Art. III. Notice of the Scenery, Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, &c. of Belmont County, Ohio.

Art. III. Notice of the Scenery, Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, &c. of Belmont County, Ohio, by Caleb Atwater, Esq. of Circleville.

Belmont county is bounded on the north by Jefferson and Harrison, on the west by Guernsey, and south by Monroe county, and on the east by the Ohio river. It is 27 miles in length, and 21 in breadth, containing 535 square miles. Its name, Belmont, or beautiful mountain, indicates its situation, for it contains within its boundaries a fine body of land, rising gradually as you are travelling from the Ohio to the west, until you arrive at about the middle of it, where, from the elevation on which you stand, the eye in an eastern direction, beholds one of the most charming prospects in the state. Looking towards the east, in a pleasant morning, you behold a beautiful country of hill and dale spread out before you, divided into convenient and well-cultivated farms, intersected by glittering streams, meandering through them towards the Ohio. You hear the lowing of numerous herds around you, the shrill matin of the songsters of the forest, and the busy hum of the industrious husbandman; you see here and there a clump of trees interspersed among the cultivated parts of the country; you see the comfortable dwelling-house, the substantial barn, and hear the rumbling noise of the mill; and when you reflect that those who dwell here are industrious and enterprising, virtuous, free, and happy, you behold with pleasure, and listen with delight, while reflecting on the objects around you.

Geology and Mineralogy.

On the surface is seen a rich vegetable mould, made by the decay and putrefaction of vegetable substances. Along the Ohio, a wide intervale of the richest alluvion is found, which produces as luxuriant a growth of vegetation as any in the world. On the banks of the creeks which pass through this country the alluvial soil is not so wide as that on the river, but equally rich and productive. On the hills (and there are many of them) there are two kinds of soil, the silicious and the argillaceous, the first is formed from the decomposition of the rocks which once covered the surface, the latter from the slate which lay under them. Where these rocks are decomposed, and the country is hilly, it will readily be believed that the two kinds of soil are frequently blended together. In some places we see the best of clay for bricks; whilst in other places, and those in the vicinity of the former, we find the best of sand to mould them in when manufactured. Hard limestone of the very best quality is found in detached fragments in the sides of hills, and in strata, in abundance, along the beds of streams.

The ruins of the sandstone formation are here seen scattered about in fragments, or decomposed and intimately blended with those of other formations.

Fossil coal is every where found under the hills, of the very best quality, and in sufficient quantity not only for the fuel of the present, but many future generations, and is so easily obtained that the expense of fuel is a mere trifle. The oxide of iron, or iron ore variously combined, is recognized in many places, and water combined with muriate of soda, or common salt, is as common. Salines or licks are found in many places, where animals also, both wild and domesticated, resort in great numbers to drink the waters. These are frequently near some little water-course. Several sulphur and chalybeate springs are known to exist in this county, and some which throw out considerable quantities of petroleum.

In a country where iron and fossil coal exist, it is no wonder that copperas should be found. There are places where copperas exudes in a state sufficiently pure in quality, and in quantities sufficient for several families, who collect and use it in dying. The same may be said of alum, which is collected in the same way for similar purposes.

Botany.

Though this county is very rich in the mineral, yet it is not less so in the vegetable kingdom, as may be seen by a reference to the subjoined catalogue, although numbers of trees, shrubs, and plants, are purposely omitted, which are known to exist here.

Family.Species.Classical name.Remarks.

Oak,White,Quercus Alba,Abundant.

————Black,——— Nigra,Do.

————Meadow,——— Aquatica,Along the streams.

————Chesnut,——— Prunus,Scarce.

Maple,Sugar,Acer Saccharinum,Abundant.

————White,——— Alba.

Poplar or Tulip,White,Liriodendron,Abundant.

————Yellow.

Walnut,Black,Juglans Nigra.

————White,——— Alba.

————Shellbark Hickory,——— Albaovata.

————Pignut,——— Minima.

————Bitternut, and probably several other species.

Beach,Two species,Fagus.

————Chesnut,——— Americana.

Ash,White,Fraxinus Alba.

————Blue,——— Purpurea.

————Black,——— Nigra.

————Swamp,——— Aquatica.

Elm,Two or three species,Ulmus.

Buckeye,Common,Æsculusflava Lutea?

————Sweet,——— Maxima?

Locust,Four species,Robinia Pseud Acacia, &c.

Persimmon,Diospyros Virginica.

Linn or Bass Wood,Tilia Europea.

Cucumber,Cucuminis Sylvestris.

Dog Wood, or American Box,Two species.

Sycamore,Two species,Platanus Occidentalis, &c.

Plum,Several species.

Thorn,do. do.

The red bud; the pawpaw; grape-vines of several species, and growing to a great size; sassafras; the black willow, confined to the streams; the box elder, the common elder, of two species; the sumach, of two species; several species of gooseberries; and a great many others too numerous to be mentioned here. Among the herbaceous plants we must not omit the ginseng, the Virginia snakeroot, the columbo, and the puccoon, two or three thousand pounds of the roots of which are annually carried by the inhabitants to our Atlantic cities. Among the trees, those belonging to the oak family are the most numerous, if not the most valuable. Split into rails, the farmer builds fences with them, and sawed into plank, boards, and scantling, they furnish materials for houses and barns. The sugar maple is sufficiently abundant, so that brown sugar enough is manufactured for domestic purposes. The sycamore is the largest tree along the river, and the poplar is the largest on the hills. The latter grows by the side of the maple and the beach, and is a most valuable wood for the house-builder and the cabinetmaker. This tree is frequently four and five feet in diameter, and continues of nearly the same size as it ascends, 40, 50, and sometimes even 60 feet.

Streams.

The Ohio is the eastern boundary of this county, forming wide intervales along its banks. Indian Wheeling is a fine mill stream rising in Harrison county, and after crossing this, empties into the Ohio, opposite the town of Wheeling, which stands on the Virginia side.

Captina is another excellent mill stream, which after running about 17 or 18 miles in this county, puts into the Ohio 23 miles by water below Wheeling. These streams visit and fertilize a considerable part of Belmont.

From the view we have taken of this county, its geology, mineralogy, and botany, the reader will probably be prepared with us to conclude, that no part of the union, of equal extent, contains within it greater natural resources, or can support a more dense population.

The seat of justice is St. Clairsville, situated ten miles from the Ohio river, at Wheeling. It contains three houses for public worship, 15 stores, a printing-office, a bank, and 700 inhabitants.

Many of the inhabitants of this county are Quakers or Friends, who are charitable, humane, frugal, enterprising, industrious, and strongly opposed to slavery. From such a population, possessing such advantages, what may we not hope and expect from their exertions? Their fertile valleys will be turned into meadows, and their hills into pastures; the ox will fatten in the former, whilst the flocks of Andalusia will whiten the latter.