432 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



westward down the Ohio river, and up the Missouri, and so on t( 

 the Pacific ocean, in the course of our travel we shall bring to 

 view all the rocks known to geologists in their regular sequence. 

 The same series will be brought to view in the same order if we 

 cross the continent, passing in a southerly direction. The Adi- 

 rondack mountains are composed of gueiss, granite, magnetic 

 iron, and mica slate, all primitive, or as they are sometimes called 

 Hypozoic rocks. The latter term is applied because they appear 

 to have been formed previous to any life. These hypozoic rocks, 

 in my opinion, represent to us the American Continent as it exist- 

 ed in that age of the world. They were then dry land, and ste- 

 rile. The American Continent, although smaller, and not reach- 

 ing so far towards the south, had then pretty much the same 

 contour that it has at present. A large portion of New England, 

 a portion of Missouri, and a portion of Texas, were islands, and 

 there was a series of islands along the Atlantic coast. Next to 

 the primitive rocks come the conglomerates, formed from frag- 

 ments of those primitive rocks. As we proceed from the primi- 

 tive formations towards those of newer date, we find these frag- 

 ments more and more minute. Magnetic iron ore is found in 

 large quantities in no other than three primitive formations. 



PREMIUMS OFFERED. 



The President read the following communication from the 

 Managers of the American Institute : 



In the second week of February next, the Managers of the Fair 

 of the American Institute will make a public exhibition of such 

 inventions and improvements brought before them as may be 

 deemed worthy of public approbation. 



To give a just encouragement to those ingenious citizens who 

 are laboring for the improvement of Agriculture, Manufactures 

 and the Arts, the Managers have selected those subjects on which 

 improvement seems most needed for the public weal, and now offer 

 the medal of the American Institute for such new invention or 

 improvement on any of those subjects as shall be adjudged wor- 

 thy of an award. 



To aid their judgment in this matter, the Managers have divi- 

 ded these subjects appropriately into two classes, and referred 

 the one class to the Polytechnic Association, and the other class 

 to the Farmer's Club, requesting them to examine the articles or 

 claims which may be brought before them, and to report on the 



