1S47.] Progressive Changes of Matter. 135 



stones of primary rocks are numerous on this locality, some of 

 which will weigh at least a ton. Some of the primary boulders 

 weighing many tons, are seen a little farther east. By ascending 

 some of the hills on the southern border of this field, it is no dit- 

 licult matter to trace some of the last great sweeps of the noiih- 

 ern waters that prevailed here, and passed through the valleys 

 which contain Schuyler's and Otsego lakes. Farther east in the 

 vicinity of Springfield, the evidences of river channels are still 

 more striking, having as well defined banks of limestone, and 

 side shutes as though the water was now^ flowing through them. 

 This section of the country ijas remained undisturbed since the 

 falling waters have been diverted into other channels. 



The gi-eat mountain ranges of primary rock appear to have di- 

 rected, to a certain extent, the formation of aiiCient river courses 

 as well as those of recent origin. The long chain of mountains 

 stretching from the southern to the northern States, and the moun- 

 tains of New England, hold a conspicuous place in the geographi- 

 cal history of the country. For our own State we have the his- 

 tory of the State of New York, by James Macauley Esq., and al- 

 so the Natural History of the State under a survey directed by 

 public authority, in which the mountains are minutely and ac- 

 curately described. 



At one time it appears that the northern waters flowed over the 

 aforementioned nucleus, as is indicated by the chain of lakes there 

 existing, and taking from thence a southerly direction scattering 

 their drit\ and bouldeis more plentifully than elsewhere along 

 the line marked by the figure. The Hassenclever hills interven- 

 ing the West Canada creek and the Mohawk river is loaded with 

 them. Some of these boulders are truly magnificent ; they will 

 weigh at least a hundred tons, and generally rest upon the 

 extreme surface. At this place they are perhaps more than fbr'ty 

 miles from the parent rock. It may be asked, if these ponderous 

 rocks were moved onward amidst the rush of avalanches and 

 land-slides, why do they have this solitary positioir. We do 

 not believe that the place where we now see them was their first 

 place of rest. Suppose that the aqueous rocks once extended 

 north so far as to flank the primary region, (and upon this hy- 

 pothesis the previous ar-gument is based,) then the grey band in 

 the Clinton group which now forms the terrace bank on the 

 south side of the Mohawk, and the Onandaga limestone still far- 

 ther south, would give great facilities for the transport of drift. 

 We have only to imagine a river flowing from this great nucleus 

 over these groups and depositing and lodging these masses on 

 the way. As long as the slate rocks beneath these groups re- 

 mained undisturbed they constituted a large field for depositing 

 boulder-s. At a subsequent period, when the valleys of the two 



