258 KANSAS ACADEMT OF SCIENCE. 



tent in this county. There are here and there some soils that are black like 

 humus soils, but probably owe their color and character to black shales of the 

 coal measures, out of which they were formed in or soon after the ice age, 

 and are not, therefore, true modern alluvia as they seem to be. 



ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 



COAL. 



While the borings made in the couftty have not revealed the presence of 

 deep-seated veins of coal, yet the one seam near the surface, indicated in one 

 of the sections given on a previous page, has turned out to be of great eco- 

 nomic value as a local fuel near Atchison. It is also quite probable that it 

 may be discovered, or another near the same horizon, further inland, where by 

 means of shallow shafts, it may be cheaply lifted to the surface. Shallow 

 borings in different parts of the county would early determine this. The thin 

 seam at Arrington will probably not be found thicker if traced any distance. 



LIMESTONE. 



The bluffs on the river, and outcrops in the west part of the county, furnish 



abundance of this material both for burning and for building. It has been so 



far but little exploited. 



CLAY. 



The loess everywhere yields good material for common or pressed bricks; 

 and, as population increases, the building of brick houses and the making of 

 the bricks will constitute an important permanent industry. 



SHALE. 



It was Atchison that first made vitrified bricks in Kansas. These are made 

 of coal-measure shales, of which there is abundance down the river front of 

 the county. The selection of the best qualities and the proper manipulation 

 of these shales constitute an art in which some citizens of Atchison are now 

 experts. The miles of streets paved in their own city and the millions of 

 bricks exported for the streets of other cities, are in evidence as to the value 

 of this pavement, which is destined in the future to hold an important place 

 in the comfort and sanitation of urban communities. The enterprise that be- 

 gan the industry will always keep a large share of it in Atchison county. 



Terra-cotta ware and other molded forms of blocks are among the future 

 products of these clay shales in the river counties. Why not tiles for roofing? 



MINERAL WATERS. 



Small seepings of water, more or less mineralized, come from the gravels 

 and sands in various places under and in the loess. It is quite possible that 

 some time others of more volume may be obtained. In the meantime Arring- 

 ton springs furnishes a valuable iron water, and the surroundings are such 

 as to make it, in times of denser population, a pleasant health resort. Its ele- 

 vation of over 1,000 feet above sea level is another fact of value. 



SOIL. 



The soil is the last made geological product. Most of the soil of this 

 county is formed of the loess by the action of the vegetation itself. The loess 

 is the subsoil. Some of it is heavy from the prevalence of clay, but elsewhere 

 a greater proportion of sand makes the soil more tractable. In either case 

 it is fertile. Where shales are near the surface, gumbo soils of more or less 

 tenacity have been found, but the areas of such soils are limited. The lighter 



