The Kanawha Mountains [pp. 174-178]

The Kanawha Mountains.
the moist ravines, and the pitch-pine on
the sun-burnt heights, are the most common trees.
The pine performs the charitable office
of feeding a poor hungry soil, parched
by the summer sun and swept by the
mountain winds. But on many a sundried ridge-brow, he has long since fulfilled his destiny, and given place to the
sturdy oak and the ridge-loving chesnut.
But like the Indian tribes of a former
age, he has left his bones in the soil, but
knottier and more durable far, and destined to illuminate the obscure cabin of
the mountaineer.
A soil so prolific of wild vegetation,
and of such so'rts as prevail on the Kanawha Mountains, must be good for agricultural purposes. It is primarily composed of disintertegrate d r o cks, the clay slate
and sand stone of th e mountains, which
lie in nearly-horizontal strata, varying in
quality and thickness Among themn
are coal seams pervading the country.
The texture of the soil varies on every
mountain from a loose sand, to a heavy
tenacious clay, but generally these ingredients are mixed in good proportion.
- With the mineral constituents more or
less vegetable matter has become incorporated. The best soils are those having
a northern exposure, where moisture and
shade promote the retention and decomposition of dead vegetable matter. Here
the soil is a dark rich mould. Eastern
exposures are better than western, because west winds prevail, and drive the
falling leaves into the eddies of eastern
hollows. On southern slopes the soil is
often poor, except near the bases of the
hills. Owing to the tenacity of the pure
clays, and the porousness of the sandy
soils, these mountain sides are less subject to be gullied by rains, than many
gentler slopes in other countries. A
moderate degree of care will prevent
plough-lands from being much injured
by rains.
Why crops should suffer less from excessive wet on mountain sides than on
level plains, is obvious: but why they
should, in this country, suffer less from
drought, requii'es explanation. WVhen
the cause is understood, the effect will
appear to be perfectly natural. On level
grounds with a porous undersoil, the mois ture which is not evaporated, in a hot dry
season, sinks away and is lost. Hence
frequent showers ar e necessary to supply
the growing crops. But in these mountains, the rocky strata are charged with
wat er during the we t seasons. This
water sinking d ow n through pores and
crevices, oozes out under the soil of the
mountain sides, and is draw n by capillary attraction to th e roots of v egetables
near the surface; and the driers the surface, the more of thi s rock juice i s
pumped up.
For t he e same reason, small permanent
s prin gs are frequ ent o n the sides, and
sometimes near the tops of these moun -
ta ins. In a dry season, the small brooks
of the valleys are apt to sink under the ir
gravelly beds. Bu t a little digging detects the hidden streams. Near t heir
sources, they seldom disappear enti rel y.
Hen ce, when the se mountains shall be
converted into gra zing l ands, as, for the
most part, they assuredly wil l be, the cattle on ten thousand hills will always have
convenient access to water, and that the
pure liquor of the clouds, fil tere d and
freshenu e d by its pa ssage throug h the
rocks and sands o f the mo unt ains. Chalybeate springs occur, and some, called
deer licks, with saline impregnations;and about coal mines, some tinctured
with alum and copperas. These are medicinal; but generall y, the wa ters of the
country are pure ly sweet, and wholesome
fo r man a nd beast.
Some rocks contain lime and potassa.
Lime is more plentiful towards the northeast; but pure limestone is rare in the
Kanawha Mountains.
With a wild climate, varied no little by
difference of elevation and of exposure,
and with great variety of soil on almost
every square mile, these mountain lands
are capable of producing, and of producing well, whatsoever is cultivated north
of the cotton regions, and outside of wet
marshes.
All the grains flourish here. The Indian corn is inferior only to that on the
richest low-grounds. No lands are better adapted to wheat and tobaecco. The
1856.]
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