240 Mr. Pierce on the Alluvial District of New-Jersey. 
This marl is adapted for both sandy and clay earths. - It 
was remarked to me by farmers of Monmouth county, that 
lands manured with marl are less affected by dry weather 
than other grounds. This doubtless arises from its render- 
ing the soil a better medium to retain moisture. When 
there is too much clay, the numerous shells and fragments 
in the marl keep the soil loose and suffer water to penetrate 
—and if too sandy, the calcareous ingredients attract and 
retain moisture, while the clay of the marl improves the 
texture of the soil. : 
The rich marls found in Monmouth county adjacent to 
navigable rivers, might be advantageously transported to 
fertilize the sandy lands of the southern part of Long and 
Staten Islands. - a hos 
Though marl is now employed in a comparatively small 
district of New-Jersey, it is probable from the character of 
the region, that it may be found throughout our alluvial sea- 
board, and would be very valuable where gypsum is power- 
less. Strata of marl have been passed through in sinking 
wells many miles south of Scie iianeh, and also near the 
Delaware. wcoelis = 
Shells and the bones of fish are often disclosed by exca- 
vations, made far from the ocean. Banks of oyster-shells 
covering extensive tracts and of unknown depth, have been 
red in the interior of the southern States. It is from 
such calcareous ingredients that marl principally derives its 
virtue, | 
Organic remains of the land and sea have been found as- 
sociated in the marl beds of New-Jersey, at a considerable 
elevation above the Atlantic. Among these are bones of 
the rhinoceros and other animals of the eastern continent, 
some of them of extinct species, elephants’ teeth, deers’ 
horns, bones of the whale, sharks’ teeth and entire skeletons 
of fish, together with gryphites, belemnites, cardites and 
various shell-fish. 
The origin of these banks of shells and bones may, I 
think, with propriety be ascribed to the deluge recorded in 
sacred history. The events which have since occurred 
within the observation of man can account for the various 
phenomena remarked in this alluvial district. 
The interior of the peninsula is covered by extensive for- 
ests of pitch pine and shrub oak. Settlements are here and 
