from the Greenville Band to play during the three days for $75 less thirteen or more family tickets was accepted. The annual fair began September 17. There were a great many entries, but the "district pacing race," set for the second day, failed to become an attraction. The exhibit of cattle, poultry, grain and fruits was particularly good. On the third day, at 7 A. M., the population of Darke County" and the rest of the United States" began to stream through the gates, at 25 cents a head, children under twelve years of age being free. The Secretary had asserted, and it now came true, that "this day will pass into the history of the Agricultural Society as one of the most successful in every way since its organization." Concerning the final day we quote: "O most inglorious day! O day that made officers, managers, exhibitors and visitors, especially the horse men, say words out of the Bible! The rain, the rain, how beautiful is the rain, after the dust and heat, in the crowded street and in the narrow lane,' but not under the present circumstances. It was about 10 A. M. when all were taken by surprise by the showers that began to fall most heavily. The people rapidly took their departure without waiting to hear the band play Sweet Home.' It was the opinion of the managers that the races should not be held, but they yielded to the importunities of those who remained. The receipts from this exhibition were $4.651.44.

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The officers remained practically the same in 1879, save that a new manager, S. Rynearson, was chosen, and William Sullivan appointed Secretary. The racecourse was remodeled during the summer and lengthened to a half-mile, under the supervision of C. O'Brien. Other alterations and repairs were made during the same season. The fair lasted this fall only four days. So much stock arrived on the day previous that parties were kept busy in their proper bestowal. It had been advertised that a match trot for a purse of $200 would come off on the opening day (September 16), and the result was an attendance of fully two thousandfour hundred persons. The Secretary and assistants were busied all day and thence on to midnight making entries from memoranda supplied by exhibitors. The weather was cool during the second day; about four thousand were present. The books were kept open till noon, and due diligence was exercised in expediting entries, but this department was obliged to close before full record could be made. Carpenters were engaged all day building stalls and pens, and night found considerable stock unsheltered. The races, stimulated by the surging multitude, proved very exciting. It had been announced that Gov. Bishop would deliver an agricultural address during the fair. He arrived at Greenville on the night of the 17th, and by noon of the next day, the people and vehicles gathered from all points far and near. The "grove" seemed literally packed with wagon, buggy and other conveyances, while there was a perfect jam of people in and about the various halls. The Governor came upon the ground about 11 A. M., and from the band-stand delivered a short address, congratulating the citizens of Darke County upon their rapid advance in agriculture, and their good fortune in having selected such a fertile spot for their homes.

The managers of awards had anticipated their duties, and the business progressed rapidly toward completion harmoniously. Committees on horses, cattle, sheep and hogs reported an unusually fine display in those departments; more especially was this the case with swine, which was the finest exhibit of any heretofore made in the county. From 2 P. M., races claimed attention, and were continued until dark. Judging from the number of tickets sold, the number present was full 12,000. The morning of the final day was clear and cold, yet some 7,000 persons were present. About 10 A. M., the removal of stock and machinery began, and by 3 P. M. was mainly completed. Three races occupied the afternoon, a 2:30 trot for a purse of $300, the county trot and a running race for $125. Receipts of this fair were $5,681.81.

Officers for 1880 are Thomas McCowan, President; John Townsend, Vice President; new managers-G. W. Studabaker, N. M. Wilson, J. N. Lowry and

Ezra Lecklider; the managers who hold over are N. S. York, Michael Noggle, S. Rynearson and William Sullivan, who on February 3, 1880, was elected Secretary, while Mr. Studabaker continues Treasurer.

After a somewhat checkered experience financially and otherwise, that required, at times, the most prudent counsels and judicious management, as well as the hearty co-operation of friends and promoters in general, the Darke County Agricultural Society stands in the fore front of local enterprises, with a prosperous future confidently assured. Its present debt is about $1,000, the remainder of the purchase of its new and commodious grounds, embracing forty-four acres, located one-half mile south of the city, just at the corporation line between the Jefferson and Eaton turnpikes. The buildings, fencing and other constructions and improvements are permanent and need no immediate repair nor material increase.

In addition to the credit deservedly bestowed upon the society for efficient management, there has recently been presented a new claim to the respect and esteem of community by an unanimous interdict of the sale of intoxicants on the fair grounds. We predict for the society a prosperous future, calculated to continue the county in its vantage ground of varied and enormous products, till by drainage, tillage and crops, the maximum shall be reached and held.

GEOLOGY.

There is no subject identified with the history of Darke County so little known. and so abounding in matters of interest and value as that which treats of its rock formations. The facts stated in this chapter are drawn from the report of the Geology of Darke County, published in "Geology of Ohio." The structural geology of the county presents us with a single rock formation, upon which rest drift deposits which vary, within the bounds of Darke, in a great degree in their thickness. In some places superficial, in others of considerable depth. A study of these deposits in their various phases will tend to aid people in their search for comfort and wealth, and will decide the pursuit or abandonment of various desirable projects. The rock upon which the drifts rest is known generally as Niagara limestone, beneath which are the series designated as paleozoic. The geologists of this region thus write: "Hither the great glaciers of the north, at a very remote age, have transported and deposited all over this rocky floor, in varied depths, vast quantities of clay, gravel and bowlders, on an average of 100 feet or even more. Through the action of water, or the hand of man, where there was no other impediment than a few feet of soil, in five different localities, small areas of the native rock have been exposed." Slight knowledge can be acquired of the outlines of the bed-rock, while its constituents and characters may be fully understood. This rock is of diverse texture. It has been found soft and sandy, and again crystalline in its hardness. Where it is exposed to view, it is seen unbroken and horizontal, save a single exception. In the quarries owned by Dr. Gard, a mile and a half southwest of Greenville, between the fork of Greenville and Mud Creeks, the beds of rock are found folded, with a dip to the south and east. The layers are also seen to terminate in the contiguous drift, and may be followed short distances by scattered fragments. The Niagara ledge was reached at a depth of ninety-five feet, by parties engaged in excavating the public cistern at the corner of Fourth Street and Broadway, in Greenville. Though the enterprise failed in its object to secure a supply of water, yet it rendered useful knowledge in a variety of ways. This depth is placed at the minimum to reach rock in the vicinity. The quarries mentioned lie twenty-one feet below Greenville, and are, therefore, seventyfour feet above the rock underlying the town. The same ledge crops out four and a half miles east of Greenville, at Bierley's, and is there eighty-nine feet above the rock at the county seat. Five miles south, at Maur's Station, Mud Creek flows over the horizontal limestone, showing a still greater elevation. These observations tend to locate Greenville upon a huge drift heaped in a great glacial valley. Since

the town is elevated thirty feet above the channel of the creek, its present bed must flow over detritus sixty-five feet in depth. This deposit also points to the early junction of the two streams beneath the present site of Greenville. Strong proof is supplied by Gard's quarries, which stood a bold rocky islet, around which swept the great streams which in the remote part formed this basin.

The streams flow over their original beds in three localities within the county, for short distances: Greenville Creek at Bierley's, Mud Creek at Weaver's Station and Stillwater in Wayne Township. That the excavation noticed was the work of glaciers is proved by the general horizontal position of the rock and by the smoother polished glacial striæ found in the quarries. These striæ bear a direction almost due south.

The superficial deposits consist of a mass of clay, sand and gravel, sometimes found in regular distinct layers, at others, heterogeneously blended. The former mark the action of water, the latter, of glacier and iceberg. There seems to be a diversity in the divisions of the deposits, as no two sections present uniform succession of parts.

The well at the Greenville gas works shows as follows:

The pebbles and bowlders are worn by water. The layer of blue clay is derived from melting icebergs. Surface bowlders are of greenstone, syenite, etc., while those found blended with the yellow clay were of waterlime and Niagara limestone, water-worn.

From many wells, of various depths, the following section may be taken as an acknowledged type of this region :

A noticeable feature of the drift in this locality are the sand and gravel hills which largely prevail in the county. These cairns, as they are called, are easily accessible, break the otherwise monotony of the landscape, and are nature's storehouses for the material of which the fine and numerous turnpikes have been constructed. They, also, supply abundance of building-sand, at the very places where this auxiliary is most needed.

These hill range in height from thirty to sixty feet, and are in form either conical or elongated; the latter type is the most common to this locality. It is noted that their axes lies uniformly northwest by southeast. They most abound along a line parallel to the divide, passing from the northeast through the center of the county, to its southwestern portion. Along the railroad, between Greenville and Richmond, Ind., they are in clusters; they may be seen isolated and in groups. Their shape and distribution indicate their origin, at right angles to the direction

of the watershed. There is a marked peculiarity between the cairns and the soil surrounding them. They are frequently met with in the midst of black bottom land, entirely distinct and dissimilar. Their composition is sand, gravel and a small quantity of intermixed yellow clay. The mass, generally yellow, is at vary ing intervals streaked with blue, and the presence of iron and sulphur is often perceivable from the red brown hue of the deposit. There is an absence of large bowlders, the pebbles are seen to be rounded and smoothed, and the sand and gravel are found interlocked in wedge-shaped layers. The pebbles are from one-half to three inches in diameter. Large fragments of rocks are sometimes found imbedded in the drift. Among varieties of this are flint, granite, shale and limestone. Wherever fossils have been discovered, they are seen to be much worn and are scarcely recognizable. A section of an isolated cairn, known as Bunker Hill, near the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad, one and one-half miles southwest of Greenville, gives the following:

This hill, once fifty feet in height, has been pretty much removed. A very fine section, with well-stratified layers, showing interlocking, free from bowlders, and containing pebble of blue shale and limestone, is obtained from Hetzler's gravel pit, in Adams Township. It shows series, as follows:

Dr. Newberry speaks of these cairns as follows: "It seems that in the period of greatest submergence, the larger part of the summit of the watershed was under water, and was swept by breakers and shore waves, by which some of the beds of sand and gravel were formed which are described under the head of cairns; and I have supposed that a considerable proportion of the materials composing these cairns or eskers was derived from icebergs standing on the shoals which now form the crest of the divide." It is theorized that, in the passes of the divide, there was depth of water sufficient to float icebergs of some size. As these stranded upon the shelving slopes of the divide, or dissolved in their slow movement southward, there was set free their immense stores of mud and gravel. The gradual upheaval of the continent made the gaps in the divide, through which volumes of water continued to pour for an indefinite period, and their eddies and other agencies united to sort and shape the successive layers.

Very many bowlders are found scattered over the surface of the county, and their origin is imputed to floating ice. Two classes differing in location are observed, one finely striated, of deep-blue color and resting on the bed-rock, the other containing ordinary drift rocks and lying within a few feet of the surface. These bowlders are first observed in the northwest part of the county, along the crest of the divide, where they were set free from the stranded icebergs. We may trace them along the line of the deepest channels of the principal streams, prominent among which was Greenville Creek. We quote, "at Bierley's quarries, and in that vicinity, resting just above the Niagara limestone, in probably a foot or two of soil, they exist in a perfect jumble, sometimes two and three huge ones

piled up together. Up stream, they can be traced as a perfect moraine; below, however, they are few, though, for the most part, larger." The beds of rock were evidently a barrier at this point to the further progress of the floating ice-masses. Like, though smaller, prevalence of these large bowlders is found at all exposures in the county, and gives color to the statement of quarrymen that the presence of groups of bowlders on the surface indicates the presence of the limestone at a small depth beneath.

A belt of these iceberg-moraines extends up the left bank of the creek from Bierley's quarries, pursues a direct course at a bend of the creek, crosses and follows the north side of the Greenville & Gettysburg pike, makes a circuit through neighboring fields and returns to the creek below Knouf's mill, where the bowlders have been used in the formation of a large dam, and from this point its course is traceable toward the divide. This belt of rock was seen to advantage in the early day, upon the commons east of Greenville, before removal for building purposes. Another prominent belt of surface bowlders, three or four hundred yards in width, is seen to extend from the northern part of Van Buren Township, in a southwesterly course, crossing the Dayton & Union Railroad a few miles south of Jaysville, thence, with a bend to the southeast, through Twin Township, near Ithaca, into Preble County. Bowlders in Van Buren Township are eight to ten feet through, and there are examples where they have a diameter of twelve feet. This moraine was long regarded as impassable and untillable, but these difficulties have been overcome, and the belt produces average crops, and the rough, rocky roads are at least dry and lasting. While the peat-alluvium of this region was in process of formation, the sedgy and marshy banks of the small lakes-now peat-bogs-were haunted by the mammoth and the mastodon, whose remains are almost annually found in different parts of the county. The remains of a mastodon and an almost perfect skeleton of a mammoth, found in the peat deposits of Mud Creek Prairie, are part of the collection of Dr. G. Miesse, of Greenville. A fine tusk of a mastodon was found in the northern part of the county, and the tooth of a mammoth was picked up in the creek-bottom north of Versailles. Parts of the skeletons of nearly a score of those huge creatures have been discovered in as many years.

"The geology of Darke County is pre-eminently that of the drift, but one rock formation being exposed within its entire borders. This formation belongs to the upper series of the Niagara group, known as the Guelph or Cedarville beds. It is supposed to be identical with the Le Claire of Iowa, the Racine of Wisconsin and the Guelph of Canada, from which it takes its name. Although there are but five exposures, there is no doubt but that these beds compose the entire rock surface. It was formerly thought by some members of the survey that the water-lime extended into the northern part of the county. This might have been highly probable before the glacial epoch, but, being evidently superficial, must have been removed during that period of erosion.

The Guelph rocks are most extensively laid bare along Greenville Creek and at the quarries of Bierley, Hershey and Roesser, in the southwest quarter of Section 27, Adams Township. They form the bed of the creek here for a quarter-mile or more. The quarries are situated in the bottom of the valley or ravine, and are covered with about two feet of dark red clay or loam, mingled with the decomposed lime-rock and strewn with heaps of large drift bowlders. The banks are twenty to thirty feet in height, and composed of yellow clay and hardpan. The beds of limestone here appear perfectly horizontal, having been deposited (as shown by the character of the rock) in a quiet, shallow sea, and having witnessed little disturbance and no subsequent upheaval. A section of ten or twelve feet can be observed at the quarries, bearing about the same features as the Guelph bed generally, viz., of a light buff color, porous or spongy and fragile. The upper portion, in particular, is so fragile or sandy as to crumble up like chalk, and is composed almost entirely of crinoidal stems. No regular planes of stratification

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