402 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 7 



wathpred from a low hedsje, compared with the la- 

 bor of collecting it from h\sh standard treop. Ap 

 the foliatre for the feeds of the worms will not he 

 po early in this way as from standard trees, it will 

 be necessary to delay the hatchinff of the worms. 

 This may easily be done by keeping the cgj^s in 

 an ice-house. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 GEOLOGY AKD GCOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK.* 



The last number of Prof. Sdliman's Journal, 

 contains an interestiiifr account of an exploration 

 of the reijion around the source of the Hudson 

 river, and a barometrical admeasurement of the 

 principal peaks that constitute the nucleus of that 

 elevated ranee, furnished for that work bv VV. C. 

 Redfield, of New York, one of the explorintr 

 party, and thence copied into the Family Maga- 

 zine, a valuable miscellaneous work conducted 

 by that gentleman on somewhat the plan of the 

 Penny Magazine, and which deserves an exten- 

 sive circulation- 

 It is a fact no le^g surprisinjr than true, that a 

 ranwc or rather cluster of mountains, by far the 

 hieheet and most remarkable in the state, and, 

 with a einffle exception, more elevated than any 

 others east of the Rocky JVIountains, should have 

 remained for one or two hundred years, within 

 thirty orlbrty miles of one oft he greatest thorouffli- 

 faree on the continent, without a suspicion of tiieir 

 great elevation, or scarcely a knowledge of their 

 existence. The Catt.«kills had long been consi- 

 dered the highest range in the state ; but it was 

 now discovered that a part of the uppercour.ee of 

 the principal northern branch of the Hudson was 

 higher than the highest peak of that range, and 

 that the source was no less then 900 feet above the 

 Round Top. This is one of the results o( the 

 geological survey of the state — which, in addi- 

 tion to the great advantages to be expected from 

 that investigation, promises to add much to our 

 geographical knowledge, and correct many errors 

 into which we have fallen with regard to our own 

 territory. 



The soufces of the Hudson are spread over the 

 eouthern part of the wild and unknown region 

 that occupiefi that part of the state embraced be- 

 tween the settlements on the Black River, St. Law- 

 rence, Lake Champlain and the upper Mohawk. 

 Several thousand square miles are here nearly 

 destitute of any settlements, without roads, co- 

 vered with dense evergreen forests, abounding in 

 hxiiac, and filled with animals that delight in^the 

 unbroken solitudes of nature. From Port Henry, 

 on Lake Champlain, an apology for a road has 

 been onened in a west direction across this region 

 to the Black River settlements. This road crosses 

 the main northern branch of the Hudson, about 

 40 miles from the lake and a few miles below 

 the new settlement of Mcfntyre, which has been 

 created bv the owner*! of the immense ore-beds 

 that there cross the Hudson River, and furnish a 

 supply for the iron works in operation and erect- 

 ing at that place ; and it waa to this place that the 

 course of the exploring party was first directed. 



•This article was written in March. It having been 

 mislaid is the cause of its late appearance. 



The first visit was made in lb36. The party 

 consisted of Archibald JVlclntyre, Judge McMar- 

 lin, David Henderson, David "C. Colderi, Mr. Hall, 

 state geologist, and JMr. Redfield. 'i'lurteen miles 

 from the lake they crossed Schroon River, the 

 eastbraiichof the Hudson; nine miles from Schroon 

 they Ibund a M r. Johnson on the outlet of a moun- 

 lam lake, called Clear Ponil, the only dwelling on 

 the road li-om Schroon to the Black River. Eight 

 miles fi'om Johnson's they crossed the Boreas 

 River, and some eight or nine miles farther they 

 reached the Hudson, about 8 miles below the Iron- 

 works of JMcliiiyre. These are situated imme- 

 diately at the base of the cluster of mountains that 

 divided the Hudson from the Au Saltle. 



The party immediately entered on the explora- 

 tion of these wild liisinesses, which apparently had 

 never been trodtlen by human foot ; but the unex- 

 pected difficulties of the country, and the limited 

 supply of provisions con^pelied the party to desist, 

 after they had ascertained that the geography, 

 natural and phyt'ical, of the district, was deserv- 

 ing a fuller investigation, and that the geology 

 of that section of llie state was of a most interest- 

 ing cliaracter. At a later period of the year Prof. 

 Emmon.s passed tlu-ough (hat magnificent defile, 

 tiie Notch, to the north of Mcfntyre, and measured 

 tlie lifiglit of that stupendous precipice, the Wall 

 Face Mount;iin, forming the west side of the defile. 

 Nothing could equal the dreary and savage cha- 

 racter of the country traversed by the party ; and 

 the tullowing extracts will show the animals that 

 range over it uimiolested. "Traces of wolves 

 and deer were frequently seen, and we disco- 

 vered also the recent tracks of a moose, Cervus 

 Juices, L. We also noticed, at the inlet of Lake 

 Sandlbrd, the fresh and yet undried footsteps of a 

 paniher, which upparenily had just crossed the 

 inlet." **«»<' Previous to reaching the 

 outlet of Lake Colden, we hail noticed ou the 

 margin of the river, fresh tracks of the wolf and 

 also of the deer, both apparently made at the ful- 

 lest speed, and on turning a point we came upon 

 the warm and mangled remains of a fine deer, 

 which had fallen a sacrifice to the wolves; the 

 latter having been driven from their savage repast 

 by our unwelcome approach. There appeared 

 to have been two of the aggressive party, one of 

 which, by lying in wait, had probably intercepted 

 the deer in his course to the lake, and they had 

 nearly devoured their victim in a very short space 

 of time." 



The second tour of exploration took place in 

 August, 1837, and the party consisted of Messrs. 

 Mclntyre, Henderson, Hall, (stale geologist,) Pro- 

 fessors Torrey and Emmons, Messrs. ingham, 

 Strong, Miller, Emmons, Jr., and Mr. Redfield. 

 They commenced their n)arch from the settlement 

 of Mclntyre, on the 3d of August, and after a 

 most fatiguing route reached the source of the 

 Hudson, on the morning of the 5th. Mr. Redfield 

 in his narrative, says, "At 8,40 A. M. we reached 

 the head of the stream on the summit of this elevat- 

 ed pass, which here forms a beautiful and open 

 mountain meadow, with ridges of the two adja- 

 cent mountains rising at easy slopes fi'om its sides. 

 From this same meadow which lies within the 

 present limits of the town of Keene, the main 

 branch of the Hudson, and a fork of the east branch 

 of the Au Sable commence theirdescending course 

 in opposite directions, for different and far distant 



