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FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 7 



summer. Alorii; such a great thorouffbl^u-e, it may 

 readily be sup[)ose(l that the population is very 

 numerous. Accordingly each side presents some- 

 what the appearance of a continuous village. 

 The houses are generally on the declivities, and 

 so near to the road as only to allow of yards of 

 the most contracted dimensions. 



The next division, embraced between the ridsje 

 road and mountain ridge, presents a more varied sur- 

 fiice than tlie one I have just described. In some 

 parts it is quite broken, with sandy and gravelly, 

 hills of diluvial formation running from north "to 

 south, and plainly marking the direction of the cur- 

 rents which once swe|)t over it. For the most part, 

 however, it is a beauiiful undulating country, with 

 a soil of good texture, sometimes rather heavy: im- 

 pregnated with lime, but not belouijingto the lime- 

 stone formation. The red sandstone forms the. basis 

 of this region as well as of the other. A great 

 number of granitic boulders are scattered over the 

 surfiice, which, I'rom the total absence of such ori- 

 ginal formations in the western part of the state, 

 were evidently brought from beyond the lakes. 

 Broken limestone rocks are also to be met with. 

 It is through this tract, that the Erie canal is ta- 

 ken for a considerable distance; and (he benefits, 

 which have resulted from that great public work 

 are no whf^re so strikingly displayed. Villatres 

 have sprung up along the wliole line, as if by 

 enchantment, and the industry of man is devel- 

 oped in a thousand ways. 



There are, ho'.vever, some portions of this dis- 

 trict that are very imperfectly drained — larire 

 swamps of fertile land, yet remaining in a state 

 of nature. The chief obstacle to effectual drain- 

 ing is the gravel ridge, through which the streams 

 have, in some instances, ibund a difficulty in effect- 

 ing a passage. It was hiirhly interesting to wit- 

 ness the abortive efforts of one of these in' parti- 

 cular, repeatedly made during a distance of cirrfit 

 miles. Approaching the embankment in the first 

 instance rather obliquely, it was repelled, after 

 having made a considerable excavation into its 

 side, when it fiowed back as if to acquire fresh 

 strength to return to the attack. This was re- 

 newed at various intervals, with the same partial 

 success; but at length the object was achieved, 

 and it pursued its sluggish course to the lake. At 

 some points it has been found necessarv to open a 

 passage through the ridge, to let oft' the superflu- 

 ous water; and much yet remains to be done, ow- 

 ing to the small number and size of the streams, 

 seeking f()r an outlet, and finding but iew. 



The southern boundary of this division is not 

 so distinctly marked towards the eastern, as it is 

 at the western extremity. At Williamston, on 

 the Niagara river, and at Locfcport, the moun- 

 tain ridge is probably a hundred and fifty or two 

 hundred feet in heiirht, presentiriff to the eye the 

 appearance of a bluff. Travelling east from 

 thence, its relative altitude becomes gradually 

 less conspicuous, until at length it is difficult for a 

 casual observer to distinguish the line of separa- 

 tion. 



But the most important portion of the state is 

 the one which remains to be considered, whether 

 we refxard its extent, its fertility, irs population, or 

 resources. The other districts arc deservedly 

 thought to be fertile, and would be eminentlv en- 

 tiilcd to that character if they were situated on (he 

 eastern side of the mountains; but this fiir trans- 



cends them in every natural advantage. After 

 ascending the mountain ridge, a vast table land 

 stretches to the south, high, dry, and gently undu- 

 lating, and possessing a climate remarkable for its 

 salubrity. This is the limestone region of the state; 

 and it is here that the beautilijl and pic(uresque 

 lakes are found, which from so unique a feature in 

 the geographical history of New York. The lime- 

 stone overlies the red sandstone to the depth of 

 perhaps five or six hundred i'eet ; and in many 

 places the soil is covered with broken fragments 

 of the same, mixed with boulders of ditlerent va- 

 rieties of granite. Where these occur in consid- 

 erable numbers, it requires great labor to subdue 

 the land and prepare it for cultivation; but they 

 are nor considered such a serious objection as one 

 miirht suppose, who has not been accustomed to 

 them, 'i'hey furnish materials lor building hou- 

 ses and makintr enclosures; the latter of which, 

 when put up with skill, require but little trouble to 

 be kept in repair. This, however, is but a small 

 portion of the service they have performed; ex- 

 poseil, for ages, to the action of the elements, they 

 have become obviously disintegrated, and have 

 afforded such an abundant supply of lime to the 

 soil, that it may be truly said to be inexhaustible. 

 So great is the amount of" calcareous matter, it 

 contains, particularly at a few inches below the 

 surface, that a brisk effervescence ensues when 

 mixed with acids. I would not wish, however, 

 to be understood, io sa}- that this is uniformly the 

 case; but the qua,lity of the land is apparently so 

 nearly the same, and the disjointed limestone is 

 distributed so regularly over the surface, that I can 

 only regard the absence of an equal proportion of 

 the carbonate of lime, as an occasional exception 

 of the fact I have stated. When we add to the 

 knowledge of this f;\ct, that there is never any 

 parching of the eartli by drought, as is'so often the 

 case in more southern latitudes, it can no longer 

 be a matter of surprise, that the crops are so 

 abundant, or that the farm,ers of New York, on 

 tracts of land from one hundred to a hundred 

 and filiy acres in extent, should grow rich by the 

 cultivation of the soil. Of their system of agri- 

 culture I shall speak in the proper place. 



The lakes. I have said, form a remarkable fea- 

 ture in the geography of the state. They lie pa- 

 rallel to each other, extending from south to north; 

 and every great natural Valley is a reservoir lor 

 the waters of the neighboring streams. They 

 are of very unequal elevation; the surfiice of ihe 

 Cayuga, for instance, being forty feet lower than 

 that of the Seneca, lying by its side, not more 

 than twenty miles distant. This is obvious from 

 the fiict, that the outlet fi-om the Seneca empties 

 into the lower end of the Cayuga; and along its 

 margin there is water power, to considerable ex- 

 tent. The deepest part of the Cayuga lake is about 

 two hundred and fifty feet, which renders it pro- 

 bable that the red sandstone forms the basin of 

 these interior lakes, as well as those of Ontario 

 and Erie. Near the extremities, however, the 

 depth is not so great. Tliey were formerly inha- 

 bited b}^ shell fish in large numbers, as is evident 

 from the extensive bed of marl found at the low- 

 er end of Cayuga. It is very pure and of such 

 whiteness that it was formerly used for white- 

 washing the. farm houses; but it is latterly substi- 

 tuted by stone lime. No use has been made of it 

 for agricultural purposes. 



