BROWN COUNTY. 943 



concentricus that is so characteristic of the lower beds of the Cincinnati 

 formation, is found abundantly at the base of the river hills at HigginS- 

 port and at Ripley, and extends upward from that level through the 

 usual interval. The section, in fact, at these points, duplicates the Cin- 

 cinnati section almost exactly, ^he same fossils are found, and in the 

 same abundance. Orthis lynx and Orthis sinuaia are no where better de- 

 veloped than at the summits of these sections. 



The horizon of Orihie retrorsa Salter (Orthis Carleyi, Hall) is reached at 

 Arnheim, in the banks of Straight Creek. From thi*a point the dip is 

 quite rapid to the eastward. All the characteristic fossils ^of the Leb- 

 anon beds are found in the neighborhood of Fayetteville as well as upon 

 the eastern side of the county. 



The Drift deposits of the county are the same as those already described 

 in Clermont and Highland counties. The most characteristic feature is 

 the compact white clay that covers the flat lands in the northern town- 

 ships of the county. It is six to ten feet in thickness, and contains a 

 great many scratched and glacially polished fragments of Blue Lime- 

 stone rock, as well aa representatives of the granitic series of the north. 

 There are but very few large bowlders in the county. One of the most 

 conspicuous is found in the immediate neighborhood of Fayetteville. 

 Under the white clay is the seam of iron ore described in the reports al- 

 ready referred to. It seems to mark the epoch of the forest bed of the 

 Drift. We are certain that there was an advance of glaciers over this 

 region, for we find the limestone well polished in place in the adjoining 

 townships of Highland countj. No bank gravel is found in the county 

 except in the main valleys. It is, of course, abundant there in the 

 usual terraces. It is often cemented in immense blocks through the 

 agency of ttie lime water that percolates it. ^^n example of this Drift 

 Conglomerate is seen in the massive and striking cliffs at the mbuth of 

 White Oak Creek, near Higginsport. 



The soils of the county are of the usual character for these areas. The 

 flat lands already referred to, are covered with a considerable depth of 

 clays, rich in all the elements of vegetable growth, except organic mat- 

 ter. They are, of course, stubborn and intractable in certain seasons 

 and under certain management; but they are rich in agricultural possi- 

 bilities, and will, under a wise culture, some day be transformed into 

 gardens. What these possibilities are, is often hinted at in the insulated 

 portions of these white clay flats, where organic matter has accumulated. 

 We find in such spots soils of the highest excellence and durability. As 

 the Ohio Valley is approached, the native soils formed from the decom- 

 position of the Cincinnati shales and limestones are quite largely repre- 



