74 RURAL NEW YORK 



Ontario was broken up into a total of fifteen 

 counties and one of the earlier of these was Genesee 

 which in 1802 included nearly all the land west of 

 the Genesee River. Nearly all of the counties in that 

 region had acquired approximately their present 

 boundaries by 1824. 



Nearly all of New York State was originally heav- 

 ily timbered. The growth was especially heavy and 

 diversified in the calcareous soil regions of the middle 

 part of the State. Hardwood made up nearly all 

 of the tree fiora. Further south on the hills were 

 much heavy white pine and several varieties of 

 Coniferae dominated the mountain regions. There 

 were a few prairie tracts mostly in river bottoms. At 

 Mt. Morris, in the Genesee Eiver flats, was a prairie 

 of 6000 acres. Through the hardwood country were 

 oak openings or tracts, sparsely covered by trees and 

 brush. On Long Island around Hempstead and Ja- 

 maica was a large prairie tract on well drained soil, 

 a condition unusual outside of the western prairie 

 country. New York was both a well watered and a 

 well timbered country. 



To clear the land the timber was cut and burned, 

 and in many settlements the first money was secured 

 from the sale of ashes or from the potash and pearl 

 ash salts derived from them. It must be remembered 

 that in that day potassium nitrate was the basis of 

 gunpowder, the only available explosive, and the 

 potash secured by leaching the ashes wa!s necessary 

 to its manufacture. In some settlements, for ex- 

 ample Clinton County, charcoal was produced. 



