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to boats for shipment. Off from the river it is mined merely for home consumption. As soon 
as railways are made up the valleys an immense supply can be obtained. About 300 feet 
beneath the river level there is another stratum, some six or seven feet in thickness, of 
superior coal, which has been mined by shafts or galleries at Steubenville, and at Rust Run, 
on the opposite side of the river. A company was formed a short time ago to mine this coal 
at Wellsburg, our county seat, but they have as yet failed tocommence. This coal is almost 
wholly free from sulphur, and on that account admirably fitted for working iron. 
Tron ore of various descriptions, and of superior quality, abounds in many 
of the counties. It is worked in a few localities on the Baltimore and Ohio 
railroad, but development of the iron of the State can scarcely be said to 
have commenced. Other minerals are reported in every section of the State. 
Some of the best timber of the country is to be found here, of all the different 
kinds of oaks, black walnut, hickory, poplar, cherry, &c. A considerable trade 
in timber is already in progress in the river counties, and boat building is engaged 
in to some extent. The soil is generally productive, yielding well all farm 
products. 
4. Few specialties in agricultural production are noted; the cereals are every- 
where cultivated upon farms, and do well. The soil is generally well suited to 
wheat and corn; the irregularity of surface is the principal drawback to tillage. 
Forty bushels of wheat to the acre, with good culture, have been obtained in — 
Webster. In the interior counties the principal market products are wool, sheep 
and cattle. In Hancock, Brooke and Ohio, where nearly as many sheep as 
cultivated acres are found, hay is worth $16 to $20 per ton, and is a principal 
crop, yielding, in many cases, three tons per acre. Fruit is a specialty on the 
Ohio river, to some extent; and tobacco is made a prominent crop on some 
farms. The following statistics of Ohio county will give an excellent idea of 
the capabilities of West Virginia soils, and of the ameliorating effect of sheep 
husbandry : : 
Ohio county has 37,487 acres of improved land; on this there are 40,050 sheep, 3,244 hogs, 
1,441 horses, 1,408 cows, 246 oxen, 1,380 other cattle. The production was 20,048 bushels 
of wheat, 5,639 of rye, 138,430 of corn, 82,101 of oats, 22,072 of barley, 4,372 of buckwheat, 
21,449 of Irish potatoes, 823 of sweet potatoes, 128,448 pounds of butter, 102,032 pounds 
of wool, 6,479 tons of hay, besides $54,420 of other products, excluding grapes and wines, 
which may perhaps reach $100,000 more. On 110,490 acres of land in Ohio, Brooke and 
Hancock, there are 102,072 sheep, nearly a sheep to each acre. 
5. A great diversity of views prevails relative to varieties of wheat. _ Prefer- 
ence is given for Mediterranean in Tyler, Lewis, Mineral, Hancock, Webster, 
and Wyoming, on account of hardiness; for the Tappahannock in Kanawha 
and Marion; for the blue stem in Barbour, Nicholas, and Randolph; for the 
Lancaster in Jefferson; for the May in Wood. 
The period of sowing is generally included in the latter half of September. 
In Mineral and Randolph, northern mountain counties, September 1st is the 
beginning of the planting season, and in the central and southern counties the 
season is often prolonged to October 15, and sometimes to the 20th. The har- 
vesting is commenced in the Kanawha valley June 20; in the central and north- 
ern counties from June 25 to July 1. In most of the counties the drill is not 
used at all; in Tyler, Grant, Cabell, Ohio, Brooke, and others, a small percent- 
age is drilled ; probably the State would not average more than five per cent. of 
the acreage drilled. An increase of yield is reported in cases in which the drill 
is used. A common mode of culture is to plough fallow or corn stubble, sow 
on the furrows and harrow in. In some cases wheat is put in with the double 
shovel plough. In Tyler county, of 700 acres in wheat, 430 are ploughed, and, 
when sown, harrowed in; 180 after sowing are shovelled in, and 90 acres are 
drilled in. 
6. The pasture grasses of West Virginia are blue grass, red-top, white clover, 
and crab grass. The length of the season for exclusive feeding in pastures is 
seven months; in a few mountain counties it is returned as six months; in a 
few others eight or nine months; at the same time it is true that cattle are win- 
