3. CENTRE TOWNSHIP. F 2 . 173 



A wide open valley separates Mahanoy ridge from Dick's 

 liill and Iron ridge, along the crest of which, for the most 

 part, runs the township line. The soil of this valley, being 

 composed of disintegrated Chemung shale, is less fertile 

 than that of the vale of Bloomfield, but contains, neverthe- 

 less, some good farms. 



This southern valley of Centre township is broader than 

 the valley of New Bloomfield, for causes which will more 

 clearly appear when the geology of the township has been 

 described. Though undulating, its surface is seldom steep, 

 and it is well watered by springs and streams. Moreover 

 the shaly soil and sub-soil are more retentive of moisture 

 than is the limestone of the northern ridge. 



Cultivation has been carried up the slopes of the hills in 

 Centre township as high as at present would be profitable, 

 and in some cases higher. The labor of clearing the stones 

 from the hillsides is very great. Two crops of them may 

 sometimes be gathered annually and yet there are plenty 

 left for the future. Plowing softens the ground and enables 

 the rain to carry the soil down to the lower levels. In this 

 way new stores of stones are, year by year, brought into 

 view on the upper part, while on the lower slopes few are 

 visible at the surface. In the woods, also, where the wash 

 is prevented by the roots and leaves there is often — not al- 

 ways — a fair covering of soil until the timber is felled and 

 the plow begins its work. The huge piles of sandstone and 

 chert that almost surround some of the hillside fields — 

 euphoniously termed in the district flint-gravel — attest the 

 labor spent in clearing the land. In general this is only 

 done where a limestone sub-soil exists. Where sandstone 

 is the basis the land is usually poor and thin, and does not 

 repay the outlay. 



The soil is deep in many parts, especially on the lower 

 grounds and along the courses of the streams. Occasion- 

 ally this is true among the hills. But where the slope is 

 steep or the brow of the rising ground prominent, the rock 

 will usually be found at a small dei>th — a few inches often- - 

 below the surface. In these cases the outcrop of the beds 

 may be readily traced by the fragments thrown out by the 



