276 



CONDITIONS BY COUNTIES. 



of about 100 acres each. It is estimated that about 40 per cent 

 of all the farm land has been cleared. The wooded portions of 

 the farms have, in most cases, been stripped of the best timber. 

 A few remain that are exceptions to the general rule. 



The land unfit for agriculture is variously estimated at from 

 10 to 20 per cent. 



TAYLOR COUNTY. 



Location and Area. 



Taylor, formed in 1844 from parts of Harrison, Barbour 

 and Slarion, is a small county joined on the north by Marion, 

 on the east by Preston, on the south by Barbour, and on the 

 west by Harrison. Its area is 132 square miles or 84,480 acres. 



Topography. 



Lying some distance west of the mountainous part of the 

 state, Taylor county has an irregular, hilly surface. In large 

 areas of Flemington, Courthouse, and Booths Creek districts, 

 and smaller areas in other districts, the land is comparatively 

 smooth and easily cultivated. The lower end of Booths Creek 

 district and the parts of the county adjoining Preston are more 

 uneven and the elevations are greater. 



Tygarts Valley river flows northwest dividing the county 

 into almost equal parts. Its chief tributary is Threefork creek, 

 rising in Preston county and emptying at Grafton. Other 

 smaller tributaries of the river are Lost run. Otter creek, Berke- 

 ley run and Pleasant creek, flowing in from the south, and 

 "Wickwire run and Sandy creek, flowing in from the north. 



Original Forest Conditions. ' 



Most parts of the county have been occupied and improved 

 by farmers for many years ; and it is not possible to state defin- 

 itely what timbers predominated in the original forests. We are 

 safe in stating in a general way, however, that the area was 

 well timbered with hardwoods of the kinds that are still found 



