44 DRIFTED SOILS. 



Little need be said of llie iiortliern liighlands in regard to structure. The country being 

 either mountainous or hilly, almost the whole surface is properly drained, or else is easily 

 drained where, from local causes, water may be retained in the subsoil. The valleys are 

 narrow, the hills abrupt, and there is no necessity of searching the peculiar structure of 

 the rock to open a passage for stagnant water. The spontaneous growth of grass is the 

 most interesting fact; the country being best adapted to pasturage, or the keeping of stock 

 for wool, butter and cheese. 



This district is, however, broken by the steepest and highest precipices in New- York, 

 or indeed in all the Atlantic or Middle States. The Adirondack pass is a giant precipice. 

 It is feebly represented at the head of this chapter, for it is only a feeble representation 

 which the pencil can give. To be conceived, it must be seen. Many minor precipices 

 break up the country at the sources of the Hudson, and thus diminish its value as an 

 agricultural district. 



