456 ANNUAL UKI'< >UT OF THE Off. Doc. 



sec, Chemung, Catskill, Pocono sandstone, Mauch Chunk red shale, 

 Pottsville conglomerate and the coal formation, besides the drift in 

 places. 



Lackawanna is a continuation of the same as Carbon and Susque- 

 hanna, largely so excepting that much of the territory in those conn 

 tics is drift -covered, and the rocks remaining almost horizontal over 

 most of the sections outside of the coal measures and consist prin- 

 cipally of the Catskill group, so that uneven and rolling, the north- 

 ern tier and the glaciated district are more uniform over larger area 

 than where the rock is tilted and the various strata appear near the 

 surface and close together. 



These characteristics cover much or all the surface of the State 

 excepting in the bituminous coal districts where the mountain lime 

 stone occurs, which does not appear east of the Susquehanna River, 

 but appears to have the Pottsville red in place of the limestone. 



The principal distinctions between the various soils may be the Al- 

 luvian, the limestone, the old and new red, much alike in value, the 

 shales, the traps, and the drift being more varied. 



The coal measures, where the conglomerate and Pocono sandstone 

 prevail, the soil is very poor generally and is said by Prof. Johnston, 

 "to drink up all the water and eat up all the manure." 



Some of the Oriskany sandstone and the Hamilton shale appears 

 better adapted for road material than for agriculture, and also of 

 the drift when composed of too much coarse material, gravel and 

 stone. 



The Delaware River gravel, where the finer sediment was deposited 

 from the glaciated territory, contains some of the very best soil. 

 The mica schists also, the limestone valleys are among the most 

 desirable. 



The clays vary greatly in productiveness, where drainage is good, 

 naturally or artificially, with proper treatment, can be made to pro 

 duce good crops of wheat, oats and timothy and sometimes fine corn 

 during dry seasons. 



The lake country, formed and shaped by glacial agencies back of 

 the terminal moraine, is usually much more productive and adapted 

 to cultivation than in the immediate vicinity south of the moraine 

 where the mountains are more abrupt and the valleys narrow. It 

 may be said that the mountains were removed to a great extent 

 through glacial action, streams dammed up and watercourses 

 changed in opposite directions from their former currents and all the 

 lakes originated under the influence of moving ice, irresistably mov- 

 ing onWard to an isothermal line where warmth checked its forward 

 movement. Afterwards, probably climatic changes caused a reces- 

 sion of the ice field, moving back to where what exists of it to its 

 present latitude near the Polar region. Agriculturally the soils from 

 the various formations differ much, while some general principles 

 apply to their treatment. Some of them are more retentive of mois- 

 ture and fertility than others and have inherent elements which, 

 through the agency of heat, moisture and carbonic acid, disintegrate 

 readily and yield fresh supplies to successive crops, requiring less 

 artificially supplied plant food than those of other origin. 



The subject is one which could be continued almost indefinitely 

 from different aspects and is worthy of more care than usually ex- 

 ercised by the farmers whose labors are almost daily directed to ob 



