOnOn age, or the
lower CarboniierOuS period, or The l'arllng-
ton epoch. But h" has system oI his
own construction. and acc uding 10 that
can make ineligible his knowledge OF the
structure and history of the earth. He has
lived in the mountains all his life, and fol-
lowing the natural hcnI Of his genius has
made study .! the rocks. He i great
big bundle OF
Common Sense.
and as a practical mincralogiSt i worth
score Of some experts have seen. II" has
done good dca! of digging in his search
for the ore beds, and il is a remarkable
fact wherever Adj Wolf dug he struck ore.
He has made map of the section of roun-
try which he has dug over, which Is arurl-
oSity Asan illustration that there is IL much
human nature in q natural gcolOgist as IN
any one else. The map shows the largest
ore bank in the whole range to be loratci
on WOli's land. That is a pardOnabic crreT,
however, as educated mon sometime make
the same mistake.
was curious enough to sound Adam on
the discrepancy between Moses and modern
geology aS 10 the time employed III the
work Of creation. The answer was Charec-
tcriStic: Il don't know what you minner-
gologists think Of it, but | think If God
Almighty is God Almighty. then he could
have made these rocks and have put differ
ent marks on them as well in six days as
in six thousand years. Whether he did or
not, all know is that he could have done
it if he wanted to-" And L guess that
Wolf knows as much about il as any oil the
'minnergologistS."
People ofthe South Branch.
There are names in this valley familiar
to the early history of West Virginia. Far,
sons, Cunningham, Dyer, Van Metre and