CULTURE AND CURING IN PENNSYLVANIA. 14 ( J 



SITUATION AND EXTENT. 



Lancaster county is situated in tlie southeastern part of the state, the Susquehanua river forming its southern 

 and western boundaries. The area of the county is 970 square miles, or 620,800 acres. The extreme length of the 

 county is 33 miles, and its greatest width 28 miles. Its central latitude is 40 3' north. Its surface is diversified, 

 its soils good, and abundantly watered by small streams. 



GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 



The surface of the country presents three separate and prominent geological features. The northern portion 

 belongs to the Triassic or new red sandstone formation, and this extends along the entire northern boundary. It 

 gives evidence of once having covered much of the surface, from which it is now entirely eroded. In the heart of 

 this formation, and entirely inclosed by it, are several basins of limestone. Along the margins of these basins, as 

 indeed over the great part of the new red sandstone, the beds are broken up into what is called "gravel" by the 

 country people, or small angular fragments of hydro-mica schists. 



The next formation, and the one to which Lancaster county may be said to owe its great agricultural importance, 

 is the limestone belt, which traverses the county from east to west, covering more than 300 square miles of territory. 

 This limestone has great masses of hydro-mica schists, argillites, rhomboidal slates, and other rocks associated with 

 it. In many places it is shivered, which contributes largely to give the soil an excellent drainage, and renders it 

 dry and warm. 



The last and lowest of the formations found in the county is the Eozoic, taking in the mica-schist and gneiss 

 belt running through the southern part and bordering on the Susquehauna. Blocks of quartzite are found loosely 

 imbedded, and argillite or rooting slate also occurs. Quartzite is also found within the limestone belt, but generally 

 only in blocks and fragments. Both within the limits of the limestone and gneissic belts vast deposits of iron are 

 found, sometimes in beds, and again loosely scattered through the soil. There are also extensive trap dikes, and 

 some serpentine ridges, carrying chrome ores. 



The general surface of the country is rolling, and is diversified by several timbered ridges, the principal ones 

 being the (Jonewago hills in the north, the Martic hills in the south, and the Welsh mountains in the eastern part 

 of tho county. The average elevation of Lancaster city is 359 feet above the mean level of the ocean, although 

 portions of the county rise to the height of Gil feet. 



There is a wide range in the temperature, the readings of the thermometer running from 100 F. during the 

 heats of summer to 10 or more degrees below zero in winter. The rainfall is generally pretty evenly distributed 

 throughout the year, the annual average being about 38 inches. 



The entire surface of the county was at one time densely wooded with hickory, various kinds of oak, chestnut, 

 and other timber. These have been nearly all cut away on the Martic hills and Couewago hills. On the Welsh 

 mountains tlu-rc is still an abundance of chestnut timber, which begins to renew itself as often as it is cut down. 

 Most farmers still have small patches of woodland on their farms, which have been carefully preserved, but even 

 these arc gradually disappearing. 



THE SOIL. 



In the limestone region the prevailing colors of the soils are gray and grayish brown, while in the sandstone 

 districts red prevails. The soil varies in depth from a few inches on the hillsides to as many feet in the alluvial 

 bottoms along the streams. Whatever its depth or general character, it responds freely to manurial applications, 

 whether natural or artificial, and whatever its character, it is everywhere throughout the county adapted to the 

 cultivation of tobacco. There is a current belief that the soil embraced within the limestone belt will grow a better 

 and finer article of tobacco than any other portion of the county, and the product, it is alleged, when made into 

 cigars, will burn with a white-ash residuum. There are reasons for believing this to be a mistake. The soil, as a 

 rule, is richer within the limestone limits than out of them, but this is largely the result of careful fanning. The 

 sandstone soil is generally thin, but where it is as heavily manured as in the best limestone sections the results 

 compare favorably with those of the latter. This has been notably the case during the present year (1S80), when 

 the sandstone districts had the finest crops in the county, while in limestone townships of the highest reputation 

 it was comparatively inferior. This is, however, a matter that will bear further investigation, and perhaps it is too 

 soon to pronounce authoritatively on the question. At the present time the light, gravelly soils are not so highly 

 esteemed, and they bring much smaller prices. 



It. is indisputable that the islands in the Susquehanna and the alluvial lands along the banks of that stream, 

 as indeed along those of most other rivers and streams in the county, are naturally the best tobacco lands, as the 

 silt of which these islands are mainly formed is exceedingly rich and the soil has a fine and sandy composition. 

 No doubt the moister atmosphere that prevails in the immediate vicinity of such a large water-course, the more 

 numerous fogs, and the low-lying situation all contribute their share to the general result. Another advantage is 

 their greater exemption from frosts in both the spring and the fall, which naturally results from the presence of so 

 large a body of water. Island lands that are cultivated command large prices. 



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