1893.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 233 



cretaceous strata occupied practically the whole of what is now 

 Long Island Sound, as I have discussed in a previous article.* 



At the western end of Long Island, where Brooklyn now is, 

 the extent of cretaceous strata subject to erosion by the glaciers 

 was very limited, and the paucity of such indications need not 

 surprise us. In fact, the discovery of the few fossil leaves 

 which have been made in digging wells and sewers there, may 

 be considered peculiarly fortuitious. While examining the 

 moraine through the Eastern district of Brooklyn, I was parti- 

 cularly impressed with the great number of the characteristic 

 concretions, many of them containing plant remains (lignite and 

 twigs)at the headof the Newtown Creek valley. I can only account 

 for this as due to the material which was eroded in the forma- 

 tion of the valley. Such valleys or inlets are among the most 

 prominent features in the topography of the north shore of the 

 island, and ice action has been advocated by previous observers 

 as their probable cause. Having this theory in mind, the fact 

 above noted is of some significance. 



At this part of the island the clays do not appear anywhere 

 in mass, so far as I am imformed. They were probably in such 

 limited amount on the north side, where subjected to glacial 

 action, that they were entirely eroded, while to the south they 

 were deeply covered by the moraine. As we proceed eastward, 

 however, we find the clays out-ci'opping on the north shore at 

 man}' localities, though generally much squeezed and contorted 

 by the pressure of the ice sheet, and they are invariably met 

 with on the south side, containing lignite, whenever wells or 

 other excavations have been sunk to a sufficient depth. 

 Throughout the moraine, also, wherever I have examined it, 

 the characteristic conci*etions and micaceous sandstones are 

 abundant. 



Only a beginning has A'et been made in the search for plant 

 remains, but now that attention has been called to the matter 

 they are being reported from a number of localities, and 

 specimens are constantly coming to light, and there seems to be 

 no doubt that the entire north shore of the island will present 

 the same story to the searcher, when it has been carefully 

 explored. 



In the vicinity of Glen Cove, where the greatest amount of 

 exploration has been personally made, the clays are exposed at 

 the base of steep bluffs fronting the shores. At Carpenter's 

 clay pits, on the west shore of the cove, a fine white clay is 

 found, associated with sandy clay, white sand, gravel and 

 " kaolin " ; all of which are mined for economic purposes. A few 



* Trans- N. Y. Acad. Sci. xii- 190-202. 



