THE INFLUENCE OF GLACIATION ON 
AGRICULTURE IN OHIO^ 
Edgar W. Owen 
It is a generally accepted view that glaciation has been of very 
considerable benefit to agriculture, and that one of its effects has 
been to greatly increase the fertility of the soil. The purpose of 
the investigation reported here was to determine the real effect of 
glaciation on agriculture in certain typical districts along the 
glacial boundary in Ohio. Detailed comparisons were made of 
the values of farm products in two regions of central Ohio, \vhich 
were half glaciated and half unglaciated. An area of 468.24 square 
miles (149.38 unglaciated), centering about Canton, and including 
Stark county and parts of Carroll, Summit and Tuscarawas 
counties, and an area of 430.37 square miles (223.39 unglaciated) 
about Millersburg, consisting of Holmes and parts of Wayne and 
Coshocton counties, were chosen. These localities (fig. 1) were 
taken because in them all other conditions than glaciation, in- 
fluencing agriculture, were constant throughout each section. 
The parts of these sections north of Canton and Millersburg 
were glaciated, whereas the land to the south was unglaciated. 
In the Canton or Stark county area the most common outcrop- 
ping rocks belong to the Pottsville and Allegheny formations, 
with scattered beds of Monongahela, all of which form soils of 
about equal suitability for cultivation. The climate and topog- 
raphy, with the exception of the changes wrought in the latter 
by glaciation, are identical throughout the area. Nearness to 
market, transportation facilities, drainage (except for differences 
due to glaciation), and all other conditions effecting this problem, 
are the same for both the glaciated and unglaciated parts. 
The same equality of conditions is noted in the Millersburg or 
Holmes county district. The prevailing outcrops there belong 
to the Pottsville and Allegheny, with some Waverly rock showing 
along the stream courses. The topography in this district is 
^ Report rendered in an advanced course in Geography under the direction of 
Prof. Frank Carney. 
390 
