268 surgeons' reports — new york — nineteenth district. 



surfacL' is a liilly ami iiioniitainous iiplautl, divided iuto three priucipal ridges by the valleys of the 

 two i(riiK'ii)al brandies ut Delaware River. This upland region is a couuectiug link between the 

 lihie Kidge uiion the south and the Catskill and Helderberg Mountains on the north. These ridges 

 form, in the southern and eastern portions of the county, a mountainous region, with lofty, rocky 

 peaks and precipitous declivities, broken by wild and narrow ravines. In the north part of the 

 county, the highlands are less precipitous, and the whole region assumes the character of a rugged, 

 hilly upland. The main or west branch of the Delaware Eiver takes its rise in Utsyanthia Lake, 

 a small sheet of water upon the northeast line of the county. It flows sixty miles in a southwest 

 direction to the west border of the county, then turns abriii)tiy to the south, and forms the south- 

 east boundary of the county, descending in its course about one thousand feet. The east branch 

 of the Delaware, the Popacton, rises in the northeast part of the county, and flows sixty miles south- 

 west, uniting with the Delaware main branch near the southeast border of the county. There 

 are numerous small creeks ami streams, tributaries to these rivers. The valleys of these streams 

 are usually narrow, and bordered by steep hills, which often rise into mountains. The rocks of the 

 county mostly belong to the old red sandstone of the Catskill division. The soil is generally of a 

 dark-reddish color, composed of the disintegrated sandstone and shale. In the valleys are occa^ 

 sionally narrow strips of fertile alluvium. These lands are best adapted to pasturing and grazing. 

 Dairying is at present the leading occupation of the people,4ilthough lumbering is still carried on to 

 considerable extent in the eastern portion of the county, which trade was formerly very extensive, 

 large quantities of lumber being rafted down the Delaware River to the city of Philadelphia. 

 Althougli possessed of an immense amount of water-power, there are no extensive manufactories in 

 this county except tanneries in the eastern part; the principal products being butter and cheese, 

 while a limited amount of stock-raising and wool-growing prevails. The eastern portion of this 

 county shared largely in the excitement and mob violence which distinguished the anti-rent move- 

 ment of 1845, and it was the same portion of this district which gave the most trouble in enforcing 

 the draft. 



Otsego County lies southeast of the center of the State upon the highlands at the head of Sus- 

 quehanna River. It is centrally distant sixty-six miles from Albany, and contains one thousand 

 and tliirty-eiglit square miles. Its surface is a hilly upland, divided into several ridges, separated 

 by deep, bioad valleys. The principal streams are Unadilla River, (forming the west boundary,) 

 Wharton and Butternut Creeks, Olego Creek, Susquehanna River, Cherry Valley and Schenevus 

 Creeks. Charlotte River forms a small portion of the south boundary. In the northeast part of 

 this county is a flue sheet of water, eight miles long and about one mile broad, called Otsego Lake. 

 It is eleven hundred and ninety-three feet above tide-water, and is surrounded by hills four to five 

 hundred feet high. Its outlet forms the priucipal head branch of the Susquehanna River. In the 

 north part of the county is a similar sheet of water, three and a half miles long, called Schuylei's 

 Lake. The rocks in the northeast corner consist of the limestone of the Helderberg division. 

 The hills in the south part are composed of tlie shales of the Hamilton group and the shales and 

 sandstones of the Portage and Chemung groups. The summits, in the extreme south and south- 

 east part, are crowned by the red sandstone and shales of the Catskill group. The soil in the 

 northeast is a good quality of gravelly and calcareous loam. Further south, it is a clay and shaly 

 loam upon the hills, and a gravelly loam and alluvium in the valleys. 



The uplands are best adapted to grazing, and the river intervales are well adapted to the culti- 

 vation of grain. The people are priuciiially engaged in dairying and raising of hops. Of the latter, 

 the quantity exceeds that produced by any other county in the State. There is also a considerable 

 amount of stock-raising, and a limited amount of manufacturing. 



There are no cities or lai'ge towns in this district, but numei'ous villages; it being an agricul- 

 tural section, with a suflicient number of mechanics, tradesmen, and other avocations to supply the 

 local wants of the people. 



This section of the State is not subject to miasmatic or contagious diseases; and its elevated 

 locality, pure air, and abundant supply of perennial spring-water, gushing forth clear and pure 

 from every hill-side, its freedom from marsh-miasms, and its salubrious climate, all contribute to 

 render this locality one of the healthiest in the State. 



The prevailing diseases are of a sthenic or inflammatory character. Acute bronchial and pneu- 



