388 GEOLOGY OF OHIO. 



been known to be more productive than those crti southern slopes. The 

 greater fertility of northern slopes is not confined to the drift-deposits of 

 Warren county, but is shown equally well in distant sections of the 

 State. The hills of sandstone and shale that border the Scioto valley, 

 for instance, have very different forest-growths on their opposite slopes, 

 that of the northern aspect being by far the most valuable. The wear 

 and waste of slopes that face the sun is certainly much greater than 

 northern slopes would experience, and the supply of moisture is much 

 more rapidly withdrawn by evaporation. 



In speaking of the upland drift-beds of Warren county, mention can 

 appropriately be made of the wonderful strength and fertility of the soil 

 along the ridge between the rivers. The belt of country traversed by 

 the Dayton and Lebanon pike can scarcely be surpassed in general ad- 

 vantages by any part of Ohio. Much of it equals in productiveness the 

 best bottom lands, and certainly excels them in durability, while in 

 water-supply, in beauty of scenery, and in heal thful conditions generally, 

 it has a decided advantage. The appreciation of these excellencies can 

 be seen in the fact that well improved farms in this region never change 

 hands at less than one hundred dollars per acre, while, in some instances, 

 the price runs up to double this amount. Comparatively few of the 

 farming lands of the State yield clear profit to the owner when all need- 

 ful elements are taken into the account, such as interest on the value of 

 ftie land, taxes, and the expenses of producing the crop, but among these 

 tracts will certainly be found the uplands of Warren county. They are 

 being depleted in value, however, as rapidly as possible, under the pre- 

 vailing system of agriculture. The raising of tobacco is coming exten- 

 sively into favor, and no crop makes a more fatal drain upon the soil, as 

 all intelligent agriculturists are aware. 



Reference has already been made to the water-^supply of some districts 

 of the county. It may be said, in general terms, that the water supply 

 is derived from the drift. The outliers of cliff-limestone furnish along 

 their outcrops a fine series of springs, as they always must, from the col- 

 location of their geological elements. Some districts, scattered here and 

 there through the county, are obliged to depend upon the Blue Lime- 

 stone, the yellow clays overlying, at little depth, the rocky strata. Such 

 a supply is always poor, alike defective in quantity and objectionable in 

 quality. Rain water, prjperly secured in cisterns, is the only adequate 

 and profitable supply in all these districts. The sooner this mode of 

 supply is brought into requisition, the better for man and beast. In the 

 re^t';ion of the heavier drift-beds, however, a generous supply of water is 

 accessible in wells and springs. The wells, in but few instances, are 



