ATLANTIC DISTRICT. 319 



cenlage of lime in combination witli an organic acid. The sand, wlicn washed iVco of 

 vegetable matter, fnrnishcs only a trace at most of lime or magnesia. Beneath the drift 

 on the northern slope and sides of Long Island, beds of green sand, of unknown extent, 

 are fonnd lo exist. Memliers of this formation crop out on the farm of Hon. Mr. Young, 

 of Oystcrhay. They consist of a yellow clay, and tlie peculiar ferruginous conglomerate so 

 common in ilonmouth county, New-Jersey. The green sand so useful as a fertilizer, and 

 vvhich is below the ferruginous band, has not been observed. 



A large proportion of the soil of Kings county is of a superior kind. Some of the largest 

 crops of maize and wiieat have been raised here. It would seem that the land is too 

 valuable to be devoted extensively to the raising of maize and wheat. The products of 

 the garden and orchard must necessarily, and they probably do, engage the attention of the 

 proprietors of the soil. The best parts of the whole island will, ere long, be appropriated 

 as country residences of the wealthy. 



It is scarcely necessary to say, that in no instance is the soil of Long Island derived 

 from rocks in place : the entire mass, therefore, is either drift or marine sand. The exa- 

 mination of the soils, however, has been only imperfectly performed ; Init enough has 

 been observed, to prove that there is a great deficiency of the alkalies and alkaline earths. 

 Lime and magnesia are only sparingly present in the soil of any part of the island, except 

 that which lies along the Sound, where these materials are somewhat more abundant. 

 The inference which follow's from this fact, can not be forgotten. The means for increasing 

 the fertility of the land are very scarce ; hence nearly all the manures are brought from a 

 distance. The stables and streets of New-York and Brooklyn contribute largely to this 

 object. 



The composition of the soils of Long Island depends upon the direction from which 

 they came. If derived from the rocks in the valley of the Hudson river, or from the pri- 

 mary region bordering the Sound in the State of Connecticut, it will not differ essentially 

 from the soil of the Taconic district, or that of tiie Southern Highland district. If it be the 

 washed sand, it will belong to the highly porous and open soils, in which quartz sand is 

 the principal constituent, and which will give, on analysis, ninety per cent of silex. 



The composition of the drift, which constitutes the soil of the northern face of the island, 

 is as follows : 



Water and organic matter 6-00 



Silicates 87-87 



Peroxide of iron and alumina 6*25 



Carbonate of lime • 25 



Magnesia trace. 



99-50 



This soil is what is called a sandy loam. The mass below is gravel, or fragments of 

 gneiss, quartz, and mica slate. It was taken two and a half njiles west of Oysterbay, 



