166 GEOLOGY OF THE SECOND DISTRICT. 



upon their barren district, they infer, that inasmuch as Nature has stin'ed, or has been sparing 

 in tlie bounties which accompany a feriile soil, they must of necessity abound in something 

 else that is valuable ; as if she was bound, or rather as if that was a part of her system, 

 either to make a district fertile, or else to abound in products of merchandise. It is scarcely 

 necessary to attempt to dispel such an illusion ; for illusion it must be, inasmuch as these 

 notions cannot have been derived from observation, or from a knowledge of the economy of 

 nature in any of her dominions. It is true, however, that in one sense every region and dis- 

 trict is fertile, or contributes to fertility ; almost every one yields the necessaries of life to the 

 industrious and temperate, they are rich in beautiful scenery, the heavens above are not 

 brass, nor the earth beneath an iron-bound sod. The scenery which is spread out upon all 

 sides is magnificent to behold ; the mountains, which rise in sharp ridges and peaks, yield, 

 it is true, no harvest of corn, but they may be considered an essential feature in the physical 

 arrangement of the earth ; the majestic mountains, and the broad expanse of ocean, are ne- 

 cessary accompaniments of the fertile plains : the husbandman, it is true, does not go upon 

 either for tillage, yet without them all would be a barren waste. What may be wanting in 

 one district, can be supplied by an exchange of commodities ; industry will create mines, 

 make a barren spot fertile, and bring to every man's home and family the products of every 

 clime and season. 



In the previous part of this volume, I proposed a classification of the rocks of my district ; 

 and at the same time applied the principles on which my views were founded, to the several 

 districts of the State. Farther reflection upon the subject, and the favorable opinions of 

 friends, have confirmed the views which I then gave. By reference to p. 101, it will be seen 

 that this classification is geographical, but still the divisions are not strictly arbitrary ; for it 

 is conceived that the groups, though they may be susceptible of farther division, are by no 

 means unnatural, and neither of them includes rocks which can with any propriety be placed 

 in either of the others. Those groups then may contain too much, according to the views 

 of some geologists ; that is, embrace a small series which might be subdivided or thrown into 

 two or more smaller groups. Of the propriety or advantage of splitting up the system into 

 numerous subdivisions, there still exist many doubts. While this question may remain un- 

 decided, there can be but one opinion in regard to the advantage of retaining the geographical 

 features of the classification ; for our conceptions of the New- York rocks are greatly aided 

 by associating the two great aspects under which rocks may be viewed, viz. as existing in 

 time, or in space ; * or in other words, superposition and geographical range ; so that where 

 one is the subject of reflection, it necessarily brings to our minds the other. By no better 

 method can these advantages be secured, than by the one proposed, viz. the division of the 

 New-York rocks into four great groups — the Champlain, Ontario, Helderbergh, and Erie. 

 Each group having, it is believed, a tolerable distinct boundary on either side, both above and 

 below, so geographically they are equally well defined by lines easily followed, and which 



* Hi.GH Miller on the Old Red Sandstone, p. 256. 



