KNOX COUNTY. 333 



the hills susceptible of cultivation to the top, and presenting scenes of 

 quiet beauty rarely excelled. These characteristics change upon ap- 

 proaching the Coal Measure rocks in the south-east and north-east parts 

 of the county. 



Standing near the line of division, the observer need make no mistake 

 in regard to the character of any of the hills in sight; those which are 

 symmetrically rounded to the top will be found composed wholly of the 

 Waverly; those of which the summits show benches and irregular lines 

 of contour are capped with the coal rocks. The debris of the olive shales, 

 the upper members of the Waverly, here make a peculiarly elastic and 

 excellent roadway, so that traveling in the night along the margin ot the 

 coal field the sound of the carriage wheels will enable one to say when 

 he is passing over a road of this material. These hills at the north re- 

 tain patches of undisturbed Drift on protected slopes, with scattered 

 erratics, the latter sometimes very abundant on the lower slopes and in 

 the beds of streams, where no other evidences of the Drift are preserved. 

 These hills, when denuded of Drift, have but a slight covering of soil, 

 the shales of the Waverly, finely broken up, coming near to the surface. 



West of Ankenytown is a plain about ten miles wide, without rock 

 exposures, but with occasional gravel ridges, the whole composed of river 

 Drift, of sand, gravel and clay on the margin, resting on quicksand and 

 gravel, the whole of unknown depth, filling up the old pre-glacial channel. 



The surface deposits render the valley of Owl Creek and the broad 

 plain west of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad remarkably productive, 

 and the crops rarely or never are injured by drought or rain. The rich 

 alluvium, resting on a deep bed of gravel, through which the stream runs, 

 is most thoroughly und'^rdrained, and the soil can retain an excess of 

 moisture only when the stream overflows its banks. The water also fills 

 this gravel from bluff to bluff to the level of the stream, and the crops 

 can suffer but little from drought, unless so protracted that the stream 

 becomes dry. These surface deposits also afford materials for excellent 

 roads. The drainage in the valleys is perfect, and the heavy beds of 

 gravel which border them- are every where availablt. Upon the hills the 

 decomposed Waverly shales make a road-bed that is well nigh perfect, 

 smooth, elastic, and well drained. Only among the hills, where the clay 

 Drift has been protected and retained, is there a necessity of carrying 

 material for road-making to any distance. 



These peculiarities, with the graceful outlines of the hills, their variety 

 and fertility, give great beauty to the county, and where put under thor- 

 ough cultivation, will make it one of the most delightful spots in the 

 State or country. 



