4 TALKS ABOUT THE SOIL. 



the great masses of rock must be of a very differ- 

 ent kind from the whitish-gray rocks in New York. 

 Another bit of truth : All rocks are not of the same 

 kind and color. Another day we might go up the river 

 above Yonkers, and cross over to the Palisades, and 

 make a regular study of them, and find that there are 

 many singular and interesting things to be learned 

 from them. Just now we must go farther afield, and 

 take a wider look over the ground. 



We cross the river to Hoboken, and taking the 

 Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western road, go towards 

 the Orange Mountains. After passing the tunnel under 

 the Palisades, we come out on an immense flat, cov- 

 ered with tall grass and crossed by winding rivers, and 

 we recognize the great Hackensack meadows. Then, 

 the ground is not all rock or sand. By the edge of 

 the reedy banks we see the black oozy peat and river 

 mud. Disagreeable ! Why, no ! nothing is disagree- 

 able if we look at it in a scientific spirit. This great 

 fiord is one of the most peculiar places in the world, 

 and has much to tell us of the greatest interest, had 

 we time to stop. See that hill off to the north, like 

 an island in this green sea. That's a bit of the Pali- 

 sades left out there by itself. That, too, could tell us 

 a long story. We ride on through Newark, and come 

 to pleasant villages. Observe the country roads and 

 the ploughed fields. The ground is red, and the low 

 places wet and muddy. Here is something new, 

 something very different from the meadows, or the 

 rocks in the city. 



