156 GEOLOGY OF OHIO. 
The strata enumerated in the foregoing section all belong to the Car- 
boniferous system, and, with the exception of a limited area in the north- 
western corner, where the Conglomerate appears, the entire area of the 
county is occupied by the Coal Measures. The Conglomerate has been 
fully described in other portions of our report, and I will not here make 
it the subject of remark further than to say that the pebble rock of 
Stark county, or sandstone containing quartz pebbles, is unmistakable in 
character and invariable in position, and may be recognized at sight 
wherever it occurs. It, therefore, serves as a useful guide in searching 
for coal, inasmuch as no coal is found in or below i. 
The only outcrops of the Conglomerate occur in the extreme north- 
western portion of the county, in the corner of Lawrence township, so 
that it might as well be omitted from enumeration among the rocks of 
the county, except that it underlies, at no great depth, all portions of the 
surface, and deserves notice as the easily recognizable base of the pro- 
ductive Coal Measures. 
It should also be mentioned in this connection that some of the higher | 
sandstones of the Coal Measures sometimes contain pebbles, especially 
that over Coal No. 6; but the pebbles in these beds are generally quite 
small—rarely exceeding a bean in size—so that there is little danger 
that they will be confounded with the true Conglomerate. 
In the adjoining counties of Summit and Wayne the Conglomerate is 
well exposed, and may be examined at innumerable localities. In Sum- 
mit county it is thick and generally continuous, but in Wayne county it 
is thinner and much more irregular, so that it is probable that there are 
places in Stark county where it does not underlie the surface rocks, and 
hence it can not be positively asserted that it will always be found in 
borings to give notice that the place of the lower coal has been. passed. 
It should be remembered, too, that the Conglomerate is not every where 
a pebble rock, but is always largely, sometimes altogether, a sandstone. 
The Coal Measures of Stark county are composed, as usual, of sand- 
stone, limestone, shale, fire-clay, coal, etc., and include all the lower group 
of coal seams, seven in number. Of these the lowest, or, as we have named 
it, Coal No. 1—the Massillon or Briar Hill seam—is one of the most valu- 
able in the entire series. This is well developed in Stark county, and 
forms one of the most important sources of business and wealth. The 
coal which is obtained from this seam is generally called the Massillon 
coal, and is so well known that little need be said of its character. 
Though varying somewhat in different localities, as a general rule it is 
bright and handsome in appearance, contains little sulphur and ash, is 
open-burning, and possesses high heating power. By long and varied 
