128 Progressive Changes of Matter. [March, 



these considerations that at that time no mantling forest bound the 

 surface of the land with its net- work of roots, nor were there 

 walled channels nor deep valleys to restrain the abrasions of 

 torrents. 



In this condition of things we can readily imagine the rapid 

 and magnificent changes the river floods produced among these 

 mountain masses. Truly this was an age of floods and land- 

 slides. That such was the condition of things at that remote age, 

 I w^ill now proceed to ofier some proofs. 



The northeastern part of the State of New York embraces the 

 district of country denominated by the geologist of the second dis- 

 trict, Prof Emmons, the great primary nucleus, and contains an 

 area by an approximate calculation, of 6 or 8000 square miles. 

 Around this nucleus, except a portion of the southern side, the 

 sedimentary rocks exist. 



I have drawn a profile view of these latter rocks by a line 

 stretching south, from the south Avest corner of this nucleus through 

 the county of Herkimer to the Otsego county line, having a length 

 of sixty miles or thereabouts. This line traverses two valleys, the 

 valley of the West Canada creek and that of the Mohawk river. 

 The water-shed line at the top of the banks of these rivers is from 

 3 to 5 miles from the streams, and their elevation from 800 to 

 1000 feet above the lower valley. These banks or inclinations 

 of surface have given rise to many rapid tributary streams which 

 have in many places and to a certain extent left bare an out-crop 

 of the secondary rocks. 



I have given the above view of the aqueous rocks, not for 

 the purpose of describing their minerological character, but for 

 the purpose of showing their mechanical arrangement, and their 

 present position. 



The question now arises, did these rocks, of which w^e see the 

 out-crops, once extend over the primary rocks. If such were the 

 fact, then on the emergence of this country from the sea, this for- 

 mation became an over-lying mass. That such was the once con- 

 dition of things, I am fully of the opinion. The present ap- 

 pearance of these out-crops shows that they were not formed with 

 their present abrupt precipices. 



I will now proceed to bring forward some proofs that tend to 

 show that these secondary rocks once extended over the primary 

 nucleus. The conglomerate rock is about mid way in the series, 

 and is the characteristic group in the secondary formations, and 

 boulders and field stones of this rock can be readily identified 

 wherever they exist. Parts of this rock in the form of field stones, 

 are plentifully strewed in a southerly direction from the out-crop, 

 and over the Onondaga limestone at an elevation at least, of 300 

 feet above the part of the parent rock now left. For an explana- 



