Chautauqua Grape Belt. 131 



feet above the lake, we come to a gravelly soil in which the pebbles 

 are well rounded (Fig. 57) as if by water action. North of this 

 there is a steep slope of twenty or thirty feet, at the base of which 

 the soil becomes clayey, and this continues usually for several hun- 

 dred feet, or possibly as many yards, when gravelly conditions are 

 again encountered, somewhere in the vicinity of the main Buffalo 

 and Erie turnpike. One or two gravel terraces are found here, and 

 at the base of the northernmost of these clay again appears. Here, 

 as in the case of the first gravel ridge, there are springs at the junc- 

 tion of the gravel and clay, so that, where not artificially drained, 

 this place is continuously indicated by swampy conditions. From 

 the top of the upper (southernmost) gravel ridge to the spring line 

 at the base of the lowest the' descent is about ninety feet, and the 

 distance anywhere between two and three hundred yards and a mile 

 or even more, though usually not far from a quarter of a mile. 



From this point lakeward, a distance of one or two, and in some 

 places even three miles, the plain is somewhat irregular, with a 

 general descent toward the lake, which is some 150 to 160 feet 

 below the gravel ridges. The soil is usually a clay, though it is 

 often of a sandy nature. The immediate shore line is commonly a 

 bluif, either of shale or of clay (Figs. 48,59 and 61), though at 

 times it is in the form of a beach, without any well-developed bluff 

 (Fig. 58). 



As has been said, this will hold in general for any north and 

 south line, whether at the state line, Fredonia, Silver Creek or any 

 intermediate point. If, however, we make our section nearly 

 parallel to the lake shore, remaining at the same elevation above its 

 surface, we find a remarkable uniformity of conditions. Thus we 

 may pass from Erie, Pa. (and indeed from far to the west of this), 

 to Hamburg, N. Y., without leaving a belt of gravel, excepting 

 where the road crosses a stream ; or, if on the hillsides, one may 

 pass over the same distance upon a boulder-bearing clay ; or, if near 

 the lake, upon a fine clay soil, usually free from boulders. These 

 differences are constant and they are due to definite causes. Since 

 the result is of importance to the fruit grower, the cause must at 

 least be of interest. Before considering the cause, we will examine 

 the conditions in a little more detail. 



