1836] 



FARMER S' REGISTER, 



87 



The following extracts form a part only of a longer 

 commtinication to the Academy of Natural Scienceshy 

 Dr. Harlan, on the Fossil Remains, and Geology of 

 New Jersey, and which we have first seen publislied in 

 his late and splendid work.] 



At various times there have been presented to 

 the xlcadeniy specimens of.fossil bones, principal- 

 ly ti-om the state-oi' New Jersey ; which have not 

 been hitherto described or noticed. I have under- 

 taken to describe such as are most rare and inte- 

 restinsr, and whose characters remain, in some de- 

 gree, undelaced. 



It will be necessary, in the first place, to offer a 

 few remarks concerninii; the formation in which 

 these fossils occur; in doinij which, I shall content 

 myself with the bare mention of the fossil tesia- 

 cecB, some of which occur in immense numbers. 

 For a knowledge of these, I am indebted to a 

 gentleman eminently qualified to do the subject 

 entire justice, and from whom we may anticipate 

 I hope, very shortly, a full and accurate descrip- 

 tion of these very interesting remains; it is almost 

 unnecessary to state, the naturalist alluded to is 

 Mr. T. Say, who, together with Mr. T. Peale and 

 myself, have lately returned from a short excur- 

 sion to the marl-pits of New Jersey.* We were 

 much assisted in om' investigations by Dr. Samuel 

 L. Howell, of New Jersey, who politely offered to 

 accompany us, and whose knowledgeof the coun- 

 try w^as peculiarly serviceable. 



All that part of the state, denominated West 

 Jersey, and which is included between Trenton 

 and the Delaware Bay, on the north andisoulh, 

 and between the Atlautic ocean and Delaware 

 river, on the east and west, is of oceanic or se- 

 condary formation, interspersed with patches 

 of tertiar3^ The surface is composed chiefly of 

 sand, occasionally of gravel, and very seldom of 

 clay; not unfrequently of all three mixed. 



This circumstance, in connexion with. a know- 

 ledge of the nature of the substance improperly 

 termed marl, will explain the vague and contra- 

 dictory opinions of the farmers, respecting the ma- 

 nuring qualities of this earth; some of whom in- 

 formed me, they considered a load of this marl 

 equal to a load of dung. Oihers thought, that al 

 though the marl enriched the land, and made it 

 more productive the first year, it subsequentlv pro- 

 duced an impoverishing effect on the soil. Others 

 again declared, that though they had frequently 

 made the experiment, they alwaj's found the 

 marl absolutely injurious; and this depends, in 

 fact, on the quality of vnarl used. 



The fact is, that this earth possesses no more 

 claim to the title of marl, than any other earth in 

 which fossil testaceaB abound; generally speaking, 

 it is little more than a ferruginous sand. Quanti- 

 ties of pyrites are also found to exist, almost uni- 

 versally; sometimes constituting the casts of shells, 

 at others, fillinfr the cavities of bones; and to the 

 prevalence of which may be attributed the imper- 

 fect state in which the organic remains are gene- 



* Since Mr. Say first commenced the description of 

 the New Jersey fossils, numerous investigators have 

 entered this field of science. The communications of 

 Messrs. Vanuxem, Conrad, Lea, Morton, Van Renscl- 

 laer, Dekay, &c., in the Journal of the Acad. Nat. Sc. 

 and N. York Lye. of Nat. Hist, will be consulted with 

 interest. The present essay was originally communi- 

 cated to the Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. in May, 1824. 



rally discovered,, and the very great rapidity with 

 which they decay on exposure to the atmosphere 

 unless ihey are varnished, or other means are used 

 to prevent, the access of the air. 



It is, further, to the prevalence of pyrites we 

 must refer the injurious effects of the "w2orZ," 

 when spread too thick upon the soil, when, on the 

 other hand, if mixed sparingly with new soil, it 

 destroys or reduces to earth the fibrous matter, 

 and thus proves highly beneficial as a manure. 

 Should the soil be composed almost entirely of 

 loose sand, (as it frequently is) the clay, which is 

 a principal constituent of some of the '■'■marl-pits''' 

 will give consistency to the soil, and enables the 

 vegetables to take root; in wliich sense it may be 

 said to act as a raanui'e. 



Not unfrequently whole strata or beds of this 

 marl will occur without a single fossil, of a loose 

 friable structure and moist nature, more or less 

 granulated, and of various colors, but most com- 

 monly of a dark slate-black or greenish color; and 

 has been by some supposed to consist chiefly of 

 decomposed organic remains— but how erroneous 

 is this opinion, will be clearly comprehended by 

 the analj'sis of this earth, furnished some years 

 ago by Mr. Henry Seybert of this city. (Vid. 

 Cleaveland's Min.- and Geol. 2d ed.) 

 - Silex, - - . . 49.83 



Alumine - - - - 6.00 



Magnesia - - - . L83 



Potash - - - - 10.12 



Water - - . . g.sQ 



Protoxide of Iron - - 21.53 



Loss - - - - 69 



100.00 

 This specimen of ^'-green eartW'' or the supposed 

 Marl, was fiom Rancocus creek; the quantities of 

 its constituent parts, no doubt, vary with the loca- 

 lity.. It constitutes, in almost every instance, the 

 matrix of the fossil reliquis", of which the Tere- 

 bratula and Ostrea occur in the greatest profusion, 

 sometimes commingled, at others in nearly dis- 

 tinct beds, as at Mullica hills and Blackwood town 

 mills. At the county poor-house we examined a 

 creek, at the bottom of which were beds of fossil 

 Ostrea;, and a few rolled specimens of Favosite and 

 Fisiularia, together with broken Belemnities; oc- 

 casionally we observed some of the beds com- 

 posed of Ostreas, Belemnities, Terebratula, &c. 

 heaped together in every direction and position, 

 conglomerated toojether by the green sand, and 

 quartz pebbles, scarcely any of the remains pre- 

 served entire.* 



I have been indebted to Mr. A. Seidler, an ex- 

 perienced operative chemist, for an accurate ana- 

 lysis of the fertilizing and non-fertilizing varieties 

 of "marl," the former of which is now extensive- 

 ly used in. New Jersey as a manure. 



Chemical Analysis of the green Jertllizing marl 

 from New Jersey, dug from Leioellyii's Pit. By 

 A. Seidler. November, 1835. 



This mineral appears as a greyish-green granu- 

 lar mass, in which, by aid of the lens, small parti- 

 cles of a shining lustre are discernible. By ex- 



* The "marl" from Rancocus creek has been ascer- 

 tained to be of the non-fertilizing species; the fertiliz- 

 ing variety, or sh^:!! marl, does not occur at that loca- 

 lity. 



