254 OHIO nioLOGICAL SITKVEY^ 



eoluiuiis, the remains of the original face of the cliff, which suj')port 

 the vaulted I'oof. 



Some of these caves afford exceedingly moist habitats with water 

 diipping from the rock in abundance and an atmosphere laden \vith 

 moisture to near the point of saturation. Others exposed to the sun 

 are extremely dry, being sheltered from all rainfall and kept thor- 

 oly dried out by daily insolation. 



SoiL No detailed study of the soils of the region has ever been 

 undertaken, but it may be desirable to indicate briefly the general char- 

 acter of the i)i'incipal soils met with in the area. Except for the rich 

 ,l)ottom land of the Hocking River, all of the soils, bottoms as well as 

 uplands, are derivetl from the disintegration of the sandstone rocks 

 of the area, and are therefore deficient in basic materials. There is 

 much variation in the physical character of the various soils depend 

 ing on the relative amounts of arenacious and argillaceous constituents 

 present. In the deep ravines under the cliffs the soil often consists of 

 almost pure sand. Such soils are so loose and porous that the abun- 

 dant organic remains they contain do not humify but are rapidly and 

 completely oxidized without enriching the soil to any great extent. 

 The soils derived from the formations above the Black Hand, on the 

 contrary, have a considerable amount of clayey material which gives 

 them a decidedly sticky consistency when wx>t, but they dry easily, and 

 except when very wet would be classed as light rather than heavy. 

 Between these two extremes there is naturally every intergradation, 

 depending on the degree to which constituents from the two principal 

 rocks have entered into the soil of any given situation. While there 

 are other soils more oi' less widely distributed over the area these two 

 types with their intergradations cover so large a proportion of it that 

 they may properly be said to constitute its soil. 



The soil niust be classed as poor from an agricultural point of view. 

 The bottom lands, except for the rich Hocking bottom, are not very 

 generally utilized. They are mostly too narrow for successful cultiva- 

 tion and their soils are generally so light and sandy as to be difficult to 

 manage profitably. On the uplands wheat is the staple crop but it is dif- 

 ficult to secure a proper rotation since corn and clover do not thrive on 

 account of the prevalence of soil acidity. The greater part of the land is 

 so subject to wash, either from floods or from surface run-off, as to be con- 

 tinually menaced whenever the sod is broken up for cultivation. 



