BROWN COUNTY. 943 
eoncentricus that is so characteristic of the lower beds of the Cincinnati 
formation, is found abundantly at the base of the river hills at Higgins- 
port and at Ripley, and extends upward from that level through the 
usual interval. The section, in fact, at these points, duplicates the Cin- 
cinnati section almost exactly. The same fossils are found, and in the 
same abundance. Orthis lynx and Orthis sinuata are no where better de- 
veloped than at the summits of these secfions. 
The horizon of Orthis retrorsa Salter (Orthis Carleyi, Hall) is reached at 
Arnheim, in the banks of Straight Creek. From this point the dip is 
quite ‘rapid to the eastward. All the characteristic fossils of the Leb- 
anon beds are found in the neighborhood of Fayetteville as well as upon 
the eastern side of the county. 
The Drift deposits of the county are the same as those already described 
in Clermont and Highland counties. The most characteristic feature is 
the compact white clay that covers the flat lands in the northern town- 
ships of the county. It is six to ten feet in thickness, and contains a 
great many scratched and glacially polished fragments of Blue Lime- 
stone rock, as well as representatives of the granitic series of the north. 
There are but very few large bowlders in the county. One of the most 
conspicuous is found in the immediate neighborhood of Fayettevi#e. 
Under the white clay is the seam of iron ore described in the reports al- 
ready referred to. It seems to mark the epoch of the forest bed of the 
Drift. We are certain that there was an advance of glaciers over this 
region, for we find the limestone well polished in place in the adjoining 
townships of Highland county. No bank gravel is found in the county 
except in the main valleys. It is, of course, abundant there in the 
usual terraces. It is often cemented in immense blocks through the 
agency of the lime water that percolates it. An example of this Drift 
Conglomerate is seen in the massive and striking cliffs at the mouth of 
White Oak Creek, near Higginsport. 
The soils of the county are of the usual character for these areas. The 
flat lands already referred to, are covered with a considerable depth of 
clays, rich in all the elements of vegetable growth, except organic mat- 
ter. They are, of course, stubborn and intractable in certain seasons 
and under certain management; but they are rich in agricultural possi- 
bilities, and will, under a wise culture, some day be transformed into 
gardens. What these possibilities are, is often hinted at in the insulated 
portions of these white clay flats, where organic matter has accumulated. 
We find in such spots soils of the highest excellence and durability. As — 
the Ohio Valley is approached, the native soils formed from the decom- 
position of the Cincinnati shales and limestones are quite largely repre- 
