594 GEOLOGY OF OHIO. 



The Waverly formation is seen at so many points that is impossible to 

 designate them. The upper portion of it, or that which lies directly 

 beneath the Coal Measures, is well seen in the ravine between East 

 Rushville and West Rushyille. Here, the stone is comparatively fine- 

 grained, but is for the most part too soft for use as a building stone. In 

 the bank of the creek, below the mill-dam, we find ten or twelve feet of 

 bluish sandy shales, which have afforded some new and interesting mol- 

 luscan fossils. The usual Waverly fossils are found in the strata above. 

 The Waverly sandstone seen in the cliffs along the Hocking is generally 

 coarse-grained, often passing into a true conglomerate, and it shows the 

 same character in the hills and highlands west of the river. It is more 

 commonly of a rich yellow color, but is sometimes a darkish brown. In 

 many places the stone is firm in texture, and capable of resisting great 

 pressure without crushing. It has been quarried and used, with excellent 

 effect, in the beautiful court-house at Lancaster, and in some important 

 buildings in Columbus. In the Geological Report for 1869 the quarries 

 near Sugar Grove were referred to and commended. Since that time an 

 increased quantity of the stone has been quarried. In the neighborhood 

 of Lancaster are several excellent quarries, but from none of them is 

 stone obtained for shipment by canal or railroad. The demand for build- 

 ing stone of this quality will constantly increase, and the time is not far 

 distant when many extensive quarries will be opened among the hills 

 and cliffs which border the Hocking River in this county. The same 

 character of coarse-grained Waverly stone is found in Licking county, at 

 Hanover, and on the Licking River ; but these points are a little more 

 distant from Columbus. At Lithopolis is an exposure of the lower part 

 of the Waverly formation, and the stone is — what we should expect it to 

 be — fine-grained, and showing all the characteristics of the typical Wa- 

 verly stone as first quarried at Waverly, in Pike county. The Lithopolis 

 stone is of a light drab-color, is of fine, even texture, and easily wrought. 



The natural wealth of the county lies in the Waverly stone and in 

 the remarkable fertility of the soil. The latter is adapted to the growth 

 of grains and grasses, and upon the hills the leading fruits of the cli- 

 mate grow in luxuriant abundance. Large quantities of grapes are pro- 

 duced upon the farm of the State Reform School. There are other large 

 vineyards among the hills, and considerable wine is made. The general 

 character of the cultivation of the soil is excellent, and the farmers are 

 generally prosperous and independent. 



