FARxMERS' REGISTER— SOILS LN NEW YORK. 



403 



known cause. If" any remained, the niini])er must 

 have been small. I suppose that black snakes had 

 got into the house, and had been concealed and 

 protected by the contents, until they had time to 

 destroy, or drive off the rats. 



But though snakes are seldom suffered to clear 

 our houses in this manner, they must render much 

 service by destroying the different kinds of field 

 rats and mice. Wherever arable land is not gra- 

 zed, these destructive little animals increase ra|)id- 

 ly, not only on account of the shelter of the high 

 weeds, and greater supply of food, but probably 

 also because hogs are excluded, and kept from 

 rooting up their nests and destroying their young. 

 This evil, which is sensibly felt by all /ion -grazers, 

 would be completely kept under, by simply sparing 

 the black snakes, and such others as are not vene- 

 mous. 



Now, for the loss and injury caused Vjy these per- 

 secuted animals. The most that can be said, is 

 that sometimes, and rarely, a fine large snake finds 

 his way into the poultry house, and gorges himself 

 by swallowing eggs and young fowls, until he is 

 scarcely able to move, and falls an easy prey to 

 the avenger of the crime. The snake does not, 

 (like other thieves,) make many and hurried visits 

 to the scene of his depredations, and commit much 

 injury before he is caught. When he finds so good 

 an opportunity, he swallows as many chickens as 

 he would of rats, if permitted, and has as little 

 power as inclination to leave what he considers 

 such good quarters. K all such are killed, and none 

 others, the number would be too small to be of any 

 importance. But if the case was mine, though I 

 would not leave a snake free access to my chicken 

 house, I would not kill him for the first offence; 

 but when taken gorged, move him unhurt to some 

 distant house, infested with rats, lie would pro- 

 bably remain still for several days, until his heavy 

 meal was digested, and then would be satisfied to 

 take the kind of food there offered him in abun- 

 dance. 



I.ARGE VEGETABLES. 



From the National IntcUisencei-. 



At the Horticultural Exhibition of the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society, on Saturday the 2d 

 inst. pears were exhibited weighing twenty -eight 

 ounces; a Mangel Wurtzel, weighing thirty-six 

 pounds; and a Sugar Beet, weighing twenty- 

 three pounds. These exhibitions are held in the 

 apartments regularly appropriated to this purpose, 

 in Boston, on every Saturday. This weekly exhi- 

 bition closes at noon of the day on which it is held. 

 It is in general well attended, and is a most effec- 

 tive aid in improving the quality of the fruits and 

 esculents in all the country round. 



ON sons I3V WESTERN NEW YORK. 



From Goodsell's Genesee Fanner. 



The editor of the Maine Farmer, in noticing an 

 article from Gen. Harmon, as published in our 

 paper, on the produce of wheat in the southwest- 

 ern part of this county, asks for information res- 

 pecting the soil, &c. to which we reply — 



Western New York,or that part between Utica 

 and Buffalo is of secondary formation. For many 

 miles south of Lake Ontario, the superincumbent 

 rock, is the saliferous, or red sand rock. The 

 greater portion of the soil, immediately over this 

 rock, is a light sand, easily worked, producing 

 when first cultivated light crops. Above this is a 

 formation of Calciferous Shale, of about one hun- 

 dred feet in thickness. As might be expected, 

 the outcroppings of this formation extends over a 

 large extent of country, and by disintegration, 

 forming a soil, which contains both clay and sand. 

 This soil is counted of first quality for wheat, 

 grass, and most crops grown in this section of 

 country. Above this are the geodiferous, and cor- 

 nitiferous lime rocks. These taken together may 

 be counted at about fifty feet thick. In an agri- 

 cultural view there is little difference in these 

 rocks, as they both possess the same general cha- 

 racteristics. Near the bottom of the formation, 

 the rock contains more silicious particles, and near 

 the top there is a greater portion of allumine. Di- 

 rectly upon this formation rests the bituminous 

 shale, a formation of about one hundred feet in 

 thickness. This formation has by some been call- 

 ed the Pyriferous, in consequence of its containing 

 in most places innumerable particles of ironpiry- 

 tes, or sulphuret of iron. 



The town of Wheatland (which is that part of 

 ihe county of Monroe referred to in the inquiry,) 

 has mostly for superincumbent strata, the upper 

 part of the cornitiferous lime rock. This rock, 

 as has been observed, contains considerable allu- 

 mine, and the soil formed entirely from the disin- 

 tegrated rock, might, with propriety, be called 

 a rich marl, as much of it will effervesce with 

 acids. 



There is one peculiarity in the town of Wheat- 

 land, which, perhaps, might be proper to notice in 

 this place ; that is, the situation in which sulphate 

 of lime, or plaster of Paris is found. This is not 

 in a continued strata, but in small parcels or no- 

 dules, near the surface of the rock. The presence 

 of these are indicated by the inequality of the sur- 

 face, the projections indicating the extent of the 

 sulphate beneath. 1 his sulphate is evidently of 

 later formation than the rock in which it is found. 

 The rock in which it is imbedded is in thin lay- 

 ers, many of which are not more than an inch in 

 thickness. Immediately surrounding the sulphate 

 of lime these layers are broken, and disturbed 

 from their original position, by the force of the 

 chrystalization, or the effervescence which pre- 

 ceded it. 



To account for these masses of sulphate of lime, 

 we must have reference to the time when this lime 

 formation was covered with the bituminous, or py- 

 riferous formation, which we have before mention- 

 ed. It is well known that the decomposition of 

 iron pyrites produces sulphuric acid, and that sul- 

 phuric acid, when combined with lime, produces 

 sulphate of lime, or plaster of Paris. That there 

 is a constant decomposition of the pyrites going on 

 in the bituminous formation of this section of 

 country, is evident from the circumstance, that 

 there are in this vicinity several springs, the wa- 

 ter of which contains so great a proportion of sulphu- 

 ric acid, as to render it unfit for common uses, to 

 which water is applied for culinary purposes. 



The probability is, that the sulphuric acid thus 

 formed, percolated through the bituminous shale. 



