Page:A Topographical Description of the State of Ohio, Indiana Territory, and Louisiana.djvu/22

16 The land back from the Ohio is best for farms. The hills diminish in height and size, and though interspersed with ridges and swelling hills, a large portion of the ground is sufficiently level for. all the purposes of cultivation. Much of the land on hills and ridges is arable, and admits of easy tillage, having a rich and deep soil; and most of the ridgy and rough lands may be made useful for grazing and orchards. From the eastern boundary to the river Scioto, the same growth of trees and shrubs which have been mentioned generally prevail; although the different kinds grow more plentifully on some lands, than they do on others, and in several places there are considerable growths of pine. In the tract of land called the seven ranges there are some hills and ridges which are high and form steep precipices. In this kind of land the soil is thin, and growth small, consisting of oak and hickory, the summits of the hills tufted with pine. On the seven ranges there are few inhabitants, excepting near the Ohio. These people are principally emigrants from Pennsylvania.

The great road from Cumberland on the Potomac river, commonly called the United States road, crosses the Ohio at Wheeling, where there is a distributing post-office, that receives and despatches the mail once a week to the westward, and twice a week to the eastward. Where this road leaves the Ohio it takes a