USA > Pennsylvania > A geography of Pennsylvania : containing an account of the history, geographical features, soil, climate, geology, botany, zoology, population, education, government, finances, productions, trade, railroads, canals &c. of the state : with a separate description of each county, and questions for the convenience of teachers : to which is appended, a travellers' guide, or table of distances on the principal rail road, canal and stage routes in the state > Part 4
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The West branch of Susquehanna rises beyond the Allegheny mountain in Cambria and Clearfield counties, flows eastward and receives the Sinnemahoning, Pine creek (Tiadaghton) and other large streams from the north. The Bald Eagle creek empties into it from the south near Lock Haven. It continues an east-
33
RIVERS.
ward course by Williamsport to Muncy or Pennsborough, where it bends to the south for some distance, then turns a little south- east, and unites with the North branch at Northumberland.
The Juniata has its sources in and near the Allegheny moun- tain, in Huntingdon and Bedford counties ; its main streams being the Frankstown branch from the west, and the Raystown branch from the south. It is a very crooked river, winding among the mountains which rise boldly from its banks, and affording to the traveller some of the most picturesque and romantic views in Pennsylvania. Its general course is eastward, and it empties into the Susquehanna at Duncan's island, sixteen miles above Harrisburg.
Most of that portion of Pennsylvania which lies west of the Allegheny mountain is drained by the waters of the Ohio. The two main branches of this river, called the Allegheny and the Mo- nongahela, unite at Pittsburg; from which the Ohio flows north- westward twenty-five miles to Beaver, where it receives Beaver river from the north; then bending southwestward, it passes out of Pennsylvania and continues between Virginia and Ohio.
The Allegheny river is the northern branch of the Ohio, and is formed by several tributary streams, some of which rise in the northern counties of Pennsylvania and others in the southwestern part of New York. From the State line, where it forms the boundary between Warren and M'Kean counties, its course is southwestward to Franklin in Venango county, where it receives French creek from the northwest; then turning southward, it is augmented by the waters of Clarion, Red Bank and Kiskiminetas or Conemaugh, which fall into it from the east, and, again bend- ing southwest, it meets the Monongahela at Pittsburg.
The Clarion river runs from the northeastern part of Jefferson county, in a southwestern direction, until it empties into the Alle- gheny. The Red Bank passes nearly through the middle of Jef- ferson county, and running westward, forms the boundary be- tween Armstrong and Clarion counties till it empties into the Allegheny. The Conemaugh rises on the western slope of the Allegheny mountain in Somerset and Cambria counties, runs a little north of west, and joins the Allegheny river near the south- east corner of Butler county.
The Monongahela, or southern branch of Ohio, flows north- ward from Virginia, and passes into Pennsylvania between Fay- ette and Greene counties. It has many bends in its course, but its general direction is northward, until it meets the Youghiogeny at M'Keesport, from which it runs northwest to Pittsburg.
The Youghiogeny comes from the western part of Maryland, crosses the State line, and running northward between Somerset and Fayette counties, unites with Castleman's river below Smithfield, from which its course is northwest to. its junction with the Monongahela. Castleman's is a small river, rising in the southern part of Somerset county and running westward to the Youghiogeny.
-
34
GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
The smaller streams will be noticed in our description of the several counties in which they are situated.
Through what great rivers do the waters of Pennsylvania find their way to the ocean? Where does the Delaware rise, and what is its course to the Water Gap of the Blue mountain ? From this to the southern line of the State ? What is its length, and how far up does the tide flow ? What is said of its navigation ? Name the principal branches of the Delaware. What is said of the Lehigh, of its course and length ? Give a general de- scription of the Schuylkill. Of the Susquehanna from Northumberland to Chesapeake bay. What is said of its navigation ? Describe the North branch. The West branch. Where does the Juniata rise ? What is its course, and where does it empty ? What are the two main branches of the Ohio, and where do they unite ? Mention the rise and general course of the Allegheny river. What streams empty into it ? What is said of the Clarion, Red Bank and Conemaugh ? Give a description of the Monon- gahela. Where does the Youghiogeny rise ? What is its course, and into what river does it empty ? Where is Castleman's river ?
4. SoIL.
The soil of a country is formed by the disintegration or decay of its rocks, which being subject to the action of water, frost, and other atmospheric influences, gradually wear away, or crumble and become pulverised to different degrees of fineness. It is therefore evident that soils must differ in their characters and qua- lities, according to the nature of the rocks from which they have been derived. But the action of floods, and even the more gra- dual operation of heavy rains, have so washed down and inter- mixed the matter from the decomposed rocks, that we seldom find a soil formed purely from a single stratum, or variety of rock. This is a beneficial provision of nature, as the mixture of several elements in a soil is essential to its fertility.
The earthy portion of soils is seldom less than ninety-five per cent. of their whole weight; the rest being made up of decayed organic matter, and various saline or soluble substances. This earthy portion consists chiefly of silica, in the form of sand of various degrees of fineness; alumina, in the form of clay; and lime, mostly in the form of carbonate of lime. Most soils contain from one to two per cent. of the oxide of iron, and those of a red colour frequently more.
A soil is called sandy, in which silicious sand predominates ; clayey, when alumina forms a considerable portion ; and calcu- reous, where carbonate of lime is contained in considerable abund- ance, as in some of our limestone districts. A sandy soil contains ninety per cent., or more, of sand; a sandy loam from sixty to ninety ; a loamy soil from thirty to sixty, and a clayey soil has from fifteen to thirty per cent. of fine sand, which may be sepa- rated from it by washing. Pure clay, which, apparently, contains no sand, is a compound of silica and alumina, in the proportion
35
SOIL.
of about sixty of the former, to thirty of the latter. It will, there- fore, be seen that silica is the leading constituent in all soils.
Something more is necessary, however, beside these simple earths in the formation of a fertile soil, which should contain all the inorganic substances necessary for the food of plants, and which are essential to their existence, in sufficient quantity, and in such condition as allows them to be absorbed by the roots. It is accordingly found, by a chemical analysis of productive soils, that in addition to these earths, they contain various alkaline and other substances, such as potash, soda, chlorine, &c., together with combinations containing sulphuric, phosphoric, and other acids, as well as several organic substances, derived from the decompo- sition of vegetable and animal matter.
. The same proportion of ingredients in a soil is not required by all plants; for we find that different vegetable productions extract from the soil different quantities of each of these constituents. The ashes afforded from many kinds of plants have been carefully analyzed by Sprengel, and other chemists, for the purpose of as- certaining the proportions of inorganic matter contained in them, which are derived from the soil. From these experiments it ap- pears that the ashes from one thousand pounds of wheat (straw containing the grain) weigh about twenty-seven and a half pounds ; from the same quantity of rye, twenty-three and a half pounds ; from oats, forty-five and one-third pounds ; from red clover hay, seventy-four and three-fourth pounds ; and from the same weight of potatoes eight and a quarter pounds. In these weights of ashes from one thousand pounds of each plant mentioned, were con- tained as follows :
Silica,
Wheat. 20.67 lbs.
Rye. 17.64 lbs.
Oats. 36.09 lbs.
Clover Hay
Potatoes. 0.08 lbs.
Alumina,
0.69
0.34
0.09 “
0.14
0.05 “
Magnesia,
0.51 "
0.20 "
0.39
3.33 “
0.32
Lime,
1.92
1.34 “
1.27
27.80
0.33 “
Potash,
0.88 "2
1.66
20.51
66
5.29
2.33 '
Sulphuric acid, 0.40 “
1.33 “
0.62
4.47 €¢
0.54 €¢
Phosphoric acid, 1.25 "
0.49
66
0.35
6.57
0.40
Chlorine,
0.24 “
0.15 “
0.07
3.62 “
0.16
$ 6.00
19.95
4.03 “
Soda,
0.99 '
3.61 lbs.
Now, in order to show the quantity of each of these ingredients which is exhausted from the soil of an acre of land by a single crop, we will suppose it to produce twenty-five bushels of wheat or rye, fifty bushels of oats, one and a half tons of dry clover hay, or seven and a half tons of potatoes. We assume the weight of the straw in wheat to be double that of the grain ; in rye three times as much ; and in oats the grain to be to the straw as three to five. The weight of vegetable matter in the crop from each acre will then be, of wheat forty-five hundred ; of rye six thousand ; of oats four thousand; of dry clover three thousand ; and of potatoes fifteen thousand pounds. These will have extracted from the soil during their growth, as follows :
36
GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Wheat.
Rye.
Oats. Clover Hay.
Potatoes.
Silica,
93.01 lbs. 105.84 lbs. 144.36 lbs.
10.83 lbs.
1.20 lbs.
Alumina,
3.10 “
2.10
0.36 “
0.42 '
0.75 "
Magnesia,
2.29 “
1.20 “
1.56 “
9.99 €¢
4.80 “
Lime,
8.64 “
8.04
5.08 .
83.40 “
4.95 "
Potash,
3.96 "2
9.96
2 2.04 "
15.87 “
34.95 "
Sulphuric acid,
1.80
7.98 “
2.48
13.41 "
8.10
Phosphoric acid, 5.62 "
2.95
1.40 “
19.71 €
6.00 “
Chlorine,
1.08
0.90 “
0.28
10.86 “
2.40 "
$ 24.00 "
59.85
60.45 “
Soda,
4.95
In the economy of agriculture it will, therefore, be necessary in order to maintain the fertility of the soil, to add to it, as manure in some form, an amount of each ingredient equal to that extract- ed by the crop. Most soils, however, contain a sufficiency of silica, and alumina, without further addition ;- lime, potash, soda, &c., with decomposed vegetable and animal matter being those most required. It may be assumed as a general principle that if the addition of any article to the soil as a manure renders it more fertile, it is because the soil was deficient in some substance which the manure contained.
Most of our unproductive soils are found to be deficient in lime ; hence the addition of this substance, when properly applied, greatly improves them. Many of our rocks which are not lime- stones contain a certain proportion of carbonate of lime in their composition ; for this reason we often find a fertile soil where there is no limestone.
The substratum below the soil has an important influence on its fertility ; for if it be gravelly, sandy or open, the water filters through it too readily and carries off much of the lime or other stimulants to vegetation which the soil may contain. If, on the contrary, the substratum be a tenacious clay, the soil will be wet and cold, retaining too much water, excluding the air, and not suffering the fibres of roots to penetrate it freely.
The various shades of colour in soils-red, brown, yellow, &c., are produced by different proportions and modifications of the oxide of iron contained in them; while the dark colour of newly cleared soils and low grounds is commonly due to decayed vege- table matter,
From what has been already said with regard to soils partaking of the character of the rocks from which they are derived, it will be seen that Pennsylvania contains a great variety.
The alluvial soils in the flats along the streams are generally a mixture of various ingredients, carried down and deposited by the waters. When these are not too sandy, and contain a sufficient amount of decomposed vegetable matter, they are usually very productive and highly valued by the agriculturist. Diluvial soils are those deposited by the waters of a deluge, and are com- monly found in the lower grounds, but sometimes form small hills, mounds or ridges : these, of course, partake of the qualities of the different regions from which they have been brought. They are sometimes much mixed with pebbles or gravel, and are
37
SOIL.
too light and open, the rains filtering through them readily, and carrying down the manure which is spread upon the surface. Sometimes, also, they are clayey or wet, being of too close a tex- ture to admit the free passage of the water through them.
In the southeastern portion of the State, where the primary rocks abound, the soil is not naturally so fertile as in some other parts ; but having received more careful cultivation, has been rendered generally productive. The ranges of primary rock which contain feldspar, mica and hornblende, usually afford a tolerable soil, the decomposition of these rocks yielding a little lime, potash or soda. The talcose slates are generally covered by a poorer soil, on account probably of the excess of magnesia, which is supposed to be unfavourable to vegetation.
The middle secondary red sandstone and red shale formation, which extends through Bucks, Montgomery, parts of Chester, Lancaster, Berks, Dauphin, York and Adams counties, is a good soil when properly farmed. This rock usually contains a portion of lime in its composition, and small white veins are often seen in it, which are carbonate of lime. The wells dug in this red shale commonly yield " hard water;" or that which decomposes the soap used in washing : this is usually owing to the presence of lime in the water, in a state of combination with an acid. There are, however, within the range of this formation many large tracts where the rock has been changed, by causes which will be explained in our article on the geology of the State, from a soft red to a hard dark blue or brown rock; here the soil is less fertile, being commonly heavy, clayey and wet.
It is in the limestone valleys that we find the most productive soil in Pennsylvania, and that which most liberally rewards the farmer for his labour; though sometimes in very dry seasons these soils suffer more from drought than others, particularly where the rock is near the surface. The difficulty of obtaining water is often very great in some parts of our limestone formations ; for the rock below the soil being traversed by large fissures and cavities, fre- quently perhaps also containing subterranean caverns, allows the water to sink to immense depths. Wells are often dug from eighty to one hundred feet deep without obtaining a permanent supply of water, which thus eluding the search of man, finds its way through hidden passages until having accumulated in some vast subterra- nean reservoir, it gushes forth in enormous springs, forming at once a stream of sufficient power to turn mills or other heavy machinery. From this cause the small springs and brooks which are so abundant in other formations, are comparatively rare in the great limestone region.
The slate formation adjoining the limestone (see Geology, III.) is usually rather a light and thin soil; but by the addition of lime and other manures may be rendered productive.
The red and variegated shale formation, with its accompanying belt of limestone (V. and VI.) afford an excellent soil for tillage, and many fine farms are located on various parts of their range through the valleys of the middle counties.
4
38
GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
On the olive slate and the red and gray sandstone, (VIII. and IX.) we find a tolerably good soil when newly cleared ; but after long farming it requires good husbandry and frequent manuring to keep it productive. Except where the slate and red shale pre- dominate, the land on this series of rocks is apt to be rough and stony.
The red shale formation (XI.) nearest the coal basins, where the valleys are sufficiently extensive for cultivation, affords a soil that is worthy of attention from the farmer; and being situated gen- erally between barren mountains, offers, where improved and cul- tivated, a pleasing contrast to the general wildness and sterility which surrounds it.
The land upon the white and gray sandstones (I. IV. X. and XII.) is the most sterile and unproductive in the State; being a meagre, yellow, sandy or sometimes clayey soil, and one which, if its stony and rough character did not repel the husbandman, would yield him but a slender reward for his labour.
Within the bituminous coal region west of the Allegheny mountain are many large tracts of excellent land. Until we recede some miles west of the mountain, the country is hilly and rough; and even to our western borders it continues rolling and uneven. The more level tracts of low ground along the streams are highly fertile, and the soil of many of the hills, when cultivated, produces luxuriantly. The many .strata of limestone which lie between the beds of coal impart their fertilizing influence, and the decayed vegetable matter of a thousand years also lends its aid to enrich this prolific soil. The importance of good farming is beginning to be understood in this section of the State; and though agriculture in this comparatively new region is not yet conducted with so great a degree of neatness and attention as in the older settled counties, yet many beautiful and productive farms gladden the eye of the observant traveller in passing through western Pennsylvania.
How is the soil of a country formed ? What occasions the difference of soils ? Of what three elements is a soil chiefly composed ? What consti- tutes a sandy soil ? Clayey ? Calcareous ? In what proportion is sand found in different soils ? What is necessary beside carthy matter to make a productive soil ? Do all plants require the same kind of soil ? Why not ? What is necessary to maintain the fertility of a soil ? What substances are most required in manures ? Why does manure render the soil more pro- ductive ? What ingredient is wanting in most of our unproductive soils ? What is said of the substratum below the soil ? To what is the colour of soils owing ? What is the character of alluvial soils ? Of diluvial ? What is said of the soil of the primary rocks in the southeastern counties ? Of the middle secondary red shale and sandstone ? Of the limestone vallevs ? Why is water sometimes scarce in limestone regions ? What is the cha- racter of slate soils ? Of the soil of the red and variegated shale formation ? Of the olive slate and its accompanying sandstones? Of the red shale val- leys surrounding the coal basins ? Of certain white and gray sandstones ? What is said of the country west of the Allegheny mountain ? Mention two causes which render parts of this region fertile. What is said of its agriculture ?
39
CLIMATE.
5. CLIMATE.
THE climate of Pennsylvania, though it may in general be justly termed healthy and temperate, is so variable and inconstant, and differing so much in one year with another, as to be somewhat difficult to describe. It seems to be admitted, however, that the extremes of heat and cold in the older settled counties are not so great as they were many years ago, which, if true, may be in con- sequence of the removal of large bodies of forest from the surface of the country and the great increase of cultivated land. To the same cause may be attributed the apparent diminution of the quantity of water in many of the springs and streams, as in a cleared country the evaporation of moisture from the surface is much greater than in forests where the foliage of a thick growth of timber shades the ground. In thickly wooded regions evapora- tion is thus retarded, the soil is kept moist and the water of rains filters slowly through the ground until it finds its way through springs again to the surface.
It has been observed by a writer on the subject of our climate that " there seems to be a line about the forty-first degree of lati- tude, beyond which the winters are steady and regular, the earth being seldom without a covering of snow during the winter months." This, however, is probably more owing to the greater elevation of the country in the northern part of the State than to a difference of latitude ; for we find on the high table land beyond the Allegheny mountain, in the southern part of the State, and in the same latitude as Philadelphia, but little difference from the climate of those northern counties which are not so much elevated.
A series of meteorological observations was authorised by an act of the legislature in 1837, to be conducted under the direction of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, and intended to be made in each county of the State. Thermometers, barometers and rain guages were furnished to observers in most of the counties, with directions for use and blank forms for entering the results of their observations. It is a subject of regret that the returns of these ob- servations are not more perfect, and that in some counties they have been either entirely neglected or performed in so loose a manner as to be nearly useless. The results as obtained have been published monthly in the Journal of the Franklin Institute, and notwithstanding the imperfections noticed, embody a large and interesting amount of useful information concerning the meteoro- logical phenomena of Pennsylvania for a series of several years.
With a view of showing the extremes of heat and cold, the average temperature, and the quantity of rain falling in different parts of the State, we select the following places in which obser- vations have been made for several years. The account of the rain which fell appears to have been so imperfectly recorded that we shall omit it, except for a few of the places mentioned.
The mark -, placed before the minimum temperature, signifies below zero.
40
GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Latitude.
Max. temp. 1841.
Min. temp. 1841.
Mean temp. 1839-40-41.
Rain in inches 1841.
Gettysburg,
39° 49'
93°
-10°
51.36° for 3 yrs.
Philadelphia,
39 57
97
3
52.15
66
3
55.5
Somerset,
40 00
85
-10
48.00
2
66
Lancaster,
40
03
93
7
51.96
3
37.4
Newtown,
40
14
90
1
51.19
"3
66
57.3
Huntingdon,
40
31
98
-16
51.29
2
66
Pittsburg,
40
32
98
- 6
53.01
1841
35.9
Port Carbon,
40 44
100
-20
48.94
3
Northumberland,
40 53
91
-21
50.50
66
3
60
39.7
Bellefonte,
40 55
95
-25
48.88
3
60
Stroudsburg,
41 00
94
-16
49.15
3
Smethport,
41 49
90
-18
44.28
3
Silver Lake,
41 57
93
-10
47.25
3
66
Erie,
42 07
91
-1
48.42
2
66
-
The greatest heat usually occurs in July, and the extreme of cold in January. In the southeastern and southwestern counties the winter does not set in with severity until the latter part of De- cember, and commonly begins to moderate in February. In the latter part of this month, or early in March, the snow disappears, and in the beginning of April vegetation commences. At this sea- son, however, the atmosphere is often damp, chilly or stormy, and until the beginning of May there are frequent returns of cloudy, wet and disagreeable weather. Owing to these changes and to the variable nature of our spring seasons, vegetation advances very unequally in different years; and the promising appearance of the fruit trees in an early spring is often blasted by frosts in April or May.
In the northern and more elevated portions of the State, winter commences early in December, and the snows are deeper and more enduring than in the lower country, seldom melting in the winter, and generally covering the ground until the latter end of March. About the beginning, or towards the middle of April, there is usually a week or ten days of warm pleasant weather, which dis- solves the snow and creates the spring freshets in our streams. The weather is damp, and occasionally cold, until the middle of May, about which time vegetation becomes active and the trees begin to put forth their leaves. Frost often appears in September, and is sometimes seen in June. The heat of summer during the day is nearly as intense here as in the less elevated parts of the State ; but the mornings and evenings are much cooler, and in the summer nights a blanket is frequently no uncomfortable covering for a bed.
The autumn is usually the most pleasant season in all parts of the State. The mornings and evenings become cool about the first of September, and with the exception of a few warm days in that month, the temperature is moderate. A period of delightfully pleasant weather, with an atmosphere clear and serene, except a slightly hazy or smoky appearance, continues until towards the middle of October, with an almost imperceptible increase of cold.
41
CLIMATE.
This weather is then commonly interrupted by frequent rains which herald the approach of winter, and white frosts become common at night. It is said to be an old Indian maxim, that the severity of the winter is in proportion to the quantity of rain which falls during the autumn. During the clear cold weather of winter the wind generally comes from the northwest; and in the same season during storms of snow and rain or damp weather, from the northeast. In the country west of the mountains easterly winds and storms are less frequent than on the Atlantic coast.
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