OCR Text |
Show TABLE 4.-Value added by manufacture in Ohio Basin Statesl s [Thousands of dollars] 1 Virginia has only 5 counties in the basin. New York with 3 counties, North Carolina with 2, and Maryland with 1 county in the basin, are omitted from the table. No State lies entirely within the basin. (See map of the basin.) *Data are for entire States. Important manufacturing areas in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois lie outside the Ohio Basin area. Source: Census of Manufacturers 1947, vol. 3, Summary Statistics, table 4. Agriculture.-Although the Ohio River Basin is most often thought of as an industrial area, agri- culture is one of the principal pursuits. Some of the most productive agricultural land in the Nation is located here, particularly the Corn Belt region which extends through central Illinois and Indiana into Ohio, and the "bluegrass" region in Kentucky. In the Corn Belt section, corn, oats, soybeans, and hay are the principal field crops, and in the eastern part of this region these go to market in the form of livestock products. Farming units are of efficient family size, or large commercial operations, and farm incomes are substantial. The large, productive farms in the bluegrass re- gion specialize in tobacco growing and pasture for cattle, sheep, and horses. In the rough land bordering the Ohio River and south of itj small farms predominate. Corn, oats, wheat, hay, and some tobacco, cotton, fruit, and truck crops are grown. Here soils are infertile, erosion is most pronounced, and average incomes are low. Western Pennsylvania and eastern West Virginia is a dairy region where dairying and poultry raising are combined with production of hay, feed grains, and wheat. Farms are relatively small and inten- sive farming is necessary to provide adequate incomes. Mining.-The most important mineral resources of this basin are the fuels. Large areas of coal- bearing strata occur in southwestern Indiana, east- ern Illinois, western and eastern Kentucky, eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Annual production of bituminous coal from this region in 1948 was about half a billion tons, over three-fourths of the bituminous coal mined in the United States. During 1949, approximately 115 million barrels of oil and 350 billion cubic feet of gas were pro- duced. This was about 6 percent of the oil and 3 percent of the natural gas production for the United States. Large deposits of bituminous shales oc- curring in parts of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee are a potential source for liquid fuel. Important deposits of fluorspar occur in western Kentucky and southern Illinois. There is an abundance of limestone for building, agricultural, and industrial use, and important deposits of fire clay, glass sand, salt, and gypsum occur in various parts of the area. Forestry.-Since the days of early settlement the forests of this area have been used and exploited. Present timber stand is composed largely of young stands of hardwoods through which are scattered remnants of the original forests. Ninety percent of the 32 million acres of forest land in the basin is privately owned. Three million acres are public forests, two-thirds of which are in national forests. The most extensive forests are in the mountain regions of eastern Kentucky, western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia where many counties are more than 80 percent forested. It is estimated that this area provides from 20 to 25 percent of all hardwood lumber produced in the Nation. Major Basin Problems The fundamental assets of the Ohio River Basin are its abundant natural resources, favorable climate and soils, and adequate water supply. These fea- tures are the base on which the people of the basin have developed a highly diversified economy. An excellent balance exists between the population and resultant labor supply on one hand and agriculture, manufacturing, and mineral resource development on the other. Public services have generally kept abreast of the needs of the people. The water problems of the Ohio Basin are those associated with a maturing economy. Pollution of 630 1939 7947 Illinois..................... $2,187,240 $6,680,137 Indiana.................... 964,746 2,977,508 Kentucky.................. 186,485 740,772 Ohio...................... 2,116,434 6,359,006 Pennsylvania............... 2,476,862 6,946,958 Tennessee.................. 318,378 957,539 Virginia.................... 376,259 1,051,629 West Virginia............... 213,284 663,903 |