104 Geological Survey of the State of New York. 
a small triangle in the north part of Stirling, Cayuga County, fif- 
teen feet above Lake Ontario, and rising with the other rocks 
going west, forms the lower falls of Heamenier, nearly one hun- 
dred feet above that level. 
This is followed by the gray sandstone, the same, in position 
at least, as “the millstone grit” of Oneida, and “the gray band” 
of Rochester. Then succeed the green shales, the iron ore beds, 
the calcareous “ firestones,”’ &c. &c., and lastly, the concretiona- 
ry rock of Oneida, with shales and sandstone, the upper member 
of the “ Protean group,” passing from the low level near Oneida 
Lake west, forms “the upper falls of Rochester, the rock of the 
great excavation of Lockport, and the falls of Niagara.” 
The “red sandstone” of Oswego, is the lowest rock of Madi- 
son, Onondaga, and Cayuga, and “is the lowest rock, geologically, 
of New York, which contains brine springs of sufficient purity to 
be manufactured into salt.” ‘From the east part of Oswego to 
Niagara River, numerous brine springs are found in this red sand- 
stone, and all which occur in this rock in the third district, (and 
there are several in Oswego,) yield the same kind of sharp tasted 
salt, described as the saltpetre taste, and all highly colored with 
iron, characters different from the salt of the brine springs which 
belong to a subsequent deposit, and show a difference of source 
or contamination from being deposited with a different rock.” 
The “red oxide of iron,” the “lenticular clay iron ore,” occurs in 
“two distinct beds in the Protean group, arranged in lines, paral- 
lel to each other, extending from Herkimer to the Genesee River, 
about twenty-five feet from each other, and from one to two and 
a half feet in thickness, not always. present in every locality, one 
or the other, and even both being sometimes wanting. 
- The “red shale and the water limes of Herkimer and Onei- 
da,” or the “saliferous group of Onondaga” succeed, and con- 
sist of four deposits. First, or lowest, is the red shale; second, 
the lower gypseous shales, the lower part intermixed with red 
shale, which ceases with this mass; thirdly, the gypseous de- 
posit, which embraces the great masses quarried for plaster, the 
hopper-shaped cavities, the ‘* vermicular lime-rock” of Eaton, an 
other porous rocks; and fourthly, rocks abounding in groups of 
needleform eavities, placed side by side, caused by: the crystalliza- 
tion of sulphate of magnesia, and which may be called the mag- 
nesian deposit. The gypseous and magnesian constituents ¢X- 
